In Cummins Falls State Park, Cummins Falls drops 65 feet as a tiered waterfall along Blackburn Fork in Jackson County, Tennessee. An overlook trail offers views from the canyon rim, while a permit-regulated route leads down into the gorge to the plunge pool.
The falls
Blackburn Fork spills over a wide horsetail in at least two steps, with small cascades above the main drop. Lidar data measures the total drop at about 65 feet, with the tallest drop 52 feet. Earlier surveys listed 50 feet, while park publications describe 75 feet: a 50-foot plunge into a shallow pool, followed by a 25-foot cascade into a deeper pool.
Getting there
The park is at 390 Cummins Falls Lane, Cookeville, and entry is free. The Falls Overlook Trail is 0.35 mile, easy, on a mixed surface. The Gorge Access Route to the base is 0.5 mile of moderate walking along the riverbed and requires a Gorge Access Permit; permits are limited each day, sold online and at the visitor center, and not refunded for weather. Other park trails require no permit. Hours are 8 am to 6 pm in season and 8 am to 4:30 pm off season, and visitors must leave the gorge by 5 pm in season.
When to go
Gorge access depends on rainfall: the route remains open subject to weather, and on Memorial Day 2026 the park suspended swimming because of high water. Rangers recommend early March for the daffodils around the old family home.
On site
Designated accessible parking and a concrete path reach the overlook, and all-terrain wheelchairs can be reserved for the overlook trail. The gorge route involves river crossings, slippery rocks and rugged terrain. Swimming in the plunge pool is allowed when conditions permit; children 12 and under must be with an adult and wear a life jacket, and the park advises that children 5 and under not visit the falls. The gorge floods fast: on June 9, 2019, a 2-year-old child was swept away and died, and 64 people were evacuated, 13 of them by swift-water rescue. Leave the gorge as soon as the water rises.
History and name
Benjamin Blackburn received the land in 1790. John Cummins bought it around 1825 and built a water-powered mill, which a flood destroyed in 1928. The Cummins family held the property until the state acquired it, and it opened as a state park in 2011.
Nearby
Bowman Falls is about 1.1 miles away, Dry Creek Falls about 1.6 miles and Judd Hollow Falls about 2.7 miles.
Distances are straight-line.