Why this park
Burgess Falls is a short walk with a big finish. Below an old city dam, the Falling Water River descends about 250 feet in less than a mile, and each fall on the way down is bigger than the one before. The last, Burgess Falls itself, drops more than 130 feet into a gorge cut through limestone, according to the state's natural areas division. Rock ledges partway down split the falling water and throw mist around the foot of the falls.
That is the view worth drawing: white water pouring into the gorge, seen from the overlook at the end of the trail. Around it grow eastern hemlock, umbrella magnolia and cucumber magnolia, trees the state says are more common in East Tennessee. Below the falls, the river runs into Center Hill Lake.
The story
The falls carry the name of Tom Burgess, who settled on land that, the Tennessee Encyclopedia says, came to him as a Revolutionary War grant. His family harnessed the river for a gristmill and a sawmill above the falls, and for decades the settlers around them came there for meal and lumber.
Then the river went to work making electricity. The city of Cookeville bought the falls in 1919 and hired John A. Switzer, an engineering professor at the University of Tennessee, to plan a power plant. In the early 1920s the city dammed the river above the falls and carried the water down a flume to a powerhouse below them.
On June 29, 1928, floodwater swept the dam away and wrecked the powerhouse. The city rebuilt, this time in concrete, and had a new dam and powerhouse finished by September 1929. Later floods ruined the powerhouse's big generator, and the plant closed in 1944, the year the Tennessee Valley Authority began selling power to Cookeville.
The dam still stands, and anglers fish the lake behind it. Below the falls, the old powerhouse was left to floods and thieves, and the state says only a shell of it remains, reached only from Center Hill Lake. The power station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1950 the city and the state agreed to manage the land together, and in the early 1970s the state made it a state natural area. Tennessee State Parks dates the park's opening to July 8, 1975. In 2014 the state added Window Cliffs, a narrow ridge of rock in a bend of Cane Creek, as a second natural area in the park's care.
When to go, and what to wear
The park sits on the Eastern Highland Rim, below the Cumberland Plateau to the east. The temperatures here are NOAA's normals for Cookeville, about seven miles away.
Late winter and spring bring the most water. U.S. Geological Survey records for the Falling Water River, a few miles upstream, show its flow peaking in February, when on average it carries more than ten times as much water as in October. Spring also brings wildflowers to the woods: the state lists bloodroot, trout lily and several kinds of trillium. April averages a high near 70°F and a low near 43°F, so dress in layers and pack a rain shell.
Summer is hot, with July highs near 87°F. Walk early in a light, breathable tee, and carry water.
Fall is the low-water season. October is the driest month in Cookeville, with about 3.4 inches of rain, and the river runs at its lowest of the year. Highs average about 72°F and lows about 45°F, so bring a sweatshirt for an early start.
Winter is cold, with January highs near 47°F and lows near 27°F, and the river rises again. Wear a warm jacket, a hat and gloves.
In any season, wear shoes that grip. The River Trail runs along the edge of a steep bluff, where the footing is rocky, rooty and often damp, and the park cautions that the rocks at the top of the falls are unstable and slick.
Know before you go
- The overlook gives a fine view of the big falls, but the park has no way down to their foot: the staircase into the gorge was damaged and taken out. Paddlers reach them by water, launching at the Cane Hollow Recreation Area on Center Hill Lake.
- Swimming is not allowed. Fishing is, and dogs are welcome on a leash. The park is for day use only, with no camping.
- A new visitor center is being built and the upper parking lot is closed, so parking is very limited and there is no room for RVs or trailers. Park only in marked spaces. There is little or no cell service on the trail.
- Window Cliffs State Natural Area, in the park's care, has its own entrance about eight miles away. Its trail, about 5.5 miles round trip, crosses the creek many times, and high water can make the crossings impassable and close the trail.
- Hours and closures change, so check Burgess Falls State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Burgess Falls State Natural Area" (Carroll Van West); Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Natural Areas, "Burgess Falls," and Burgess Falls State Park and Natural Area Strategic Management Plan 2023–2033 (updated 2025); City of Cookeville, Cookeville Electric Department, "About Our Department"; National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Burgess Falls Hydroelectric Station; U.S. Geological Survey, Falling Water River near Cookeville (03423000); NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Cookeville station; Victoria Steele Logue, Hiking Tennessee (Human Kinetics); Upper Cumberland Now, "Cane Hollow Recreation Area Becoming Paddle Sport Hotspot" (2022); Tennessee Magazine, on the staircase's removal; Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, "Burgess Falls State Park"; Friends of Burgess Falls, "Burgess Falls State Park"; Wikipedia, "Burgess Falls State Park"; Burgess Falls State Park, tnstateparks.com.
