Upper Piney Falls is located in the Piney Falls State Natural Area in the small town of Grandview. This is an easy waterfall to visit. The road to the trailhead is paved, and it is a fairly short walk to the falls with a relatively gentle descent into the gorge.

Trails lead to the rim of the falls, and down to the base. You can walk behind the falls, and if you want to get the best view of the falls without wading across the stream, you will have to.

The natural area is located off of State Route 68 between Crossville and Spring City in the unincorporated town of Grandview. There is a sign for the natural area. If you are travelling from Crossville, the road will be on your right. If you are travelling from Spring City it will be on your left shortly after you crest the escarpment. The road to the falls (Fire Tower Road, aka Hillary Road) is paved but narrow and winding. The trailhead will be on your right after about 1.5 miles and is clearly marked.

The trail to the falls is wide and level for the most part. It looks like it was an old road. There are some side trails that criss cross it, but if you stay on the main trail you will soon be at the gorge. To the right you will find a trail to the rim, and to the left there is a trail down into the gorge.

I visited the falls shortly before sunset in the first weekend of November, and the light was a bit dim for pictures. Night comes early in Tennessee in November. There is a lower falls a short distance downstream but it was too dark to visit it, and from what I have read there is no good vantage points from which to view it.

Tennessee's Cumberland plateau has a lot of waterfalls. Laurel Falls is about 25 miles to the south. Another Laurel Falls is even closer. Ozone Falls is about 20 miles to the north east, and dozens of other waterfalls can be found if you look.

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Behind the Falls

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Last Modified: Monday, 28-Nov-2011 15:25:15 MST.