Burgess Falls State Park

Burgess Falls State Park - Sparta, TN

May 26th, 2014

Today we stopped at Burgess Falls State Park in Sparta, TN.  This was one of my favorite waterfalls.  A hike down the nature trail gives you "awesome" spots to see several waterfalls.  The largest waterfall was at the bottom of the trail.  This video was taken at the base of the falls.  Its very loud down there!

The mist from the waterfall was refreshing on a warm day.  A great way to end our trip in Tennessee!

My brother watching the amazing waterfall.

My brother and I at the base of the falls!

For more information about Burgess Falls, please visit their webpage, http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/burgess-falls

Notes to parents, by parents:
Most of this hike is very family friendly.  You can get to the lookout for the main falls fairly easily.  There is a trail (clearly marked that it is dangerous) that descends down into the gorge to the top of the falls.  The edge of the falls is right in front of you, so please watch little hikers.  There are then stairs that take you down further into the gorge.  There is a good spot to view the waterfall from the bottom of the stairs, however, there is a very rugged trail that will take you down to the bottom of the gorge and to the base of the falls.  We don't recommend this part for small children.  We managed it with a 6 and 7 year old, but please use extreme caution.  You can swim at the base of the falls, but it is illegal to try and climb the face of the waterfall.

Rock Island State Park

Rock Island State Park - Rock Island, TN

April 25, 2014

Today we spent the day at Rock Island State Park in Rock Island, TN.

This was just a small waterfall on the hiking trail down to the gorge and the main falls.  It can be found on the Old Mill Trail.  Once down the trail, you can rock hop your way into and through the gorge.  It was a lot of fun!


After a picnic lunch, we hiked on the Downstream trail.  This gave an amazing view of the main waterfall.

My brother and I at the Twin Falls Lookout.  This is where the Downstream Trail starts.

View of Twin Falls from the Downstream Trail.

A short way down the Downstream Trail, we found it connected with a short trail to Little Falls.  This video was after a climb on top of the falls.

My brother and I under Little Falls.

After our hike we spent some time at the beach swimming in the river gorge.  Overall a fun day!

Fun at the beach!

For more information about Rock Island State Park, please visit their webpage, http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/rock-island

Notes for parents, from parents:
The Old Mill trail was short, only a 1/2 mile one way, but it had many stairs that were very wet and slippery when we hiked.  At the bottom in the gorge, there were many rocks to jump/climb which could be dangerous for young hikers.  There also were drop offs into the river if you get close to the edge.  Proceed with caution.  We found it very doable with two young hikers but kept a close eye on them.

Fall Creek Falls State Park

Fall Creek Falls State Park - Pikeville, TN

April 24, 2014

Today was the first day of a three day adventure in central Tennessee. Fall Creek Falls is probably one of my favorite destinations overall, and we barely scratched the surface of everything there is to do there.  We started by hiking the steep Base of Fall Creek Falls Trail.  The trail was only 0.4 miles long, but it was very difficult, especially on the way back up!

At the base of the waterfall.

I loved the waterfall so much, I decided to sing a song.

After hiking back up, we enjoyed a picnic lunch.  We then hiked from the Fall Creek Falls Overlook to the Nature Center.  After a nerve wracking trek over a suspension bridge, we realized we did not come prepared.  I wish I had brought my bathing suit!

One does not simply cross a 200 foot suspension bridge...

Near the Nature Center there is an swimming hole area where tons of people were hanging out in and around the water.  There were small waterfalls that kids were using as water slides.  It was a really cool place!

My brother and I playing in the creek.  Even dogs were enjoying the water!

After spending some time in the creek, we hiked back to the Fall Creek Falls Overlook.  The hike to the Nature Center had some nice overlooks of the gorge and other waterfalls.  The hike back was shorter and a lot easier, and I'm glad because I was tired!  We will definitely come back and be more prepared to spend time in the water.

