Coon Creek Falls is a 191-foot plunge waterfall in Fall Creek Falls State Park, Van Buren County, Tennessee, dropping into the same rock amphitheater and plunge pool as the park's famous Fall Creek Falls. It is the smaller, seasonal twin: after rain it pours down the cliff just to the right of its neighbor, and in dry spells it can disappear.
The falls
Coon Creek falls free off the rim of the gorge into the shared plunge pool. A climber's measurement confirmed by lidar gives 191 feet; earlier surveys listed 250 feet. Fall Creek Falls beside it drops 256 feet and runs all year, which makes Coon Creek easy to overlook.
Getting there
Park at the Fall Creek Falls Overlook lot on Scenic Loop Road; the overlook is about 50 yards away and shows both falls from the same platform. The steep Base of Falls Trail, 0.35 mile from the overlook, descends to the pool with grades up to 26 percent and 15-inch steps, and the climb back out is rated very strenuous. Tennessee state parks charge no entry fee.
The park is open around the clock, but the road to the falls is locked at dark.
When to go
Spring and fall, and any time after several days of rain, give the best chance of seeing Coon Creek Falls flowing. In dry summers it may be only a trickle or absent.
On site
The park warns of hazards around waterfalls and cliff edges; stay on the overlook and the trail. An August 2023 tornado closed some trails in the park, including the Piney Falls Trail, though the overlook and Base of Falls Trail are open.
History and name
The name is unofficial. Fall Creek Falls State Park began as a federal recreation project: land purchases started in 1937, Depression-era WPA and CCC crews built its first facilities from 1938, and the National Park Service handed it to Tennessee in 1944.
Nearby
Fall Creek Falls shares its plunge pool. Cane Creek Cascades is about 0.3 mile away, and Cane Creek Falls and Rockhouse Falls about 0.4 mile.
Distances are straight-line.