Tom and I always ask the rangers about their favorite places to go.  Recently Ranger Layton told us his favorite hiking place is Triple Falls in Tennessee.  He lives in Speedwell, Tennessee, so he isn’t far from Triple Falls.

Triple Falls is a man-made waterfall on Bruce Creek.  When I-75 was built through this part of Tennessee, Bruce Creek had to be moved.  The waterfall is a result of blasting out rock for the waterway.  There is also a very large culvert along the creek.  The entire area is a big hiking area near Caryville, Tennessee.  The hiking area is also called Little Egypt, although I could not find out why.

We parked at the trailhead of Triple Falls and wondered if we were in the right place.  There were a few pull-offs on a dirt road, but no signs aside from one that pointed toward Little Egypt.  There wasn’t even a clear entrance to the trail.  We climbed over some rocks and started up the nice path next to Bruce Creek.

Triple Falls is about 1/2 mile up the trail.  You can see the waterfall from the trail as you hike up and around it.  It was beautiful and had a lot of water flowing over it from the recent rainfall.  Tom climbed on some of the rocks to get a better view but I stuck to the trail.

From the falls, the trail proceeds to the Devil’s Racetrack, which seems to be an overlook.  Although the view is great, it requires hiking up a steep trail with lots of switchbacks.  Tom and I decided to be happy with seeing Triple Falls.

Hoping to get a little more information about moving Bruce Creek and the formation of the hiking area, Tom and I stopped by Cove Lake State Park.  The Visitors Center was open, but the woman in the center didn’t really know anything about it.  She had a trail map but didn’t know any of the history.  The internet is disappointingly lacking in this history as well.

As long as we were at Cove Lake, however, we decided to walk their loop trail.  The map said it was a mile long and it looked like it went along the lakeshore for part of the loop.  If that trail was a mile long, it was the longest mile I have ever walked.  Although the trail was flat and paved, it took us almost an hour to walk it.  Which means it was closer to three miles.  And we couldn’t see the lake from the trail.  Someone needs to revise their map.

It was still a nice walk and a lovely state park.  The campground is currently closed for renovations, but the restaurant is open.  We also saw several groups using the tennis courts at the state park.  The lake looked too murky for swimming but kayaking or canoeing might have been nice.

Tom and I enjoyed exploring that little area of Tennessee.  We told Ranger Layton that his Triple Falls recommendation was a good one.