Fall Creek Falls, Piney Falls, and Burgess Falls

 

Day 4 of summer vacation rolled around, and we went waterfall chasing! Our first stop was Fall Creek Falls. We stopped at the visitor center to pick up a map. Unfortunately, besides clean bathrooms and maps, the visitor center had nothing to offer. The falls are a short hike from the parking lot and are easy to find. If you are a bit more adventurous, you can hike to the bottom of the falls, but since it was raining, we chose to skip the hike. I was a bit confused when we got there because I thought there was a suspension bridge to walk across, but it turns out that the suspension bridge you see in everyone's photos is at Piney Falls, and there is also one at Cane Falls, which we did not go to on this trip. Once we left Fall Creek Falls, we drove to Piney Falls.  While not long, this hike is tricky because the path is rocky and downhill. We almost turned around, but I am glad we stuck with it.  Way to go, Nana, who was very nervous about the hike.  Piney Falls isn't much to see, as the view is obstructed.  What is fun is that there is a suspension bridge, which gives you the fun Instagram photos.  Then it was off to Burgess Falls. This falls is located close to the town of Cookeville, Tennessee. This is a series of falls, upper, middle, and then the big grand finale of a fall, pictured last in the series of photos.  There are two paths for these falls.  The easy path will take you directly to the big waterfall, and the second, a bit more challenging, will take you down the path of being able to view all three of the falls.  The rain had stopped when we reached this park, so we took the more challenging paths and were blessed to see all three falls.  Stunning!  So worth it! We ended our day with dinner at Olive Garden, which is the kids' favorite restaurant.  We had hoped to see our friend Elizabeth and her children, but apparently, they still had one week left of school, and it wouldn't be possible to see them. Next time!