Cummins Falls

If you're passing

Is it plungeworthy?

—feet tall

A 2-tier tiered on Blackburn Fork.

Scale12/60

Documentation20/20

Character20/20

The details

Tiers: 2 drops
Type: Tiered
Watercourse: Blackburn Fork
Coordinates: 36.24895, -85.5701

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About Cummins Falls

Cummins Falls is a tiered in Tennessee, on Blackburn Fork. The water falls in 2 distinct tiers.

It's fullest after rain, and flow can drop off during dry spells — plan around recent weather.

Plungeworthy rates Cummins Falls 5.2/10 — if you're passing. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

A 75-foot two-step into the Blackburn Fork gorge with Tennessee's most famous swimming hole at the bottom. The overlook is free and easy; the gorge runs on a $7 permit, a daily headcount, and a hard weather rule — this canyon has killed in flash floods, and the park now manages it like the serious place it is.

Getting there

Trailhead: Cummins Falls State Park, north of Cookeville
Parking: Park lot
Road: Paved
Hike: 3 mi round trip (hard in the gorge — river wading and boulders)
Heads up: Overlook trail is short and free. Below the rim you need a Gorge Access Permit: $7 at reserve.tnstateparks.com, roughly 200 a day, sold until 4pm or capacity.

When to go

Summer for the swimming hole, spring for flow. Gorge access suspends outright in threatening weather — the Fair Weather rule is not a suggestion.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: Overlook free; $7 Gorge Access Permit below the rim
Dogs: Leashed, rim trails only
Hours: Day use
Warnings: Flash floods here have killed — two people in 2017, and a two-year-old in 2019 when 64 people fled the gorge on two minutes' warning. Children five and under are barred from the falls area; under-12s wear life vests.

Researched from TN State Parks — Waterfalls guide · Wikipedia — Cummins Falls. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Cummins Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.