At the suggestion of one of our readers, Mr. Handsome and I visited Window Cliffs State Natural Area, located near Cummins Falls (about an hour east of Nashville). We were amazed to learn that the window cliffs were first sketched by French explorer Charles LeSuere in the 1830s. Before that time, the park was home to Native Americans.
The trail starts off flat, but you quickly begin a 0.25-mile descent to a creek (could be classified as a large creek or a small river, depending on how high the water is). For the next 2 miles, you cross the creek almost a dozen times.
When we went, the water was only knee high, but it can be deeper. There’s a phone number for Burgess Falls State Park online, so you can call before you go to check how high the creek is. Thankfully, the park has placed cables across each creek crossing, to show visitors the best place to walk and provide something for them to hold.
Tennessee is known for its limestone. The window cliffs are made of limestone, and all the creek passages that you walk through have limestone bottoms. Unfortunately, that also means they are a bit slippery. Hiking sandals or waterproof hiking shoes are needed. Another downside of limestone is that it prevents water from being absorbed into the ground as easily as it otherwise would. As a result, when it rains in Tennessee, the streets become very wet very quickly.
Despite the downfalls of limestone, the limestone window cliffs are incredibly unique and well worth the hike. It took us about 90 minutes to hike to the lookout point (just over 2 miles).
The view was great, but we opted to go another 0.75 miles up to the actual rock formations. That put our total distance at nearly 6 miles. We saw a beautiful waterfall along the way.
From the final viewpoint, we were above the cliffs (although not on top of them) looking down. From that angle, we couldn’t see the actual windows, but it was a neat vantage point and provided a great panoramic view of the area.
The hike back to the parking lot felt a lot shorter than it had the first time, but it still took nearly 90 minutes. Windows Cliffs is a must-see if you’re in the Cookeville area. Thanks to the reader who recommended it! Below is a video that we filmed from the first lookout point.
Oh how awesome Elli you got to go! My hubby came home just yesterday and said guess where I was today?…Sitting on the parking lot at window cliffs! (Looking at a bid job took him past the entrance down that way by the lake) I was like, no way! But he didn’t go in without us all, being the good hubby he is 🙂 so we’ll have to go one of these days. We had just been looking up pics online and finding out some info the other day when the reader posted that. Glad you got to go check it out! Was there a nice picnic area there?
Oh wow! What a coincidence! We went on Friday. What line of work is your hubby in? I didn’t see a picnic area, but there probably was one. We ate sandwiches in our car before hiking. The excursion was a blast! So glad we went.
Ellie
Construction 😊
There sure are some beautiful sights in Tennessee. Do you ever encounter snakes or dangerous wildlife on your hikes? Hope Mr Handsome isn’t too daring standing on the edge of those cliffs.
We came across a rattlesnake during a hike a couple years ago. It was quite frightening! Here’s the post about it: https://nashvillewife.com/paintings-and-rattlesnakes/
Ellie
Ellie, I absolutely love your blog. It is so educational, written in an interesting way. Thank you for sharing your special experiences with us. Have you ever thought of becoming a teacher. You seem to be one of those people who is a natural at instruction. Barb
You’re very kind, Barb. Glad to hear that you enjoy my blog. I thought about becoming a teacher, but I ended up pursuing a journalism degree instead. Teaching was definitely on the table though.
Ellie
Ellie- I’m so glad you got to go and that you liked it!! It is a long hike but well worth the effort to see the beautiful handiwork of God. Now that you got the word out about the park/natural area, I assume it will become more popular like Cummins Falls. God bless!
I agree, Leigh. Seeing God’s handiwork in nature is wonderful.
I always enjoy reading your blogs about a hiking adventure. They are very interesting and intense. I really imagine how strenuous your hikes must be and of course the photos help me to imagine it all!
I’m glad to hear you enjoy the posts. Thanks for reading.
Ellie