The 8 Best Waterfall Hikes near Nashville
If you want to spend your day in Nashville doing something other than drinking beer while listening to country music on Broadway, I have just the answer. This is a guide to the 8 best waterfall hikes near Nashville for you to check out. It includes the length of the drive from Nashville, hike distance, advice, and the pros and cons of each waterfall.
Tennessee boasts 325 waterfalls. 325! I don’t know about you, but I am kind of picky about them. A waterfall has to be stunning for me to love it. It has to either be massive, or have beautiful colored water at the bottom, or be impressively high. Requiring an awesome hike to get there is a bonus. We should look at a waterfall and wonder how something can be so beautiful. I know I shouldn’t be picky about nature’s beauty, but I am with waterfalls.
Lucky for you, this means that the following are lovely. I can vouch for every waterfall on this list.
You can click on each waterfall on this list to read a detailed post (by me!) on it. If you’re curious about the location of each of these, I also made a map that shows how far the waterfalls are from each other so you can combine different waterfalls in one trip (see below). Every waterfall is less than a 2 hour drive from Nashville.
Jump to Waterfall Hikes Near Nashville:
#1 Cummins Falls
1 hour and 20 minutes from Nashville.
3 mile hike.
Cummins Falls is 75 feet tall and the 8th largest waterfall in Tennessee by volume. These falls cascade down a rock wall and provide a great spot for swimming and picnics. Cummins Falls gets my vote as the best waterfall near Nashville.
You must reserve a permit ahead of time on their website. Arrive early and wear water shoes!
Pros: Beautiful, emerald-colored water swimming hole. A very adventurous hike through water. Not too far from Nashville.
Cons: Can get VERY busy during the summer. You will get wet during the hike, so if that’s not your thing you might not enjoy this (I consider this a pro).
#2 Foster Falls
1 hour and 40 minutes from Nashville.
2 mile (or more) round-trip hike.
Foster Falls is 60 feet tall and located in South Cumberland State Park. There are loads of things to do in this park, so you could easily spend a whole weekend here.
Pros: A fantastic swimming hole. The surrounding area is the bomb. You can go rock climbing, hike the Fiery Gizzard Trail, and go camping.
Cons: If you bring your dog and they hate hanging bridges, you’ll have to carry them.
#3 Twin Falls
1 hour and 40 minutes from Nashville.
1 mile hike or steps from your car.
At 80 feet and the most water volume, Twin Falls are massive. They are located in Rock Island State Park.
Pros: Rock Island State Park has a swimming beach and other hiking trails. You can go cliff jumping if you’re brave and safe enough.
Cons: You have to heed the siren that lets you know if the dam is opening and get out of the water. Not the best hike – it’s kind of confusing and short.
#4 Virgin Falls
1 hour and 50 minutes from Nashville
9 mile hike.
Virgin Falls is 120 feet tall and requires a strenuous hike to see the falls. This is the longest hike on this list. Of the waterfall *hikes* near Nashville, this is my favorite.
Pros: You can backpack along the trail. Hike behind the falls. Escape some crowds because of the long hike.
Cons: The stinging nettles are terrible and everywhere here. The hike out is mostly uphill. Depending on rainfall, the falls do not always have a lot of water flowing.
#5 Ozone Falls
1 hour and 50 minutes from Nashville.
Very short hike.
Ozone Falls is a 110 foot tall plunge waterfall that has the prettiest water at the bottom.
Pros: See where scenes from the 1994 Jungle Book were filmed. Really pretty with a light blue, misty pool at the bottom.
Cons: Long drive for such a short hike.
Check out Nurse to Nomad’s Epic 3 Day Yosemite National Park Itinerary.
#6 Fall Creek Falls
2 hours from Nashville.
A variety of hiking options.
Fall Creek Falls is the tallest waterfall on this list at 256 feet. Located in Fall Creek Falls State Park, there is plenty to do in the area.
Pros: Hike, camp, and explore one of Tennessee’s most popular state parks. Impressive waterfall. You can check out 2 waterfalls while here (see Cane Creek Falls below).
Cons: The map was weirdly difficult to figure out when we were there.
#7 Cane Creek Falls
2 hours from Nashville.
A short but strenuous hike or a 1 mile less-strenuous hike to an overlook.
Cane Creek Falls is 85 feet tall and not as impressive as Fall Creek Falls, above. But if you’re in the park, you might as well take this badass hike to see them.
Pros: Great swimming hole. The hike is very steep and requires a cable to get down (this could be seen as a con to some).
Cons: Very short hike. Not the prettiest waterfall.
#8 Burgess Falls
1 hour and 20 minutes from Nashville.
1 mile hike.
Burgess Falls is 135 feet tall and so beautiful. The only reason these falls are at the bottom of my list is that the stairs are still closed to get to the bottom of the falls.
Pros: Lovely hike with multiple waterfalls along the way. Impressive falls.
Cons: You cannot get to the bottom of the falls due to storm damage.
A few suggestions for combining waterfall hikes near Nashville:
Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls are only 30 minutes from each other.
Definitely visit Cane Creek Falls if you are going to see Fall Creek Falls.
I drove to Ozone Falls and stopped at Cummins Falls on the way home.
Remember to respect the outdoors when you visit these great places. I hope you have so much fun enjoying these waterfall hikes near Nashville and spending time in nature.
If you’re looking for what to do during a weekend in Nashville, check out my post on Gypsy with a Day Job. You’ll find everything you need to know. To continue your active lifestyle – here is free and super cheap yoga in Nashville.
Love your site. I’ve found a couple of great hikes through your posts. I’m curious about your entry for Cane Creek Falls above. You mention two options for the Falls, short but strenuous (Cable Trail, I’m guessing), but also a 1 mi, less strenuous? Do you know which trail I would look for to take this option?
Hi Cassandra! I’m SO glad you’ve taken some new hikes thanks to my posts! That’s awesome. I mis-spoke and have corrected it in this post and my Cane Creek Falls post. You can take a 1 mile RT to an overlook of Cane Creek Falls, but the only way down to the falls is the cable trail. So sorry about that! I’ve added the following to my Cane Creek Falls post:
“If you can’t or don’t want to do the cable hike, you can do a 1 mile RT hike to an overlook of Cane Creek Falls. From the same parking lot as listed above, take the Woodland trail toward Fall Creek Falls. Cross the awesome swinging bridge then take a right at the first fork. This is the Gorge trail and will give you an overlook from a spur trail on the right.”
Which, if any, of these are less crowded in July?
Hi, these all run the risk of being crowded in July – it’s so hot in Nashville that month that escaping to a waterfall is the perfect outing. Fall Creek Falls and Cane Creek Falls might be a good option because the park is quite big.. you can avoid people a bit more. Cummins Falls might be the most crowded because it’s basically a small watering hole for swimming. I’d recommend an early start to any of these to try to avoid the crowds.