Cummins Falls State Park

Cummins Falls State Park is a 211 acre park located nine miles north of Cookeville on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. In the rolling hills of Jackson County where Putnam and Jackson counties meet, the stream gives way to a 75 foot drop.

This park is located in the Cordell Hull Watershed. The forest that borders the river includes a variety of oaks, beech, buckeye, sycamore and hemlock. Woodland plants include October’s lady tresses, star chickweed, liverleaf and Allegheny spurge. The property’s long forested streamside protects turkey, quail, eagles and other birds; soft-shell and other turtles; fox, mink, and myriad insects including damselflies and dragonflies.

Cummins Falls was named one of the top 10 best swimming holes in the United States in the “America’s Best Swimming Holes” article in Travel and Leisure magazine.  The article reads “It’s a hard-earned scramble to the bottom that involves hiking to the overlook, wading across the ankle-deep stream, climbing up to the ridge, and using a rope guide to walk yourself down to the water. This is not a swimming hole for lightweights. Translation: expect a younger crowd. But if you’re agile (and sure-footed), the descent into the cavernous pool is worth the effort."