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Great Falls (Rock Island State Park)

Posted on July 31, 2023 Written by Leave a Comment

Nearby Areas: McMinnville, Rock Island, Rock Island State Park, Sparta   State: Tennessee   Ease of Trail: Easy, Roadside

 

Section of Great Falls

Great Falls is one of the easiest waterfalls you’ll ever view. Great Falls is a 30 foot horseshoe cascading waterfall, which is located below the 19th century cotton textile mill that it powered over 100 years ago. Great Falls is visible from an overlook located at the end of a parking lot. It is a series of waterfalls that are fanned out, which resemble many smaller waterfalls are rolled into one really wide one. The view from the overlook is fantastic.

You can also walk to the left of the falls about 200′ and you’ll come across a trail that switches back and forth to the lower area where you can see some cascades and other falls that are hard to see from the upper vantage point. When we went, all the trails leading toward the gorge were closed, however people were still bypassing the warning signs and entering anyway. The website at that time was listing that the dam would be spilling until further notice. Please note that the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) controls the dam that feeds water into Great Falls and the gorge, so you’ll want to check the schedule to see if it is safe to go into the area. The gorge is closed when you see strobe lights flashing. Horns are sounded before water is released from the powerhouses, sluiceway or spillways. When you hear these horns, leave the areas upstream and downstream of the dam immediately.

For TVA’s generation schedule and more information on the Great Falls Dam please visit: http://www.tva.gov/lakes/gfh_r.htm

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Directions

Coming from the small town of Rock Island we came from the Gorge Access on the Warren County/Old Mill Side. Go through the main entrance gates and turn left onto TN 287. Go past the TVA power station and turn left beside the Old Mill building into the Old Mill parking lot. Be careful as there is not a lot of parking, and you may need to go further down to the next parking lot. Due to limited parking, they ask that you stay no more than 15 minutes. The overlook is visible from the side of the parking lot that you enter.

Nearby Areas: McMinnville, Rock Island, Rock Island State Park, Sparta

State: Tennessee

Ease of Trail: Easy, Roadside

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