Fall Creek Falls State Park competing for 10 Best honors

A waterfall is visible from a trail at Fall Creek Falls State Park.
A waterfall is visible from a trail at Fall Creek Falls State Park.

How to vote:

To vote for Fall Creek Falls as one of the top 10 state parks in the United States visit www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-state-park/fall-creek-falls-state-park-tenn/

photo Fall Creek Falls

Southeast Tennesseans have enjoyed the gorges and waterfalls of Fall Creek Falls State Park for decades.

The park is a favorite spot for local climbers and hikers.

Now, it's gaining national attention. An affiliate program of USA Today called "10 Best" named Fall Creek Falls to its list of 20 best parks in America, and is asking voters to narrow down the nominees to the 10 best.

As of Friday afternoon, Fall Creek Falls was in fourth place. Voting remains open through March 30.

Adrian Hankins, a conservation worker at the park, said he has been sharing the online voting link with as many people as possible.

"This is definitely something we are proud of," he said. "We want as many votes as we can get."

The 26,000-acre park sprawls across the eastern top of the rugged Cumberland Plateau, and welcomes more visitors annually than any other state park in the Volunteer State. The park hosts more than one million visitors annually, according to Hankins.

"We hope to get even more people here to see what we have," he said. "We have the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi, about 256 feet tall."

The park also offers visitors camping accommodations, streams, and 34 miles of hiking trails ranging from short day hikes to two long-distance overnight trails. It also has a nature center, golf course, horse stables, several playgrounds and picnic pavilions.

Hankins is optimistic that Fall Creek Falls will be named to the 10 Best's list.

"Being on the list could not only show how important the park is to the area and how popular it is," he said, "it will also bring recognition to the people who work here and our facilities."

The 10 Best website is seeking to provide users with original, unbiased, and experiential travel content of top attractions and things to see and do in the United States and around the world.

Two other Southern parks were nominated to the list: North Carolina's Stone Mountain State Park and South Carolina's Hunting Island State Park.

Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.

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