Rock Island State Park

Well, I’m finally doing that Tennessee swimming hole vacation that I’ve been putting off since 2017. I got the idea to do a swimming hole marathon in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tenesssee when I kept seeing pictures of epic waterfalls online and finding out they were usually in central Tennessee. Waterfalls in this region are formed by creeks and rivers dropping off the edge of the Cumberland Plateau. Unlike most cascading waterfalls in the Appalachian mountains, many Cumberland waterfalls drop off high ledges and plunge straight down. They are often surrounded by massive rock amphitheaters with overhanging ledges that allow visitors to walk behind them. And of course, many of these waterfalls have plunge pools that look like inviting swimming holes. The aesthetically pleasing Cummins Falls looked like it was worth driving seven hours for, so I did some research to see what other swimming holes in the area might be worth visiting. I came up with a handful of potentials, and two of them (Rock Island State Park and North Chickamauga Creek) actually looked even more enticing than Cummins Falls.

I planned the trip in spring of 2017 in hopes of doing it that summer, but I kept watching the forecast for a dry-ish week, and one never materialized. I finally got fed up and went to California as a backup (and I think it actually ended up being decent in Tennessee the week I went). It was a similar story in 2018. There was one dry week right at the beginning of June, but my top two swimming hole picks (Rock Island and North Chickamauga Creek) were both out of commission that week due to dam releases and trail maintenance, respectively, so that was a no-go. But hey, it’s always sunny in California (save for the smoke when everything is on fire). The past two years, the weather ended up being decent in Tennessee the weeks I caved and went to California, so I thought maybe I would wait until I had the forecast for early August before deciding to flee to the west coast. The Farmer’s Almanac extended forecast said August 10-17 was supposed to be sunny pretty much everywhere in the southeast. I’m not sure how much stock I put in their extended forecasts, but they did me right for my Florida trip this May, so I decided I would just go for it this week. I had told my parents I might be doing a Tennessee vacation this year, and they were interested in coming, so we rented a cabin near Spencer, TN for this week. My brother Brian and his girlfriend Chelsea are also joining us for the first couple of days.

My top four swimming hole destinations for this trip (in order of perceived awesomeness) were Rock Island State Park, North Chickamauga Creek Blue Hole, Cummins Falls, and Fall Creek Falls State Park (the latter is more for waterfalls than swimming holes, though). I considered putting this trip on the back burner once again when I learned last month that the swimming hole at Cummins Falls is closed until the park can get a flash flood warning system up and running. However, after 2.5 summers of putting off this vacation, it was becoming obvious that I was never going to have a straight week of nice weather and all of my destinations open at the same time, so I decided to sacrifice Cummins Falls for the sake of finally doing this trip already. After all, the trip will probably be worth it as long as my top two picks are open. I can come back for Cummins Falls another time (and I would only need one day of nice weather for that, as opposed to a whole week).

I started things off today by going to Rock Island State Park. The park has a couple of nice swimming holes on the Caney Fork River in a rocky gorge just downstream of the Great Falls Dam. The main allure for me was the swimming hole below Great Falls, which is large and apparently offers cliff jumping opportunities of about 25-30 feet. I don’t know that I would jump from 30 feet, but I really wanted to get out there and see what it looked like from the top of the falls. There are other swimming holes with lower jumping opportunities for about a quarter mile downstream. Swimming excursions at Rock Island have to be planned around dam releases, as the gorge is pure whitewater and way too violent for swimming when the dam is spilling. Just past the swimming area is the TVA Powerhouse (separate from the Great Falls Dam), and swimming is not allowed downstream of the powerhouse due to high flow from generational releases. Just downstream from the powerhouse is a large waterfall called Twin Falls, which spills out from between the stacked rock layers that form the gorge wall. There are no swimming opportunities at Twin Falls, but it looked like something cool to check out while in the area.

My original plan for today was to maybe do a quick stop at Ozone Falls (which is near the interstate) on the way in and do Rock Island sometime during the week. However, I checked their website last night and saw they had posted on August 8 that the Great Falls Dam would begin spilling due to maintenance on August 12 (tomorrow), and that this would likely last for several weeks. Last night at midnight, when I was tired and beat, I thought this meant that I wouldn’t get to go to Rock Island, and now two of my three top picks for this trip were not happening. However, I awoke with fresh energy this morning and called Rock Island the minute they opened (8 AM central/9 eastern) to ask if the gorge was still open today, and they said yes. I was avoiding going on the weekend (today is Sunday) because I anticipated the parking lot might be filled up. I also didn’t want to do anything strenuous after driving four hours, since I’ve blown out my right knee three out of five swimming hole excursions so far this summer (the common denominator being that I took a long drive to get to all of them and then did a lot of hiking and/or swimming). However, going today was the only way I was going to get to swim at Rock Island on this trip, and there was a 0% chance of rain, so I figured I might as well go for it. I packed up my stuff and embarked on the four-hour drive to get there.

I left Abingdon around 10:15 AM and stopped at an Arby’s in Knoxville for lunch. This time I knew better than to get the French dip or the “medium” fry, but my stomach was still unhappy (in the same way as when I take ibuprofen on an empty stomach). I got to the park just before 2:00 PM. The parking lot was crowded, but people were constantly coming and going, so I only had to wait a couple of minutes for someone to vacate a parking spot. I did a few squats before heading down to the river, as my massage therapist said this would open up my hips after extended sitting, which would in turn keep my legs from tightening up and making my knees hurt. Chelsea texted me to say that she and Brian wouldn’t be making it in time to join me, and my parents were just going to chill at the cabin, so I was on my own for this one.

( Click here for the full trip report with pictures and videos )

In summary, I would say Rock Island comes pretty close to being a top-shelf swimming hole. I want to say it’s one of America’s greatest unnatural wonders, as the river probably only has a low enough flow for swimming because of the dam, and the creation of the lake is what created Twin Falls, one of the park’s major attractions. It’s like I say with music, though: I don’t care how it was created as long as I find it enjoyable. And I did find Rock Island enjoyable. The only things that might keep it off the top-shelf for swimming holes would be the jumping ban/policing at Great Falls, and the always-looming threat of a raging torrent of water being released from the dam at any time. If it weren’t for those two things, the Great Falls swimming hole would almost be the Blue Streak (with dirtier water) of Tennessee. The Cold Hole was better than Great Falls from a functionality standpoint, as it had a good (legal) jump that was my preferred height and would be easier to get out of quickly in the event of a dam release, but it is not as nice as Great Falls aesthetically because it has the powerhouse in the background and no waterfall backdrop. Still, I wish I had spent more time at the Cold Hole, and I may have managed my time differently if I had known the swimming area closed at 6 PM. The plan was originally to hit Rock Island during the week, in which case I would have gotten there earlier and had more time to swim and explore. Today’s excursion was a little rushed, but I’m glad I got to experience it before the dam starts spilling indefinitely for the forseeable future. A return visit to Rock Island is definitely possible, since I’ll probably return to the area at some point for another shot at Cummins Falls when its swimming hole reopens. It’s also the kind of swimming hole I would want to take my friends to, as it’s fun, not freezing cold, and easily accessible, although I don’t really see a situation where my friends are vacationing in central Tennessee.