Simmons Branch Falls is a 35-foot waterfall on Simmons Branch in Unicoi County, Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 4.8 miles west of Banner Hill and roughly 15 miles southwest of Johnson City as the crow flies.
At 35 feet it is taller than the typical Tennessee waterfall of about 30 feet, ranking 123rd of 332 with a recorded height. By form it is a cascade, descending over a series of rock steps rather than in a single drop.
The Blue Ridge is the highest part of the southern Appalachians, a range of forested peaks and coves with oak, hickory, tulip poplar and hemlock and spruce-fir on the summits, in one of the wettest climates in the East. Steep mountain streams drop over granite, gneiss and quartzite ledges, giving the region hundreds of waterfalls.
Unicoi County holds 20 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. East Simmons Branch Falls, a 15-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Upper Sill Branch Falls, a 50-foot horsetail waterfall, is about 1.1 miles away. Sill Branch Falls, a 40-foot segmented waterfall, is about 1.3 miles away.
Simmons Branch Falls is located at 36.1357° N, 82.5095° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.