Tennessee State Parks

Plan Your Visit   Park Brochure   Park Map   Events and Programs   Directions From I-40, take exit 280 to TN-56 North toward Gainesboro for 7.7 miles. Turn right on TN-290, go 0.9 miles. Turn left onto Cummins Mill Road for 2.9 miles. Turn left onto Blackburn Fork Road for 0.2 miles.   Hours of Operation The Park is a day-use park and is open from 8:00 a.m. CT until sunset, year-round. Park Information   Points of Interest Burgess Falls State Natural Area, 19 miles Edgar Evins State Park, 27 miles Standing Stone State Park, 23 miles   Safety first, because you don’t get a second chance. While the park may give one the feeling of a secure setting, remember that the exploration of waterfalls can be hazardous. Danger can come in the form of slippery trails, wild animals and unanticipated weather. Come prepared with proper clothing and shoes, sun-block lotions, hats, drinking water and tools, e.g. walking sticks, compass. Stay on marked trails and obey all warning signs.

Cummins Falls State Park
390 Cummins Falls Lane
Cookeville, TN 38501
(931) 261-3471 (Ranger mobile #)

Watch video from May 22
Grand Opening Celebration

Governor Haslam's proclamation

Cummins Falls State Park is a 211 acre park located nine miles north of Cookeville on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. In the rolling hills of Jackson County where Putnam and Jackson counties meet, the stream gives way to a 75 foot drop.

History

It is known that buffalo wallowed in the river in a shallow basin about a quarter-mile east of the falls. Indians used this area to kill buffalo as they needed as indicated by the numerous arrowheads found at the site.  In the 1790s, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, Sergeant Blackburn, for whom the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River is named, was awarded this land in lieu of a pension.  This land was acquired by John Cummins in about 1825 on which he built the first of two water driven mills.  Because of a growing clientele, a second and larger mill was built in 1845 about a half mile or so before the falls.  Local area residents came to the mill and the falls for commerce and recreation. The mill was washed away in a great flood of 1928, but by then cars and paved highways had made the trek to Cummins Falls more of a discretionary trip than a necessary one. The mill was not rebuilt but this land stayed in the Cummins family for more than 180 years until a recent  effort of private individuals and public institutions worked together to purchase the land for resale to the State. 

Water, Woods and Wildlife

This park is located in the Cordell Hull Watershed. The forest that borders the river includes a variety of oaks, beech, buckeye, sycamore and hemlock. Woodland plants include October’s lady tresses, star chickweed, liverleaf and Allegheny spurge. The property’s long forested streamside protects turkey, quail, eagles and other birds; soft-shell and other turtles; fox, mink, and myriad insects including damselflies and dragonflies.

Area Events

Cummins Falls Marathon (4 races) - February 23, 2013
Annual Gainesboro Poke Sallet Festival on Mother's Day weekend
Annual Granville's Heritage Day on Memorial Day weekend
First Saturday Hikes to Cummins Falls
Upper Cumberland Regional Fair, Cookeville, July-August

Fishing

While this section of Blackburn Fork is too shallow for boating, with cooperative agreement from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, fishing for bluegill and bass along the riverbank is permitted with a Tennessee fishing license.

Swimming

It is the eighth largest waterfall in Tennessee in volume of water, and was named one of the top 10 best swimming holes in the United States in the “America’s Best Swimming Holes” article in Travel and Leisure magazine.  The article reads “It’s a hard-earned scramble to the bottom that involves hiking to the overlook, wading across the ankle-deep stream, climbing up to the ridge, and using a rope guide to walk yourself down to the water. This is not a swimming hole for lightweights. Translation: expect a younger crowd. But if you’re agile (and sure-footed), the descent into the cavernous pool is worth the effort.” Alice Bruneau, June 2010