If you want to see a lot of waterfalls in one place, Rock Island State Park in Tennessee is the place for you. Rock Island State Park is an 883-acre park located at the headwaters of Center Hill Lake at the confluence of the Caney Fork, Collins, and Rocky Rivers. The most popular waterfall is Twin Falls, an 80 foot waterfall best known for its unique formation, where water seeps out of the gorge wall rather than flowing over it like most waterfalls. 

A Man-Made Waterfall?

Technically Twin Falls is a man-made waterfall by the strictest definition. The waterfall was created by the construction of the Great Falls Dam, which caused the Collins River to rise. The rising waters and the pressure from the water building up began seeping into the caverns on the south shore of Rock Island and exiting on the north shore, which created a cascading waterfall that flows down from caverns into the Caney Fork River. The water emerges from the upper-middle layers of the cliff wall, instead of at the top of the cliff and running down. The falls then cascade down into the river below.

Not the Easiest Waterfall to Find

This was actually our second trip to Rock Island. On our first trip we were given unclear directions from the park rangers and were unable to find the waterfall. This time around we extensively researched the waterfall and how to find it before venturing back again.

Most waterfalls are located inside state parks with clear signs pointing to the locations of the main waterfalls. However Twin Falls is not located inside the main part of the park. Twin Falls is located at the end of Powerhouse Road.

Directions

If you are coming from the visitor’s center, you’ll turn left out of the visitor’s center onto Beach Road and head toward the main entrance. At the main entrance, turn left onto Great Falls Road/Hwy 287. Drive two miles until you reach a stop sign. Turn let onto Rock Island Road/Hwy 136. Drive about two miles, crossing the bridge. Turn left onto Powerhouse Road, which is your first left after you cross the bridge. There is a large parking area just before the road dead ends at the parking area at the powerhouse. There are only a few places to park here, so you might need to park in the large parking area just before the overlook parking area.

From the overlook parking area you can see Twin Falls.

From the parking lot, you can walk down the stairs to get a closer look at Twin Falls. The Downstream and Upstream Trails are located here. If you go to the right you can see Twin Falls from a more front facing angle rather than the slightly side view from the overlook and the bottom of the stairs.

Unique Waterfall

We’ve seen all different types of waterfalls in our years of waterfall exploring, but we’ve never seen one coming out from the middle of a rock wall. My wife says it almost looks like something that you’d see an an Amazon rainforest with all the lush greenery that surrounds it. Not only is it tall, but its extremely wide. It’s probably almost double in width as it is in height (80 feet). When we saw it, it had great water flow.

You’ve got the two main waterfalls which also has several little cascades of water coming out of the rock all around it. The waterfall is so wide you really can’t even see its entirety from any one place. So while technically man-made, it is one of the most unique and photogenic waterfall we’ve ever seen.

Other Things to See at Rock Island State Park

• Great Falls – Great Falls is a 30 foot series of cascading waterfalls, which is visible from an overlook located at the end of a parking lot. The water flow of Great Falls is totally dependent on the dam located inside the park. When it is open you will see more water at Great Falls, however during the dry season, when the dam doesn’t open it’s gates, it doesn’t get nearly as much water.
• Spring Castle – The Spring Castle is a spring house built while the textile mill was in operation. It is located right across the street from the Old Mill and the parking area for Great Falls. From the road it looks like a little castle. Water collects in a reservoir behind the wall from a natural spring. The water comes out from three different ways: natural cascade, white pipe, and a faucet. Inside the Castle was a hand pump. Originally the Spring Castle provided water to the mill and surrounding houses for everyday use as well as fire protection.
• The Old Mill – The mill, which was built on the banks of the Caney Fork River in 1892,was in operation until 1902, when its wheelhouse was destroyed by a flood. The mill was known for heavy sheeting. While you can’t go inside you can view the mill from the roadside.
• Badger Flat Falls – The top of Badger Flat Falls can be viewed at the Badger Flat Picnic Area. From the parking lot head toward the picnic tables located in front of the water facing the cliff face. Cross a short wooden bridge to reach the picnic tables. After crossing the bridge, take the short trail to your right. At the end you’ll see two small cascades on your right. If you go to your left and look down below you’ll see where the water flow over the edge, forming the top of the waterfall visible from the water. If you want to see the rest of the waterfall, you can take a kayak from the beach and paddle to the bottom portion of Badger Flat Falls.