Waterfalls · Tennessee
Best waterfalls in Tennessee
Mapped15 falls
Easy access5 roadside / short walk
TallestFall Creek Falls
Max drop256 ft
Tennessee’s falls split between the misty Great Smokies and the gorge-cut Cumberland Plateau, where rivers drop off the tableland in spectacular plunges like Fall Creek Falls. Spring is peak after the rains; summer brings the swimming-hole crowds. Easy paved walks and lung-busting gorge hikes both deliver.
Fall Creek Falls256 ftone of the tallest falls in the eastern U.S., in its namesake state park.
Ruby Falls145 fta 145-ft fall deep inside Lookout Mountain, reached by elevator.
Burgess Falls136 fta series of cascades building to a big plunge near Cookeville.
Virgin Falls110 fta stream emerges from a cave, falls, and vanishes back underground.
Ramsey Cascades100 ftthe tallest fall in the Smokies, deep in old-growth forest.
Cane Creek Falls85 fta powerful fall near the nature center at Fall Creek Falls State Park.
Laurel Falls (Smokies)80 fta paved walk to an 80-ft fall, the most popular in the Smokies.
Twin Falls (Rock Island)80 fta wide curtain bursting straight out of a rock wall at Rock Island.
Cummins Falls75 fta popular swimming-hole fall; a gorge permit is required.
Foster Falls60 fta broad plunge in the South Cumberland, popular with climbers.
Machine Falls60 fta wide, lush fall in the Short Springs natural area.
Northrup Falls60 ftthe centerpiece of Colditz Cove on the Cumberland Plateau.
Greeter Falls50 ftupper and lower falls with a spiral staircase in Savage Gulf.
Grotto Falls25 ftthe only Smokies fall you can walk behind, on Trillium Gap Trail.
Abrams Falls20 ftlow but powerful, with a huge plunge pool off Cades Cove.Pair it with
Flows change with the season and recent rain — many falls roar at spring snowmelt and slow by late summer. Check conditions and any permit or reservation rules before you go.