Fall Creek Falls State Park

10-14-21: Heavy rains brought severe flooding to Fall Creek Falls State Park. Cabins 11-20 were impacted by the flooding. The park is currently assessing the damage and working with guests who have upcoming reservations. We appreciate your patience during the recovery process. 

The following trails are closed at Fall Creek Falls until further notice.

  • The entire Lower Loop Trail is permanently closed.

The trails below are closed due to the Oct. 6 flooding. 

  • Upper Loop Trail

2022-12-09: The Virgin Falls Trail is open from the Scotts Gulf Road Trailhead. However, we urge hikers to use caution at the cable crossings due to high water levels. For an update on the flooding conditions, visitors can call the Virgin Falls Office at Dog Cove, phone (931)739-6747.  Or call the Virgin Falls Manager Stuart Carroll at (423)414-1510.

All Fall Creek Falls Golf Course facilities will close on December 23, 2022, and reopen (weather permitting) on January 2, 2023.

Fall Creek Falls Go Green

Fall Creek Falls State Park has completed the Gold Recognition Level of the TN State Parks Go Green With Us Initiative and Guidelines. The guidelines include multiple areas of environmental sustainability, including education and outreach, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste and recycling, and much more. Congrats to this park for going above and beyond to be excellent stewards of our natural resources.

Gold Award Winner

The mission of the Tennessee State Parks Go Green With Us program is to preserve and protect our state parks through sustainable park operations, resource conservation, and recycling. Program components cover a diverse array of initiatives, including energy and water conservation through equipment and operations upgrades, recycling programs, projects to enhance ecosystem health, and erosion control, among many others.

  • Two electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at the Lodge at Fall Creek Falls and the Betty Dun Nature Center.
  • Fall Creek Falls State Park has several large-scale energy-saving initiatives in place. They heat and cool the park’s Fisherman cabins with a geothermal system, which concentrates the naturally existing heat within the earth to provide natural climate control from a clean, reliable, and renewable source of energy.
  • The park’s wastewater treatment system is a natural closed-loop system that reduces raw water costs by reusing water and eliminates the cost, regulatory, and operational demands of wastewater discharge.
  • The Betty Dunn Nature Center recently received a new roof, better insulation, LED lighting, more efficient doors, and new windows, greatly decreasing its energy consumption.
  • The park’s golf course is part of the internationally-recognized Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program and Groundwater Guardian Green program. The course enhances the natural landscape and wildlife habitat while also improving efficiency and minimizing potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. Several of the park’s program components include electric mowers and golf carts which are quiet and do not disturb wildlife, targeted watering, and digital irrigation monitoring.
  • The park protects water quality and reduces noise pollution by prohibiting gas motors on the lake, excluding the park’s rescue boat and pontoon boat.
  •  The campground is a Tennessee Valley Camp-Right Campground which means that the campground voluntarily strives to meet and promote environmentally friendly campground management and camping practices related to energy efficiency, water conservation, natural resource protection, and plant and tree management practices.
  • Rangers work with Americorps National and Community Service teams. Projects include cleaning and stabilizing historic structures, removing invasive plants, and trail building.