This is Burgess Falls, another state park located in Central Tennessee sitting 12 miles northwest of the town of Sparta, TN. There's a 3/4 of a mile out and back hike called the River Trail that leads to 4 different waterfall lookout points comprising Burgess Falls SP. Waterfall #1 - The Cascades. Sort of the introduction area to the park. Waterfall #2 - First Falls. A quick glance at a 30 foot high waterfall section. But nothing special, imo. When Continuing on the trail, you'll cross over a wooden bridge and follow up a staircase. Now at... Waterfall #3 - Middle Falls... Middle Falls is 80 feet high and partially obstructed by trees and branches having grown over time. *Side Note*.... I wish park services would do some forest cutting for everyone to enjoy clearer views of the park's waterfalls. Entrance right now is free. I'd suggest charging a small fee and using that money to pay for some grooming. A lot of the observation points can't be fully appreciated. Just me venting a little, lol. Waterfall #4 - Burgess Falls... Burgess falls is the centerpiece highlight of the park. Standing at 136 feet from top to bottom, Burgess Falls can absolutely be dramatic, but still natural excess forest maturation disrupts full visibility of the falls. I did read that kayaking at the bottom of Burgess Falls is the most interactive way to come face to face with this statuesque waterfall. You can rent kayaks at Cane Hollow Recreation Area, located at the end of Cane Hollow Road. It's about 10 minutes from Burgess Falls. You can end the River Trail hike at the Top of Burgess for a panoramic overlook of the rugged gorge the falls splash down into from high above. It's another quick stop and go area before returning back towards the trailhead. Overall, Burgess Falls was a muted experience for me, but still has potential to be a rewarding visit if park authorities can maintain the inevitable growing forest hindrances that negate special moments at the waterfall overlooks. read more

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This park touts the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River (sans Niagara), and it did NOT disappoint! First: be prepared to hike a little. It's about a mile in to get to this part, but worth every step. Plus, there are several lessor falls en route to the main event. They were breathtaking even for a low- flow season like September. I imagine these falls roar to life early spring with the mountain thaws. There's a dirt road that allows for less strenuous hiking than the woodsy areas if you're brush averse and don't want to be as much of a Billy goat, but eventually you have to hike a little ways to the observation points on the trail, so bear that in mind. Fun excursion for the whole family! read more

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Absolutely stunning! I was worried about the water level in the fall, but the falls were still gorgeous and the fall leaves were the icing on the cake. I couldn't believe it was free to get in here! Parking is VERY limited, but they have overflow at the red barn at the top of the hill. The trail to the falls is about a mile and semi-rugged. I thought it was pretty easy, but it may be a little difficult if you aren't a very active person. Definitely make the trip if you are visiting Nashville or passing through. read more

Burgess Falls State Park - Lower falls - Parks Near Me - Sparta, Tennessee

Beautiful state park! Highly recommended for a relax hike and for great scenery. Parking is limited read more

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This was a beautiful park. The falls were spectacular. The hike was an easy one and didn't take long to get to the falls outlook. I'm almost 63 and had no problem. The trail to the bottom was closed unfortunately. read more

Whoa, there's quite a few waterfalls at this place! While you can't walk to the base of the falls, you may see some people down there who boated over. The parking situation is a whole thing, though. There's very limited parking at the moment at the park, so if you are there on a weekend, maybe just go ahead and park up at the red barn on the hill near the entrance, go in and pay to park, then walk down the hill and avoid the traffic if people endlessly circling the lot hoping for someone to leave. The trails are short, the views are amazing, and all was well for the dog, saw several other leashed and well-behaved dogs here. Enjoy! read more

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Beautiful scenic hike. There were a lot of steps but it was well worth it for the beautiful views! read more

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YES!!!! That is the answer to should we go to Burgess Falls State Park. YES!!! It is good for all ages. YES!!! It is good for all experience levels. YES! It is very clean and well Kept. YES!!! It has nice parking. YES!!! It is beautiful. YES!!! It is so much fun! Great little picnic spot or grab a bite at Chestnut Oaks Restaurant around the corner. read more

