Rock Island State Park, Tennessee

Tennessee State Parks Are Gems!

I had a chance to explore a couple of Tennessee’s state parks this January and was very impressed. First of all, unlike the neighboring states of GA and SC, the parks are free. They accept donations. They were well maintained, facilities were spotless, and the scenery was beautiful! It probably gets very crowded in the summer, but on a weekday in January it was very quiet. Rock Island State Park is most known for the waterfall pictured above. To get this close to the falls, access it from Powerhouse Road (on the opposite side of the water from the main section of the park). There is a parking area and we then scrambled down rocks to get this view. There are warning signs everywhere and sirens that will go off if the water starts rising, which means get away immediately. There are signs throughout the park listing how many people have drowned. We did not hear the sirens while we were there. When you enter the park from Great Falls Road, there is a historic cotton mill and a trail with steps down to the rocks below that made for some fun scrambling/exploring. The rocks and steps were very slippery in places.

The cotton mill is pictured above as well as some cascades found while rock scrambling at the bottom of the trail across from the mill.

Icy puddles on the rocks at the bottom of the steps across from the cotton mill. Scrambling along here felt like walking on the surface of the moon (except for the water!). The landscape was very unique here.

For more information about this park visit the state park website: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/rock-island

Address: 82 Beach Road, Rock Island, TN 38581

If you have time while visiting Rock Island State Park, I highly recommend also checking out Fall Creek Falls State Park, a 40 minute drive away in Spencer, TN. This park is truly amazing and deserving of its own post.

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