Hiking Burgess Falls – Appalachian Travelers

Burgess Falls was one of the falls we hiked during our trip to Cookeville, TN. We are currently working on developing a blog that explain our entire weekend itinerary of hiking, so stay tuned. We enjoyed this entire hike and were pleasantly surprised by the views we were offered on the way to the overlook of Burgess Falls. If you find yourself in the area, it is worth checking out. Burgess Falls state park is located in Sparta, TN which is approximately 13 miles from Cookeville, TN. Located on the Falling Water River, Burgess Falls is a beautiful cataract waterfall that is approximately 136 feet and can be viewed from the base of the falls or from a main overlook. A common option is to kayak to the bottom of the falls

The river trail offers 3 different waterfalls on the round-trip trail to the main overlook. As someone who researches hikes for our trips through various outlets such as Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, I somehow missed this fact. I had assumed that the only thing the trail had to offer was a view of Burgess Falls itself. I was completely wrong! We thoroughly enjoyed not only the waterfalls but the history of Burgess Falls State Park. On the trail, you can see some of the leftover artifacts from the grist and lumber mills that used to run above the falls. You will find left over swinging bridges and other beautiful and interesting history on the trail.

Speaking of history, Burgess Falls State Park was named after Tom Burgess, a Revolutionary War veteran who settled in the area in 1810. Tom and his family utilized the area for a grist and saw mill which helped to support early settlers. In 1950, the area was turned into a recreational park and then in 1971, it was transitioned into Burgess Falls State Natural Area.

To see the waterfall and history, you will want to hike the River Trail which is a 1.5 mile loop trail, considered moderately challenging, and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. In addition to the overlook, you can hike down a metal staircase off the main trail to make it to the bottom of the falls. The other falls on the trail range from 20 to 80 feet. The river trail is considered moderate and we would agree with that rating based simply upon the distance. However, the trail was relatively easy as the elevation gain was only approximately 170ft and some of the trail is along a service road. We experienced no difficulties on the trail. We did not opt to hike to the bottom of the falls as we had our 10 month old with us on our hike. One should consider that the hike back up from the falls is considered challenging.

We simply typed in Burgess Falls State Park on our GPS and easily found the parking lot. The address is 4000 Burgess Falls Drive, Sparta, TN. Parking is free and restrooms are offered to the right which is located near the main trails. At the back of the parking lot, you will also find a playground and picnic tables.

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