For the past two years, I’ve always headed out of Tennessee for the breaks from school, unless it’s just a long weekend. Although there are so many beautiful places near Nashville, this seems more like a home base than an exciting vacation destination.
This year, I decided to spend the first few days of Spring Break here in Nashville (or really Tennessee in general) to explore some of the great attractions! I finally made my way to Cummins Falls State Park, as well as the Great Smoky Mountains over in Gatlinburg.
Cummins Falls was a perfect short hike as a break on the way to Gatlinburg. It’s just about half-way on the drive over to East Nashville, and it’s a super easy hike that won’t tire you out!
Gatlinburg is an adorable town, and the views from the hikes are fantastic. There are so many beautiful waterfalls that I had a hard time choosing from, but I ended up on Grotto Falls Trail one beautiful afternoon. Since the road to the trailhead was closed, we had an extra 4 miles to walk from the car, so the entire hike ended up being quite long!
However, the view was definitely worth it
For anyone with a free day on campus, you should really consider taking a day trip to Cummins Falls! Especially when the weather gets warmer, this is a beautiful place to take a swim too! If you have a few days, roadtrip down to Gatlinburg and explore the Smokies! You won’t regret it.