HIKE STATS:
Meeting Time: 7:00 AM
Meeting Place: Kroger Hermitage
Estimated Drive Time One Way: 2 hours
Hike Distance: 13 miles
Estimated Hike Time: 7-8 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Trip Leader: David Patterson
Pets: Dogs on leashes allowed

Join the Nashville Hiking Meetup for a day hike at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Bring your camera, lunch, snacks and plenty of water. Make sure you wear layers!

We will meet at the Kroger parking lot in Hermitage on Old Hickory Blvd (off I-40 East) at 7 A.M. and will carpool 2 hours to the parking area at the old maintenance area just beyond the park's north entrance (please offer gas money to drivers).

To trailhead: I-40 East to Hwy 111 South (exit 288); follow Highway 111 South to Spencer; turn right (east) on TN-30/College St.; follow TN-30 for approximately 11 miles and turn right on TN-284; go 4.3 miles to the north entrance of the park.

Fall Creek Falls State Park contains 19,000 acres, 75 percent of which has been set aside to remain in its natural state. It is known for the 256-foot Fall Creek Falls, the highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The 13-mile Lower Loop of the Cane Creek Trail generally follows the rim of the Cane Creek Gulf, includes a stop at Fall Creek Falls, and crosses down into the gorge to climb back up the other side midway through the hike. This is the strenuous portion of the trail; we drop 800 feet in about 0.8 mile, then regain it in the following 0.7 mile. Other than the descent into and climb out of the gorge, the trail generally follows the rim of Cane Creek Gulf, passes over three suspension bridges, and provides numerous spectacular vistas of the most scenic section of the park.

Fall Creek Falls State Park
http://www.state.tn.u...