We hiked Jackson Falls and Fall Hollow

Seven of us dodged all the storms yesterday and hiked two Natchez Trace waterfall trails. Knowing my brother-in-law, Ken, would be accompanying us yesterday, I checked in with the Natchez Trace park rangers of Leiper's Fork and they were extremely helpful with information about handicap-accessible trails. We also used the great directions from http://www.nps.gov/ website.
The kids loved the hike down to Jackson Falls but admitted the return trip up was very steep. The trail was paved for the most part so Ken could have easily have made the trip down, but coming back up was our problem. There were picnic tables and a shelter with accessible bathrooms. On the other side of the parking lot was a 1/3 mile trail leading to Bakers Bluff which provided an interesting view of a conservation-friendly working farm. This is also found as its own stop along the Natchez Trace.
Ten miles further south, all of us hiked in to see the Fall Hollow waterfall. The kids took off down the trail while Ken, Kendall and I strolled and enjoyed the scenery from the paved and bridged trail. The creek flows along flat rocks curving through the spring green of the forest. It reminded me of a famous waterfall in Ireland that I visited two years ago.
The paved trail led to a platform overlooking the waterfall where you could rest and see others hiking the steeper part of the trail. Kendall stayed with Ken this time so I could hike with the rest of the family. There are actually two waterfalls to view on this trail. At both falls you can actually walk in to the slippery area behind the waterfall. Great picture and video opportunities for the kids until my niece, Sarah Catherine, took a tumble. She was fine though!
Beautiful is the best word to describe the waterfalls and Fall Hollow was great for those who might not be able to access the entire trail. I hope to return soon and see the fifteen other stops we drove right by to get to the falls. We're so typical of a busy family that doesn't take advantage of the fantastic local tourism opportunities in our own back yard. I am going to make a big effort this summer to get outside this bubble and see middle Tennessee!

Natchez Trace Jackson Falls a site to see

Well, I have graduated my first child and the hectic holiday/graduation weekend is over. Looking forward to summer, I will be writing about many volunteer opportunities over the summer, but I also will time to time write about ideas for travel and summer fun outside the Brentwood bubble. My friend, Jackie, recently recommended Jackson Falls off the Natchez Trail and so I've looked into the idea. I am ready to pack a picnic and hike it tomorrow. It sounds like a great half day trip and I hope to take my nephew there tomorrow before he makes the flight back north to Rhode Island.

Jackson Falls is named for one of Tennessee's three presidents, Andrew Jackson, who was known to have traveled the Natchez Trace himself five times. The Natchez Trace is an ancient Indian trail that was later used as a return trip north from Natchez, MS by boaters who brought goods south on the Mississippi river. In the early 1800s, the invention of steamboats made travel upriver possible and the traffic on the trail greatly reduced.

Southpoint.com Travel Guide states about the falls, "If you only see one waterfall on the (Natchez Trace) Parkway make it Jackson Falls, mile 404. The parking area offers one of the nicest overlooks on the Trace. An old barn crests a distant hill and if you’re lucky the farmer may be plowing his fields. A steep, paved trail leads to Jackson Falls which is actually two cascades. On the uppermost and largest falls tumbles down a steep cliff in an unusual fashion while the lower falls is a more traditional tumble."

Miles are marked on the Natchez Trace by wooden posts so that you can easily find the sites along the way. Many more suggested sites can by found within ten miles either side of Jackson Falls including an old tobacco farm (401.4) and a campground/picnic site that houses the Meriweather Lewis gravesite (385.9).

The rest stop is approximately 50 miles West from Nashville's I-40 near Shady Grove, TN. It does have a pathed walkway and should be accessible to most children and adults. According to The Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by F. Lynne Bachleda, "The at-most ten minute hike to Jackson Falls is paved, bridged, and stepped down to the falls themselves, which makes it fairly easy."

Personally, I will enter the Natchez Trace from Highway 100 and it won't be as far for those of already in Williamson County. Hope this fantastic weather holds so we can hit the trail.

Happy Summer to all!