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Burgess Falls can only be accessed by water craft. Kayak, boat, SUP, but it is worth it! The view is stunning and the swimming refreshing! It's about an hour to kayak to the falls. Easy paddling! Bring a lunch because there are wonderful spots on the rocks to eat! read more

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A good free activity to do. The trail is short and doesn't required any skills. Easy for everyone. Lots of people bring their pets to the trail to. In order to see the falls up close you will have to take the kayak tour. But you can see the falls in a different view which is not too bad. Parking is limited but sufficient . We didn't have any problem finding a parking close by. read more

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Keep going back. Great hike. There is a road almost to the falls if you don't want to hick to far. Bug spray during mosquito season a must.

Omg amazing!! Free to enter. I think the falls trails were 2 miles round trip. The weather was ideal plus it had been raining for several days so the falls were frisky. We went own the steps to the falls ... I spent alot of time. I enjoyed it BUT ... then found out there were better falls down the path. Long story short that kept happening. I'm so glad didn't leave like I was about to and miss out on the real deal. I'm not young or fit so the walk was a challenge. Some of the steps were not made for short legs and my husband had to help pull me up. There were viewing from above that gave great view. I would have loved to check out kayaking to the base of the falls. The last water fall is very special .. it's like a waterfall mountain. Pic don't do it justice. It was gorgeous and id love to see it in the fall. read more

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Beautiful hike for all fitness levels. Easy parking and nice maintained trails and walkways. The falls are amazing and worth the time to visit. read more

Our family has been visiting a few different falls in TN this summer. In our opinion, this one has impressive views, but loses some points for the fact that the trail does not take you to the bottom of the falls. For us, half the fun is the hike, and we enjoy more if a challenging "through the woods" adventure. This trail was a little short and man-made for our taste. Side note: we saw people in bathing suits on the trail, but nobody looked wet, and we never saw any swimming areas. At the bottom of the falls you could see some people in the water on kayaks, which I think is the only way to access that area. read more

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Came here for the first time last year, came again today - a weekday afternoon, parking lot was pretty full. Saw quite a few people on the Burgess Falls trail, and I also went on the Ridgetop Trail which was cool, saw fall colors and the river below on the trail which was quite pretty. Burgess Falls is flowing, I overheard that it's not super full at the moment though. read more

We had such a great day trip to burgess falls! I would definitely recommend going and Ethan was our tour guide, in which he did an amazing job. Can't wait to come back! read more

Great getaway, beautiful. State Park and hiking trail. It is a 3/4 of a mile hike; one way with several different paths from strenuous to moderate. The views are amazing and it is free. read more

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Good walking trails for all ages. Not to crowded. The park rangers are friendly and keep a close eye on the park. Grounds are well maintained. Very beautiful views with many spot to stop and look at the waterfalls read more

Great place to go and explore! We arrived about 2:00 pm on a Saturday afternoon to find that the parking lot was literally full (probably around 50 - 60 cars parked here). There is a small playground area for kids to enjoy as well as restrooms located close by. The hike itself is well marked and easy to figure out where you are going. Approx 3/4 mile (1.5 mile total) to get to the falls. The path to the main observation point is really not a bad hike. I'd list moderate just because of some of the tree roots you will encounter in the pathway and as you near the first large observation point there is some considerable elevation change. As you walk the path you will go past a couple smaller falls prior to getting to Burgess. Both very nice and make for some good photo spots. The main observation point of Burgess offers views of a caved out canyon to compliment the waterfall itself. If you opt to hike down to the top of the falls you don't really get a great view from the top (unless you have a little daredevil in you). This part of the hike is the steepest, most tree root impacted and overall the hardest part of the hike. Not all that bad, it is just a considerable difference to what you have hiked to get to this point. All in all, this is about an hours worth of hiking and exploring .... especially nice on a fall day that is about 60 degrees out. Highly recommend! read more

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We visited Burgess Falls back in August and it's a nice little park overall with very pretty waterfalls. The trail is very short and narrow, so it wasn't exactly the best place to socially distance as many people were not trying to keep their distance with others. The trail was nice to hike though and it would be better once we don't have to worry about COVID. We did see a lot of people coming here to swim, but swimming is not allowed here, so please don't come here expected to go for a swim (it really wouldn't be safe). read more

