Fall Creek Falls State Park (TN)

With our appetites for hiking waterfalls sufficiently whetted, we turned our attention to our next adventure.  We would be traveling on Christmas week, so in addition to our outdoorsy agenda, we wanted to find a place that would provide us a special place to celebrate Christmas.  

With the winterization of our RV somewhat field-tested, we expanded our temperature-tolerance spectrum, and entertained the idea of spending Christmas in the Tennessee mountains.   Kristy’s exhaustive research of potential holiday destinations revealed a mountain retreat that housed a virtual gallery of waterfalls—Fall Creek Falls State Park.

Liberty Schoolhouse at Andy's Field Picnic Area

The journey to Falls Creek Falls via the Ocoee Scenic Byway took us through some of the most beautifully twisted, narrow, rock-laden passages that we’ve ever seen.  Sheer rock faces perpendicularly jutting upward from the edge of the roadway, dropping the occasional “crumb” to keep the tiller reflexes proficient.  Little did I know that I was actually auditioning for the last leg of the trip; as Kristy was charting a route into the park that was normally reserved for suicidal luge drivers.  The twisting, winding climb from Pikeville onto the Cumberland Plateau rose over 1,000 feet on steep grade that would  give a Himalayan Markhor pause.  It was on this accent that “Hank” actually showed some signs of being pushed, giving me a nano-second of satisfaction for pursuing the towing, horsepower, and torque capabilities that we though we’d never use.

Fall Creek Falls is Tennessee’s largest state park—encompassing over 25,000 acres, six waterfalls, and countless cascades.  There are numerous cabins, and a lodge/conference center that sit adjacent to the 350-acre lake (see time-lapse sunset video below); and an 18-hole golf course that serves as a white-tail rendeavou point during the winter months; and over 50-miles of wilderness trails.

Backing up in the dark at the Georgia Mountain State Fairgrounds was a needed confidence booster for this endeavor, as our campsite was on a tight tree-lined circle, with a stand of trees in the middle, and two trees serving as guides at the entrance of our site. This was the most difficult backing challenge to date, with The Rig eventually coming to rest with 3-inches to spare after the slide were extended.  This was also the most time & resources needed to level The Rig; as the incline was so steep that the nose of the RV was 3-feet off the ground (versus a normal of 5’).

Panoramic view of stream behind our camping area

The campground is comprised of 228 campsites spread across five areas.  During winter months, only three areas are open, but even with over 100 sites available, we were one of less than a dozen campers in the park.  Our campsite sat adjacent to one of the closed camping areas, so The Boys enjoyed leash-free walks several times each day.  Just behind our camping area was a stream that fed a seasonal swimming hole named “George’s Hole.”  

George's Hole Swimming Area

The swimming area sits at a bend in the stream, and displays a dramatic rock-faced backdrop for the jade-colored pool.  Upstream a few meters is a suspension pedestrian bridge that not only provides access to the far bank; but serves as as a confidence course for canines who have issues with Acrophobia and/or Gephyrophobia (and possibly Xylophobia).

We settled into our deciduous domicile amongst the deciduous grove and planned our exploration of the park.  It had been an interesting journey to date, and we were anxious to not think about moving for a few weeks while we immersed ourselves into the wild.

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