Greeter Falls is a 60-foot plunge waterfall on Firescald Creek in Savage Gulf State Park, Grundy County, Tennessee, about 1.5 miles from Altamont. Its 50-foot main leap drops into a pool reached by a short loop trail from the Greeter entrance, and the pool is a known swimming spot.
The falls
Greeter Falls has two leaps separated by a modest pool: a 10-foot upper drop and a sheer 50-foot main plunge, 60 feet in all. The upper tier is sometimes called Upper Greeter Falls, and the trail map gives it 15 feet. Earlier surveys listed 52 feet. The trail descends into coves cut by Firescald Creek and Boardtree Branch into the edge of the Cumberland Plateau.
Getting there
The Greeter entrance of Savage Gulf State Park is at 550 Greeter Falls Road, Altamont, with 45 parking spaces and no amenities. From Tracy City take Highway 56 north through Altamont, about 15.9 miles, to Greeter Falls Road, then about three-quarters of a mile to the lot on the left; the trailhead is across the road. The day route covers 1.4 miles, including the Greeter Loop and a spur to the Greeter homeplace, and descends 240 feet; the loop alone is 0.8 mile and passes three waterfalls. The route is rated moderately difficult, with a rock scramble along a high, narrow ledge under the bluff. Tennessee State Parks charges no entrance fee, and parks generally open 30 minutes before sunrise and close 30 minutes after sunset.
When to go
Flow is heaviest in spring and fall, and the trail map notes that the falls sometimes dry up.
On site
A spiral staircase leads down to the lower falls. The plunge pool is used for swimming, but the park strictly prohibits jumping from waterfalls. Wet rock that looks black is slick with algae; stay off it.
History and name
The trail map marks the Greeter homeplace, occupied through the 1800s and early 1900s, and the site of Long's Mill beside the upper falls.
Nearby
Boardtree Falls lies about 0.2 mile away. Ranger Creek Falls is about 2.1 miles off, and Horsepound Falls, about 5.3 miles; a 2-mile out-and-back hike to Horsepound passes Suter Falls.
Distances are straight-line.