BURGESS FALLS STATE PARK

Burgess Falls State Park is about an hour and a half east of Nashville. We love Burgess Falls. It’s an easy hike - would be great to take kids - and there is so much to see. There’s a well-marked parking lot with nice restrooms and a playground. Right off the bat, you get to see tiny waterfalls along the trail. Unfortunately a couple of the overlooks/spots on the trail were damaged in a flood about three years ago and have yet to be repaired. The trail is an out-and-back trail along Falling Water River. It’s about 3/4 mile to the big falls.

At the beginning of the trail, you’ll pretty quickly come upon remnants of the old grist and saw mill run by the Burgess family. It’s pretty cool.

As you continue, you’ll come to the Little and Middle Falls. Unfortunately the overlook was damaged in the flood, but you’re still able to see the beautiful flowing water!

When you first make it to the main falls, there will be a “deck overlook” of sorts. This gives you a good view of the falls from above. To the side of that, there will be a sign that I believe says something like “treacherous hike” or “very steep”.. I can’t remember the exact wording. Don’t be alarmed, it’s fine. Again, because of the flood, you can’t make it all the way down to the bottom of the falls, as the stairs were severely damaged. Hopefully they will be up and running soon!

The falls are breathtaking. We went in the late afternoon, as we usually do, to get that golden hour sun. You can’t beat that shimmery mist coming off the waterfalls. We will be visiting Burgess for years to come. I can’t wait to visit in the Spring, in the Summer, in the Fall.. I imagine it is beautiful any time of year!