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We had a great time here. You can hike all the way to the top of the main falls or kayak to the base of the falls. We did the hiking for now and will go back in summer for the kayaking part. Very easy hike of about 2 miles. It's almost straight down from the overlook area for hiking so be prepared for a hard hike up. There are lots of rails and steps to help you out. I highly recommend. read more

Burgess Falls State Park - Parks Near Me - Sparta, Tennessee

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Burgess Falls State Park is located in Sparta (near Cookeville) and is about a 1.5 hour drive from Nashville. The park has beautiful scenery and a trail that follows the Falling Water River. The River Trail is 1.5 miles roundtrip which includes a steeper downhill trek from a main overlook observation deck to the top of the waterfall. Although a brochure we got at the trailhead warns that this is not an easy trail (they called it moderately strenuous) we are reasonably fit and did not find it to be too difficult at all. The steeper park of the trail does have wooden steps built in so there is less chance you would stumble or fall on the trail. There is also a railing in some places. Important Note: Due to flooding, the staircase is completely closed from the top of the falls to the bottom of the falls (our visit was in August 2018). It didn't look like any work had been done on that pathway and it did not say when it was expected to reopen. We had worn our swimsuits expecting to get in the water but there is not much of a place to swim at the top of the falls. When it does reopen it will be similar to Cummins Falls with a pool-like area at the bottom of the falls to swim in. Overall, if you want to get outside, take a short hike and see beautiful scenery this is still a great place. We were disappointed about the staircase closure and not being able to swim but it's still very nice and wasn't too overcrowded with people even on the weekend. read more

Burgess Falls State Park - The falls - Parks Near Me - Sparta, Tennessee

Always a beautifully kept place with professional and courteous park rangers. Park is clean and has plenty of things for the kids to do when the weather is warm. read more

Beautiful park with great views of several falls. This is a very short trail. So don't expect some 10 miler. The loop is about 2 to 3 miles. You can do this one then add Cummings, rock island or fall creek falls to your day. read more

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Not a bad drive from the Cookeville and Crossville area. Several waterfalls along the main hiking trail. read more

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Loved this park so much went with my family and we all enjoyed the hike and beautiful scenery with waterfalls... Little did we know there's a easy hike with a road if you go on the top route...If you don't like going over the roots and up and down elevation for those that are looking for a less strenuous way to see the Falls... This is a must see if you're in the area read more

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Another worthwhile time if you're into chasing waterfalls like I am. After leaving Cummings Falls we ventured to this other state park located about 15 miles away. Super nice parking lot and bathrooms located at the beginning of the trail. Three different Falls can be viewed on the three quarter mile Trail. The last one obviously being the ever so powerful Burgess Falls. The previous night was heavy rain storms so the water was brown and rushing extremely hard. At the end of the trail where the viewing point is there's also a trail that leads down close to the falls. Was kind of scary today seeing how hard the water was rushing. Apparently a previous set of stairs that could get you closer to the base has been wrecked and has currently not been fixed. Still worthwhile walking the trail down and catching some photos. We probably spent about an hour total at the park taking pictures walking down and walking back. No state parks in Tennessee require a fee so everything that we got to view today was free of charge. read more

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I really miss living in the Nashville area and taking our day trips down to Sparta, TN to see BURGESS Falls State Park...the waterfalls here are SPECTACULAR!!! The trails are very easy to maneuver and have breathtaking views. There are about 3 or 4 different falls and several lovely trails. As you can see my daughter has her four legged baby with her, so pets are allowed on the trail if you have them on a leash. There is no cost to enjoy this gorgeous playground. I love hiking, it's the best form of exercise...you don't even realize you are exercising!!! read more

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We went to a few other parks in the area. And we were amazed how clean and friendly everyone was. The falls were in 4 stages ending with Burgess. The view was amazing. There are two or more ways to get to the main falls but in my opinion you need to see all 4. The guy at the camp store was very nice as well. read more

