Piney Falls State Natural Area in Grandview TN
If you find yourself near Grandview, Tennessee Piney Falls State Natural Area in Grandview TN is one stop you should be sure to make to take the short hike to see the 80-foot waterfall and suspension bridge.
This is a fantastic park to visit and spend a few minutes taking in the views. You can make it as difficult as you would like. You can hike a short path of less than a mile to get the of look or suspension bridge.
Location of Piney Falls in Grandview, TN
Piney Falls Trailhead, 760-1998 Firetower Rd, Grandview, TN 37337
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Chose Your Adventure
This a park that will allow you to chose your own adventure. If you want excitement, explore behind the waterfall and navigate and traverse to the lower section of the waterfall.
The Trail
You’ll start in the trail and at about .75 miles, you’ll come to a fork. The right trail takes you for a very short hike to the top of the Upper Falls. Take the left trail to take you to the upper part of the lower falls and the lower part of the Upper Falls.
We decided to start our adventure by viewing the suspension bridge.
Plants, Moss, Rocks, and Roots
Our visit was in early spring at the end of April. I loved the assortment of moss and fungi that was prominent on all the trees along the path while hiking.
The leaves were just starting to emerge on some of the trees, others had just branched out and were a vivid green color.
Good footwear is a must here. The pathway is short to both the upper portion of the falls and suspension bridge but there are plenty of roots and makeshift stone steps to traverse and having a good pair of hiking boots would be an asset to give your ankles needed support.
My husband hiked the trail in his new outdoor hiking tennis shoes with heavy tread and said that he sorta wished he had boots for the ankle support but his shoes were do-able and fine for this short hike.
I took in all the wildflowers that popped up one by one along the pathway and because there wasn’t anyone around could spend time examining them all.
The common blue violet (Viola sororia), also known as common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, or wood violet, is a native perennial plant found along the trail.
The Suspension Bridge
When we reached the suspension bridge, I was in awe, we don’t have anything like this back in Wisconsin. The bridge most certainly has a swing to her when you cross and I maybe shouldn’t have looked down at the powerful rushing spring water, after doing so it was a little scary.
I told my husband when he asked how I was feeling crossing that I was fine. Although the reality was I felt my heart pounding a little more than I would like to have admitted out loud at the time.
Like most suspension bridges the weight of the deck is supported by vertical rope cables suspended from larger woven rope cables that run between additional cables and they are anchored at each end to metal posts on land.
As the saying goes, no guts, no glory. Sometimes you just have to push yourself past the fear and discomforts to seek the reward. On this day, I pushed myself outside of my safe comfort zone for one task but on two other occasions decided that the risk was greater than traveling back some day.
The Waterfall
If you have ever read anything about this park you might know that you can walk behind the waterfall. My next step was trying to get behind the falls and then crossing the water and viewing the lower falls. With the heavy rains and rushing water, we decided both were too dangerous to do on this occasion. Bummer!
Getting Behind the Falls
If you are lucky enough to pick a day that it is safe to get behind the falls – here is how one can do it. You’ll come to a sign within .5 miles that says lower falls pointing down a hill. If you want to see the lower part of the Upper Falls and walk behind the falls, WALK BEHIND the sign staying close to the rock ledge. It’s an easy .3 mile hike to the falls.
During our visit, we were told this was the most rain they had received during a single spring in many years. There was flooding in plenty of portions of the state that we visited. Not to mention 90 percent of our trip we were exploring in the rain.
I appreciated the overabundance of rainwater though it has to give this area a unique view, I believe I would have been more disappointed if there wasn’t any water to view the falls in action.
The Wildlife
I was hoping to see some wildlife along my journey but snakes were not on that list. Other than plenty of water snakes along some of the rocks, I didn’t get a chance to see additional wildlife. I’m happy to report none of the snakes crossed my path during my travels – all were viewed from a distance.
Still no complaints from me, this was a wonderful place to spend a half day exploring along the water and I am grateful to have found it. The stop wasn’t one that I had planned, we ran into the park on accident traveling between spots that we had written down on our list to explore in the area.
The rushing water and pockets of different places to stop and view along the hike made this one of my favorite unexpected stops of the trip.
Two Thumbs Up
Thanks for tagging along on our trip to Piney Falls State Natural Area in Grandview TN. If you find yourself in this area, you should make the stop. It is worth the time. Life is an adventure – I’m just along for the ride.