Nashville may be known for its music and nightlife, but its nature doesn’t get nearly enough credit!
Within less than two hours of Nashville, there are TONS of beautiful places to hike, with epic views, beautiful trails, and of course, waterfalls!
What better way to escape from the city than to spend a day in nature, hiking through the forests and being rewarded with a waterfall view, and a quick dip in a swimming hole, if that’s your thing!
I’ve made a list of the 7 best waterfall hikes near Nashville – all dog friendly, and all less than a two hour drive from the city! So grab your pup and your hiking boots, and check out these trails this weekend.
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1. Cummins Falls
- Park: Cummins Falls State Park
- Distance: 2.4 Miles
- Trail Type: Out and Back
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cummins Falls Base Route via Falls Overlook Trail and Blackburn Fork may just be my favorite waterfall hike near Nashville on this list. In my opinion, it’s definitely the most adventurous!
This waterfall trail near Cookeville, Tennessee, takes you to the base on Cummins Falls. To get here, you’ll hike through the forest, through a river, and up and down switchbacks. Challenging for sure, but so worth it!
It begins fairly easy as a flat hike through the woods. Once you reach the initial overlook of Cummins Falls, it starts to get a bit more challenging. This hike has 351 feet of elevation gain, and you’re going to start the descent of it.
Thankfully, a decent amount of it is stairs, and it isn’t terribly steep! Once you reach the end of this is where the real adventure begins.
Know how I mentioned you hike through a river? I wasn’t exaggerating! When I went in August, it was to my shins at points! So make sure to wear waterproof shoes. I’d recommend wearing waterproof sandals if it isn’t too cold when you go. I wore waterproof boots, but the water was a bit deep at points where it didn’t matter because the water went over them.
(On that note, consider wearing a bathing suit and packing a towel and enjoy some time on the water when you get to the end of the trail!)
You can expect to be hiking in the river for a while – about a mile to be exact. Not all of it will be super deep, but it can be slippery and a bit tricky at times. Talk about an adventure though!
At the end, you’ll be greeted with the beautiful Cummins Falls! Even though the falls weren’t super heavy when I went, it was still beautiful, and there was still a pool at the bottom.
This hike is in a well maintained state park, where there’s plenty of parking, restrooms, and even a visitor center and gift shop.
However, you do need a gorge permit to hike to the base of the falls. They sell 200 a day, so consider booking up to a week in advance to make sure you get one! They sell out quicker than you’d think. They cost $7 pre-taxes. Totally worth it! Just make sure to check the weather before you go – the gorge is prone to flash flooding, and there are no refunds or date transfers on the tickets.
If you’re just planning on doing the overlook hike, no need to worry about the permit.
2. Twin Falls
- Park: Rock Island State Park
- Distance: 1.6 Miles
- Trail Type: Out and Back
- Difficulty: Easy
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 30 minutes
In all honestly, the hike to Twins Falls itself is extremely short – a few minutes from the parking lot! Twin Falls and Downstream Trail just adds a bit of extra exploring past the falls.
This trail close to Cookeville, Tennessee, leads you to the manmade waterfall that is insanely pretty! Maybe the prettiest on this list…
These falls are the by-product of a dam, so just be cautious that the dam can open, and the water levels will rise. There is supposed to be a siren warning though if this happens, so no need to fret!
Truly, you don’t even need to hike to see this view. You can see it a few feet from your car! But it’s even prettier if you walk down the stairs to get closer to the base of the falls. The hike is fairly flat besides the stairs, the total elevation gain on this trail is around 205 feet.
The more you hike, the closer you can get to the base! There’s a rock beach area where you can scramble and jump around, and get better views as you do.
Once you’ve had your fun with your parkour (kidding, it’s not that intense), continue on the downstream trail hike for a nice, easy hike through the woods! At openings, you can enjoy views of the lake, and people kayaking along it!
The parking lot is a bit smaller than some of the others, and when I went there wasn’t a bathroom.
3. Foster Falls
- Park: South Cumberland State Park
- Distance: 0.6 Miles
- Trail Type: Out and Back
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 45 minutes
Foster Falls Base Trail is a short one, but a good one. This trail near Tracy City, Tennessee, takes you right to the base of the waterfall and the swimming hole it feeds into!
The first bit is flat, and you can see Foster Falls peaking through the trees! Soon, this view will disappear, and you’ll be in the woods headed down A LOT of stairs, with this trail having 155 feet of elevation gain. It’s fairly steep, too.
Once you’re at the bottom, there’s a short swing bridge, then there’s rooms to put up hammocks and relax! Like I mentioned before, there’s a swimming hole too. If you go during the summer, expect it to be busy!
If this is the only hike you’re planning on doing in this park for your day trip from Nashville, I’d definitely recommend bringing a towel and swim suit, and relax by the water. But, there’s also many amazing trails in this park, like Sycamore Falls.
4. Burgess Falls
- Park: Burgess Falls State Park
- Distance: 1.2 Mile
- Trail Type: Out and Back
- Difficulty: Easy
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 30 minutes
Burgess Falls Trail was on my bucket list for months before I did it, and I wish I did it sooner!
Another trail near Cookeville, Tennessee, not only will you get to see the waterfall the trail is named after, but you’ll also pass 3 smaller ones along the way!
I say “smaller” with a grain of salt – these waterfalls are still big! They get progressively bigger the closer to Burgess Falls you get.
This trail is mostly a hike through the woods, with openings where you’ll see the river, or one of these three falls! Although it’s easy, there is 170 feet of elevation gain. Most of this elevation gain is in the form of stairs, though!