For more information, please visit http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/fall-creek-falls

Notes for parents:
We definitely will come back to this park.  We did not know prior to coming that there was an amazing place to swim and wade threw the shallows, so next time we will be more prepared.  The hike from Fall Creek Falls Overlook down to the base of the falls was short, but lost a lot of elevation in the 0.4 miles we hiked.  Coming back up was difficult and took more time with our kids.  The hikes to and from the Nature Center back to the Fall Creek Falls Overlook were very manageable with our two children.  There is a TON of stuff to do in this park, so plan accordingly if you'd like to spend more than one afternoon like we did.

Daniel Boone National Forest - Cumberland Falls and Dog Slaughter Falls

Daniel Boone National Forest, KY - Cumberland Falls and Dog Slaughter Falls

May 4, 2014

On our second day of our hiking trip, we went back to Cumberland Falls to see it in the daylight.  It is the most moving water that I've ever seen!

My brother and I at Cumberland Falls.  Look at all that water!

There is a hiking trail on this side of the river that follows the river downstream that will eventually lead to Dog Slaughter Falls.  However, after a long day of hiking yesterday, the 8.5 miles round trip didn't sound too good to us.   We instead learned about a much shorter trail, about two miles round trip, that also led to the falls.  This trail ended up being my mom's favorite hike.  It followed Dog Slaughter Creek almost the entire hike down to the falls.

The base of the waterfall had some large boulders that were a perfect spot for a snack to view the waterfall.

My brother watching the waterfall.

Cheesin' in front of Dog Slaughter Falls.

Even though it was the smallest waterfall of our trip, it was really pretty and a great way to end our adventure.

 For more information, please visit http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/Cumberland-falls/default.aspx

Notes to parents:  The Dog Slaughter Falls trail had lots of roots that could make keeping your footing troublesome at times.  There were many sections of the trail that followed the creek that had steep drop-offs into the creek.  There also were a few stream crossing that could be slick.  Overall though the trail was perhaps the most family friendly hike of the weekend.

Daniel Boone National Forest - Yahoo Falls and Cumberland Falls

Daniel Boone National Forest, KY - Yahoo Falls and Cumberland Falls

May 3, 2014

We had a busy hiking day today.  We started out near Whitley City, KY for a hike to Yahoo Falls, the tallest waterfall in Kentucky.

The hike wasn't too long, though it had some stairs.  If you do the whole loop trail, you get to go behind the falls, and then climb up and around to see from the top.  There is a side trail to see an arch, but we didn't go there this trip.

My brother and I in front of Yahoo Falls.

Walking the path "underneath" the falls.

After our hike at Yahoo Falls, we drove to Cumberland Falls State Park.  Our first hike was on the Eagle Falls trail.  This trail was one of the most scenic trails I have ever hiked!  After a short distance, you get a view of Cumberland Falls from the other side of the river of that main park.  That's where we made our first video!  My brother took the opportunity to make this one.

Continuing on the trail, we eventually reached Eagle Falls.  This is a much smaller waterfall than Cumberland Falls, but was still worth the hike!

We ended the day exploring the park side of Cumberland Falls.  It was getting dark so we couldn't stay long.

Cumberland Falls at dusk.

Truly a one of a kind experience!  Unfortunately, we were not at the park for the famous moonbow, but maybe we'll go back again someday.


For more information, please visit http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/Cumberland-falls/default.aspx and http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/kytrails.htm

Notes for parents:
The trail at yahoo falls was fairly family friendly.  There were steps that could be taken to get down to the bottom of the falls, or you could take the loop path over the falls and back down from the other side.  Please use caution when near the top of the falls, as it is a 130 foot drop.  You would need to go off path to find much danger, however.  The Eagle Falls trail was about 4 miles in total length, and we would consider it difficult even without children.  To get to Eagle Falls, you go down some stairs down to the river bank.  When we hiked, there was a massive debris field of limbs that we had to climb over to get to the falls.  This could be dangerous with children.  We took our time and made it successfully, but please be very cautious.  There were a few parts of the remainder of the trail that followed a creek that could be slippery/dangerous, but the worst was behind us.  This was one of our favorite trails to hike, though was very strenuous.  Also of note, parking on this side of the river was fairly limited.