Last year I declared Burgess Falls the best place in Middle Tennessee. I think I may have jumped the gun. I am beginning to suspect the falls country of Middle Tennessee may hold many gems. Mom had camped at Rock Island on a couple of occasions previously and was eager to act as my tour guide and I am so glad she pushed for the visit.

This state park marks the confluence of three major rivers and is essentially the headwater of the Center Hill Lake. A damn regulates the flow of the water through the area and numerous signs caution visitors to be aware of sudden water releases. During our visit, the major trails along the gorge (the section between Great Falls and Twin Falls) was closed, presumably due to high waters from the recent rains. This is the only place I have ever been where the trailheads offer life vests for the taking. I don’t believe that casual hikers need to be worried, but I got the impression that more than one person had drowned in the area when hopping along the rocks at water’s edge. This is probably true for all waterfalls, but is a good reminder for those in an invincible mindset.

The first stop visitors should make is at the Great Falls area. This is a quick overlook when the trails are closed. My understanding is it is a popular swimming area when conditions are right.

This is also a great spot to absorb some of the history of the area. A textile mill was central to the early economy of the area and the nearby spring was crucial for fire suppression. On of my favorite attempts at historical interpretation can be found on this sign:

“Mr. Faulkner, wanting to help those most in need, hired and housed some 300 workers, predominantly widows and children.”

Sign at site of textile mill

That is some pretty crazy revisionist history to try to reframe child labor as an act of charity. One of my favorite history/travel books, Lies Across America by James W. Loewen, reminds us to ask who funded the preservation of each historical site and why. I am willing to guess Mr. Faulkner’s descendents had input on this sign. I haven’t written much on how much I love interpreting the interpretive sites across the country, but this is a great example to get thoughts rolling on the incredible complex history of the US. I loved spending a minute thinking on what the real experience of the women and children working in this place might have been. And even though I am not sure I believe in ghosts, I will say I am glad I visited this spot in full sun; I am not sure the lives would have been particularly happy ones.

Anyway, this spot is just a small blip in an amazing space.

One other general note about this area is that the Foglight Foodhouse seems to be a fairly famous restaurant in the region. Yelp reviewers claim to make the drive from Chattanooga and Nashville for the Cajun-inspired menu. This place seemed a bit more upscale than the burger dives I frequent when camping, so we didn’t check it out on this trip. But it is worth considering when meal-planning a trip to the area.

Campground

Unlike, some of the other waterfall-based state parks in the area, Rock Island has some great campsites. Two campgrounds are available. One is open to only tents and features a bathhouse with hot water. Being away from RVers, but still having such amenities was my dream when I was a devoted tenter. It certainly explains why we didn’t see many tents in the main campground.

The main campground is home to 50 sites with water and electric. A few also offer sewer. The sites are built on top of the ridgelines of the hills, so tenters should seek out sites marked as tent sites; not all sites have an area large and flat enough for a tent pad.

Our sites were located on the cul de sac of the first spur. I think we booked them for proximity to one another without real consideration for the actual quality of the sites. I dumped when we first arrived at the campground and told Mom to go ahead to the sites. I expected to find she would be nearly fully set up by the time I got to our loop and was surprised to see her still contemplating who should go where.

Both sites were surprisingly short. One (9) was essentially a double-wide with parking for two vehicles in parallel. The other (13) was a bit more spacious, but had an inconveniently placed handrail that was definitely damaged by previous campers’ back-in attempts. So our overzealous reversing just pushed it out of the way. 🙂 My site also required about 5 inches of side-to-side leveling. This is definitely challenging.

Overall, I would have been disappointed if my site was the only site I had for a long weekend. The Tennessee State Parks website does accurately depict the length of the sites. However, I feel like the description of “level” describes the front-to-back grade and does not indicate the slope across the site. My advice for booking here, would be to look closely at the site pictures.

Twin Falls

One of the highlights of the area is the massive Twin Falls. A trail allows for exploring this area and the river just downstream in about 1.5 miles roundtrip. This provided some great views of the many falls we would later explore by kayak.

One of the highlights of the trail is a small side area that climbs to a small cave behind a waterfall. There was lots of great scrambling through the streams and Blue enjoyed the chance to cool off. The week before we visited was excessively rainy so the small creeks were lush and flowing rapidly.

The end of this trail was already fairly overgrown and we did have an issue with stinging nettle, but was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Kayaking

If at all possible, I would say paddling around Rock Island State Park is an absolute must-do. To my knowledge, rentals are not available at the park or anywhere nearby on the Caney River. I would suggest seeking out a multi-day rental from an outfitter. In a quick Google search, I found places in Cookeville and near Edgar Evins State Park that might allow this.

In planning the paddle, I had a hard time orienting myself to the river and where the best views might be. We asked at the visitor center for guidance, but were only told where to put in and that we could paddle in either direction. I kind of feel that was disingenuous advice. There is definitely a direction to paddle and I would have been very disappointed to set off downstream and miss the incredible waterfalls upstream.

Parking is at the Sandbar Beach. A boat ramp is available, but is just as easy to find an empty stretch of beach from which to launch. While it is technically an upstream paddle, the current is so mild as to be unnoticeable.

Within a few hundred yards, you are able to paddle to the base of waterfalls. We learned these falls were not the result of streams, but due to the damning of Collins River causing elevated levels that force water through the rock bed. It is truly a spectacular sight of nearly a wall of falls. We attempted to count the number of falls, but it was more of a continuous curtain along the gorge, with no beginning or end to any distinct waterfall. In many places, the stream jutted out from the rock to allow for paddling behind it, and in most places the falls were a cool reprieve from the summer heat. It is about 3/4 miles to a cove where it is easy to observe Twin Falls. Several groups were picnicking on the rocks. Rapids prevent getting closer to the base of the falls, so there is little danger provided paddlers use common sense.

We chose to get out and explore the Blue Hole area. These falls are also accessible by a steep trail, but we enjoyed sitting in the cool streams as a pit stop. Multiple tiers spread out across shallow pools perfect for cooling off.

We were glad about setting out around mid-morning by the time we made the return trip. This is the headwaters of Center Hill Lake which means it is also accessible by motorized vessels. On the way back, we not only encountered dozens of paddlers, but over 50 folks on personal watercraft. The noise and chaos almost took away from the incredible beauty of the area.

I can’t recommend this park enough for those who have access to kayaking or SUPs. It was truly a top-tier paddling experience and I can’t wait to explore other falls in the region.