After a beautiful forest hike, you’ll reach the Burgess Falls viewing platform. It’s truly breathtaking. The waterfall is stunning and seems to just keep going, but the surrounding cliff walls add to the majesty.
While this view is amazing, you can keep hiking to the top of the waterfall! Do so carefully though – make sure to not get too close to the edge. It’s a very tall drop off, but seeing the river that feeds the falls at this perspective is cool.
The views and the hike alone are satisfying, but if you want a bit more of an adventure, you can paddle to the base of the falls!
This is another well maintained state park, with lots of parking spots and restrooms. Cell service was a bit spotty though, so make sure to know where you’re going, or take a picture of the trailhead map.
If you’re still craving more time in nature after this hike, check out Cummins Falls. It’s about a half hour away, so these two falls make for an even more epic day trip.
5. Montgomery Bell Tunnel
- Park: Harpeth River State Park
- Distance: 1 Mile
- Trail Type: Out and Back
- Difficulty: Easy
- Distance from Downtown: 35 minutes
Another historic manmade waterfall, the Montgomery Bell Tunnel of the Narrows of the Harpeth Trail doesn’t disappoint! This trail near Kingston Springs, Tennessee, is very popular among Nashvillians – the whole park is!
This short and sweet hike is fairly flat, with only 100 feet of elevation gain. Most of the hike is through the woods, past some rock faces, along the river at points, and ends at the tunnel and a swimming hole!
Before you get to the tunnel, you’ll reach a point in the trail where it branches off in a few different directions, and there’s a sign that says Bluff Trail, Tunnel Trail, and Harris St Bridge Trail. Follow the arrow pointing to the Tunnel Trail!
If you’re not in a rush, I’d highly recommend adding The Bluff Trail to your Nashville day trip too. It’s another quick hike that has beautiful views of the surrounding Tennessee countryside.
Sadly, this falls has been all dried up before when I’ve gone, but has also been very full, so keep an eye on the weather and AllTrails reviews for the condition!
The parking lot has plenty of space, a porta potty, and is super close to a launch point if you want to go kayaking or tube along the Harpeth River as part of your day trip!
6. Sycamore Falls
- Park: South Cumberland State Park
- Distance: 3 Miles
- Trail Type: Loop
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 45 minutes
Another waterfall hike in South Cumberland State Park! To see Sycamore Falls, I’d recommend the Grundy Day, Sycamore Falls, and Fiery Gizzard Loop Trail. There’s a slightly shorter trail you can do for just Sycamore Falls, but I’m of the mindset if I’m going to drive almost two hours for a hike, I may as well hike for as long as possible.
While all of these hikes on this list go through forests before reaching the falls, something about this forest feels really special. If you’re reading this, I’d imagine you find nature very peaceful as well, but something about this hike made the feeling of peace surpass the normal amount.
You’ll hike through the magical seeming forest, along beautiful trees, past mossy rocks (and cool rock formations, like the chimneys), and even along a river at times. That’s where you’ll see Sycamore Falls, and again, a swimming hole!
Sycamore Falls is beautiful, but the journey too it is almost as good as the actual falls itself. It’s challenging at times, with about 300 feet of elevation gain, but the beauty makes it all worth it.
7. Machine Falls
- Park: Short Springs State Natural Area
- Distance: 3.1 Miles
- Trail Type: Loop
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Distance from Downtown: 1 hour 15 minutes
I’m going to be so for real, I did the Machine Falls, Adams Falls, Busby Falls and Laurel Bluff Loop near Tullahoma, Tennessee, but only managed to get a good view of Machine Falls. I’m not even mad about it, this falls alone is so pretty! And you can get right up to the base of it.
After hiking through the woods for most of this trail, and past lots of wildflowers, you’ll reach a river, and start following it! It’ll lead you right to Machine Falls. Wear waterproof shoes! Your feet will get wet, as you’ll basically be walking through the river to reach the base, unless you want to rock hop to avoid the water (no judgement, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do that a bit for fun).
It’s wild how close you can get to this waterfall flowing over the rock face!
The end challenges you with a nice uphill trek back to the parking lot. This hike has about 400 feet of elevation gain, and I think most of it had to be in this final stretch.
The parking isn’t great – there’s not a lot, but you can park on the street. However, like all of these, it can get crowded on the weekends, which can make parking a challenge!
What to Bring With You
Of course, bring plenty of water, especially if you’re going during the summer! Tennessee heat is no joke. But even if you’re not going during the summer, still bring it. Some of the hills will take it out of you.
If you’re bringing your pup with you, make sure to bring a portable bowl for them. Trust me, they’ll get thirsty, too! Don’t forget their poop bags, either. I like to carry some treats with me as well.
As far as hiking shoes go, I highly suggest hiking boots with ankle protection. I’ll be the first to admit I’m clumsy and easily trip over my own feet, but some of these hikes have roots just waiting to grab ya.
Wear your sunscreen, and bring some bug spray! I often decide on the trail if I need it, but better to have it on hand and not use it than to be swarmed with bugs and not have it.
Not to be a downer on this last one, but especially for my solo hikers, bring some mace. I’m an advocate for solo hiking, I often just have my dog with me. But I understand this comes with a certain level of risk, and I’d highly, highly suggest bringing along this for protection. Check out my blog post for tips on how to safe while solo hiking. These tips are good practices even if you’re not alone!
Finally, follow the 7 principles of Leave No Trace.
Looking for More Nashville Area Hikes?
Not only are there amazing waterfall hikes within a two hour drive of Nashville, but there are plenty of pretty hikes closer! Check out my post on the 11 Best Hikes near the city.
Happy hiking!