Burgess Falls State Park is located in Sparta, Tennessee, covers 350 acres, and includes a 136 foot waterfall. The land was originally owned by Revolutionary War veteren, Tom Burgess, whose family developed a mill that supplied locals. It was established as a state park in 1971. The entire loop is about 2 miles, and you'll see two or three little waterfalls (sprinkles), but at the end the big ole falls that you can actually climb on top of and look over the edge, which is pretty awesome. read more

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A great easy hike. Beautiful waterfall right when you start and then two other lookouts. We went on a Tuesday afternoon and barely passed anyone there. read more

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I was not expecting the magnitude and beauty! Easy hike but falls were Amazing! Well worth the stop. I've already recommended to friends and plan to go back myself. Stop at Roberts Family diner for a bite to eat, also worth the time! It's right down the road. read more

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easy hike with rewarding views. some parts there are steep inclines but a little workout never hurt anyone. big plus: dogs allowed read more

Burgess Falls State Park - easy hike with rewarding views. some parts there are steep inclines but a little workout never hurt anyone. big plus: dogs allowed - Parks Near Me - Sparta, Tennessee

Just Beautiful. The trails are pretty clean but you do have a lot of incline stairs to climb! People had their dogs out there. read more

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Burgess Falls was one of the easiest hikes I experienced during my waterfall tour of central Tennessee. It was my second stop and because of my late start and long drive, I only had 1 hour to get to the BIG falls, then back to my car before the park closed. Due to a lot of recent rain the week of my visit, the volume of water flow was EXTREMELY HIGH. According to the park ranger I talked to on the phone, the normal volume of water going over the falls is about 70 cubic feet per second (I think that is what he said). However, on the day I arrived it was about 1,400 cubic feet per second. This is canyon cutting water, which is why it was brown in color. While this made for a spectacular sound at each of the falls, the two smaller falls had so much flow that they only looked like cascades and not like the pictures I'd seen online. Actually, the flow over the first waterfall (30') was so extreme that I didn't realize it was one of the advertised three falls. The 80' MIDDLE FALLS near the ruins of the old swinging bridge was a little easier to recognize, but again, it looked more like a class 5 cascade for river rafters than a waterfall. But the BIG FALLS at the end of the trail was showing off her stuff something fierce with the extra volume of water flow. It was thunderous, misty and downright impressive as the water growled on its 136' descent into the gorge below. A FEW NEGATIVES The steps to the base of the BIG falls washed out in a flood in recent years and there are no immediate plans to replace them. The view from the base, at least from pics I've seen, is absolutely amazing and far superior to viewing from the deck above. It's like watching the video of a roller coaster verses actually being on it and feeling the speed and wind in your face and thrill pumping through your heart. Also, the overlook to the middle falls was damaged and it is currently fenced off and highly unsafe. Viewing the middle falls is limited to an area in between some trees and shrubs. On the plus side, they seem to be enhancing the trail with shrubbery and there is a new deck for viewing the first falls. FINAL THOUGHTS A great trifecta of waterfalls on one easy trail. Be sure to take the gravel road back marked "to parking" from the BIG FALLS observation deck. It is easier and will also lead you to an overlook with a downstream view of the gorge. Also don't miss the butterfly garden and dam. Enjoy! 2018/42 read more

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One of my favorite places to go for an easy kayaking trips to see an amazing site. We parked and launched from Cane Hollow Boat Launch. I used Cane Hollow Rd, Sparta, TN in my GPS and was taken right to it. I think it was a two mile paddle to the Falls. Saw a few pontoon boats, small fishing boats. The water is calm enough for paddlers of all ages. read more

Burgess Falls State Park - Even more beautiful in person - Parks Near Me - Sparta, Tennessee

Beautiful falls but definitely strenuous. Good news is the first of five falls is within 100 feet. These trails are rough & unstable. Having the right shoes & set up is key. The wonderful part is the prize is worth the work. read more

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Ridiculously wonderful! One of the most beautiful places I think I've ever been! Perfect for a picnic on the rock with your feet in the water :-) I would go here again and again and again. read more

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Awesome place, we really had fun there. I love outdoors and will definitely go back to burgess falls read more

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Very beautiful and great hiking spot but when it's busy it's kinda overwhelming so we go during the week and early in the morning