Distance: 10-11
I was driving back from Nashville and decided to take a side trip to Virgin Falls State Park and hike the Virgin Falls Trail. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the majority of the trail is under the tree canopy which provided plenty of shade. There were a total of 4 waterfalls and a nice overlook, so this hike has some WOW factor to it. The 1st waterfall was the smallest, but it was a nice prelude to the big ones that were to come.
The picture doesn't do it justice. It was about 20' tall and on this day, had a nice volume of water rushing over it.
The second water fall was larger with a cave behind it. The water at the bottom of the falls flows into the cave.
Continuing along the trail eventually you reach a loop. The trail has the shape of a lollipop. I took the right side of the loop and encountered the 3rd waterfall. This one flows out of a cave at the top and disappears into a cave at the bottom.
I climbed on up the trail looking for the "Sheep Cave". Eventually the trail ran out and I didn't really find it. Since I was alone and the trail was faint, I turned back.
Continuing around the loop, I came to the star of the show. Virgin Falls is the largest of the falls. It has a side trail that takes you to the top of the falls. From this trail, I got a few nice shots of the falls through the woods.
On the way out, I took the spur out to the Overlook. The view was nice, so it was worth the extra 1 mile and the climb up the mountain. At one point there is a wooden ladder that you must climb.
The hike was not easy. There is a large elevation loss on the way to the falls. I didn't realize how far down I'd gone, until I started climbing out after hiking 8 miles. The climb was tiresome.
I spent about 5 hours on the hike including my time admiring the various waterfalls. It was a nice day in the woods.
