A Wildly Treasured Tennessee State Park With An Award-Winning Swimming Hole Is A Waterfall Paradise

Stretching from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi River Delta, Tennessee boasts some of the best spots for outdoor recreation in the American South. Specifically, Tennessee's combination of a massive river delta and lush Appalachian forests creates some of the best natural swimming spots of any landlocked state in the country. Even the perpetually popular Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains the secret and unique Townsend Wye swimming hole. You can find other excellent swimming holes across the Volunteer State, many surrounded by scenery that rivals the iconic Great Smokies.

A perfect example of Tennessee's blend of natural beauty and fun swimming opportunities is the sublime Cummins Falls State Park.  As you probably gleaned from its name, Cummins Falls State Park's defining feature is its prominent waterfall. But the waterfall itself is just the pièce de résistance of the park's abundant natural beauty. Around the falls, you can find scenic gorges, lovely forests, and picture-perfect riverside views that will make excellent additions to your Instagram. Though the park's sheer beauty would be enough reason for a visit, Cummins Falls is not "look but don't touch." Rather, Cummins Falls empties into a gorgeous natural swimming area that consistently ranks as one of the top swimming holes in the United States.

Cummins Falls State Park is located near the city of Cookeville in north-central Tennessee's Jackson County. As a tourist destination, central Tennessee tends to stand out more for its urban and cultural attractions than its natural beauty. After all, the state capital (and musical Mecca) of Nashville is obviously going to draw most of the region's tourism attention. However, though they are worlds apart in terms of characteristics, Cummins Falls State Park and Nashville are only an hour and a half drive apart. This means you can enjoy fun Music City amenities like the top-rated Murals of Nashville Instagram Tour one day, and then enjoy a pristine waterfall preserve the next.

The 306 acres of Cummins Falls State Park are the perfect natural complement to public art in a city like Nashville. Cummins Falls itself reaches a height of 75 feet, making it the eighth-highest waterfall in Tennessee. Yet the waterfall's best feature is not its height, but rather its structure. Surrounding the falls is the breathtaking Cummins Falls Gorge, a complex collection of steep, rocky strata almost entirely unaltered by human hands. The gorge's unique geology sculpts the falls into a multifaced collection of cascades flowing into each other like a wedding cake, while the surrounding forests display magical collections of oak, beech, buckeye, sycamore, and hemlock trees. The waterfall and gorge lie along the larger Blackburn Fork State Scenic River, a tributary of the Roaring River that flows through a particularly stunning forested area in Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. With so many unique and bewitching features, it's no wonder native Tennesseans routinely list Cummins Falls as one of the state's best places to visit.

Cummins Falls and the surrounding gorge make for truly one-of-a-kind views (and pictures), but the park's wonders don't stop there. After descending the complex series of drops and cascades, Cummins Falls empties into a large natural swimming hole that provides a perfect opportunity to take a dip and get away from the hot Tennessee sun. Given the gorge's fully natural quality, the descent to the swimming hole is not without challenges. Slippery rocks, steep drops, and uneven terrain can pose hazards for hikers, and the entire descent may be closed off during inclement weather. To limit overcrowding and minimize injury risks, a $7 gorge access permit (available online) is required for entering the gorge and the swimming hole area. But despite these minor hassles, a dip in the Cummins Falls State Park swimming hole easily ranks among America's best opportunities to swim in a gorgeous waterfall. 

If you prefer to stay dry, Cummins Falls State Park also includes a comparatively extensive network of top-notch hiking trails for visitors to explore. While some of the trails are more difficult treks that require a gorge access permit, others, like the wheelchair-accessible Falls Overlook Trail, offer easy yet immersive views of Cummins Falls and the gorge just a short distance from the parking area. Cummins Falls State Park does not currently allow camping, but you can find excellent overnight campsites at the nearby Standing Stone and Edgar Evins State Parks. The neighboring city of Cookeville also has superb lodging options, including hotels, B&Bs, and cabin rentals.