Hey Guys!
As you know, we love doing day trips and long weekend trips so, after seeing pictures of Rock Island State Park on a Facebook page that I follow, we decided to spend a Saturday checking out the park.
The park is located approximately two hours from our home so we left our house around 10 am.
We arrived to the entrance of the park around 12 pm.
Rock Island State Park is an 883 acre park located on the headwaters of Center Hill Lake at the confluence of the Caney Fork, Collins and Rocky Rivers. It became a park in 1969.
After getting parked, we spotted a sign for the Eagle Trail and Blue Hole.
Click here for hiking trails in Rock Island
We decided just to walk a short distance from the parking lot to see views of the river.
The water looked really low but the views were still nice.
After checking out this part of the park, we decided to continue our drive across the bridge to the other side of the park to see the main attraction which is the Twin Falls.
Tip: At the main entrance of the park is a sandy beach and lots of picnic tables
The falls are located approximately 10 mins from the main entrance.
On the way to the falls, we passed the Rock Island Trolley Stop that offers coffee, ice cream, desserts and more.
A few minutes later, we arrived to the very small gravel parking lot for the falls.
There was a sign about a hike that you could do from here called the Downstream Trail that was 1.6 miles but the falls were located about 0.2 miles from the parking lot.
The “hike” to the falls was down a short but steep gravel trail so be sure to wear good shoes for traction!
Once at the bottom of the trail, you will then need to traverse over huge rocks to make your way down near the falls.
Tip: Please read here about the dangers of visiting this area and this park!
Twin Falls is a beautiful 80 ft tall cascading waterfall!
However, the water at this falls actually seeps out of the Caney Fork River Gorge wall not over it.
The falls is actually a byproduct of the damming of the Caney Fork River in 1925.
After the dam’s construction, an increase in pressure began forcing water outward and cracks in the gorge’s limestone provided an escape route for the water. Those cracks eventually led out to the gorge wall creating Twin Falls.
We walked over and through the huge rocks to get a closer view of the massive falls!
The rocks can be extremely slippery when wet so use caution and again, wear good shoes!
Pictures can’t began to do this falls justice or show how huge it is!
Tip: The park’s whitewater sections attract professional freestyle kayakers from around the world.
After making it to the water’s edge, we took a few pictures in front of the falls.
It was difficult to capture the size of these falls as they are so wide!
Upstream from the falls is the old Great Falls Powerhouse. 
The Great Falls Hydroelectric Plant was built in 1915 and the dam went into operation in 1917.
Tip: The Rock Island area was used for a considerable number of exterior shots and stunts in the 1994 Sylvester Stallone film, The Specialist.
The hike down to the falls wore my hubby out so he decided to take a short nap on one of the rocks! 😉
After spotting this Great Blue Heron, I sat down on a nearby rock and watched it for several minutes.
It was catching fish in the small pools of water near the falls.
If you zoom in on this picture, you can see the fish in its mouth!
After hanging out at the falls for a while, we decided to leave and check out other areas of the park.
Not long after leaving the falls, we passed a sign for the nearby Cumberland Caverns and the Foglight Foodhouse.
Tip: Fall Creek Falls is located 45 mins from the twin falls, Bone Cave is located 15 mins, Burgess Falls is 35 mins & Cummins Falls is 1 hr from the falls.
We crossed over a bridge where we spotted the Cotten’s marina down below and an old railroad trellis.
Tip: Click here for restaurants near Rock Island
We also passed the historic Great Falls Dam.
We then arrived to the parking lot where the historic Great Falls Cotton Mill is located.
From this parking lot, you can view the Great Falls.
Great Falls is a 30-foot horseshoe cascading waterfall, located below the 19th-century cotton textile mill that it powered over 100 years ago.
Also near this falls is another small cascading waterfall.
The nearby mill was built around the time of the Civil War and was one of the first major mills to use the waterpower of the Great Falls Gorge.
Water from the falls was used to power a grist mill on the mill’s first floor and a carding factory on the second floor.
The Bosson Mill was destroyed when the Caney Fork flooded in 1882.
In the mid-1880s, Asa Faulkner purchased the Bosson Mill property with plans to build a large cotton mill. Faulkner and several partners raised $30,000 in capital and chartered the Falls City Cotton Mill Company in 1892.
The mill was in operation until the great flood of 1902, which destroyed many of the mills in the region. The structure survived but was forced to close due to the loss of the turbine that washed away.
Near the mill is the historic spring castle that was built for the cotton mill.
Walking the stairs to the spring castle
The reservoir behind the castle contains water from a natural spring. This provided water to the mill and surrounding houses for everyday use as well as fire protection for the machine shop that once stood across the road and connected to the textile mill.
Inside the spring castle
At the end of this parking lot is where you will find the Old Mill Trail.
The trail leads to the gorge and showcases the beautiful cascades along the river. There are a couple of staircases that lead down to the river. Swimming holes can be found along the banks.
You can see the twin falls in the distance from this trailhead.
After leaving here, we continued our drive and passed the historic Webb Hotel.
The hotel was built in 1910 and served early commercial lodging in Rock Island. The hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
The hotel is now a private residence.
After leaving here, we decided to drive an hour to the Stone Door trail in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area.
You will find a ranger’s station that includes a gift shop a short distance from the parking lot.
You have a few trail options located here….we decided to hike the 2 mile roundtrip Great Stone Door trail.
See a map of the park here
The first quarter mile of this trail consists of a wide flat paved path that culminates at the Laurel Gulf Overlook.
The views from this overlook are beautiful!
From this overlook, the trail becomes a more natural dirt path for the rest of the hike.
There are informational plaques along the trail that talk about the ecosystem, flowers that can be found in the park and more.
As we neared the stone door, there were signs that pointed to nearby overlooks so that’s where we headed.
Tip: This area has lots of drop offs as high as 200 ft so be very careful!!
The views from these overlooks are incredible!
You could see people standing on some of the other overlooks!
My hubby decided to stand atop a rock jutting out over the edge of a 200ft drop…no thanks!
I played it safe and just stood near the edge 😉
There are several overlooks so be sure not to miss any of them!!
The views from each of the overlooks are spectacular!
After checking them all out, we snapped a couple of pictures of the stone door trail.
The narrow 10ft crack in the rock was used by Indians.
If you hike down the stone steps through the crack and look back, it looks as if someone left a door open.
From here you can continue on the Big Creek Gulf trail to several other options if you want a longer and more difficult hike.
Since it was getting late, we decided not to hike down the steps as we had already hiked this area once before.
Tip: Near the Ranger’s station you will also find the nearby Laurel Falls
A map near the Ranger’s station that had a list of hikes in the area.
Tip: The incredible Greeter Falls is only 15 mins from the Stone Door Trail. The Greeter Falls Lodge is also nearby.
On the way home, we stopped in Manchester and had dinner at a restaurant called Jeffersons. 
My hubby ordered wings for an appetizer.
For our main course, we both ordered burgers and they were delicious!
Read reviews here
After dinner, we headed home.
Thanks for reading!
Click here to see links to all of my blog posts