Spanning thousands of acres of Tennessee wilderness, Savage Gulf State Park is a geological marvel where three great “gulfs” coverage – Big Creek Gulf, Collins Gulf, and Savage Gulf. In the Cumberland Plateau, a gulf is a deep, sheer-walled canyon carved by the force of mountain streams.
While the park spans an immense wilderness, its essence (for me) resides in the corridor between the Great Stone Door and Greeter Falls. Here you can stand atop a colossal cliff, peer through a massive limestone fissure, and experience the cool spray of an iconic waterfall.
Great Stone Door and Big Creek Gulf
To understand the scale of the gulf, you must get above it. Big Creek Gulf’s overlook stands on a sandstone shelf 750 feet above the creek, offering dozens of vantage points.
The Great Stone Door is a crack in the bluff 100 feet deep and 10 feet wide. It looks like a giant door left ajar and serves as a natural staircase with a dizzying descent from the rim to the gorge below.
The Stone Door Trail is 0.9 miles and begins at the ranger station. It passes the Laurel Gulf Overlook at 0.2 miles with views of the gorge. The hike finishes at the Stone Door with overlooks along the edge of the plateau.
Greeter Falls Area
From the Greeter Falls parking lot, visitors have access to three waterfalls, a historic site, and a swimming hole.
Greeter Falls Loop Trail is a 1.2-mile moderate-to-strenuous loop with multiple points of interest including Greeter Falls (upper and lower), Greeter Homeplace, and Boardtree Falls.
The trail’s surface is uneven with exposed roots and rocks. Stone steps, wooden steps, and a metal staircase are also part of the hike. Signs and milepost markers help you find your way.
Greeter Homeplace
First on the Greeter Falls Trail is a short spur trail to the Greeter Homeplace. While most of the structure is gone, the foundation of the old homestead can still be seen.
The Greeter family came to the United States in 1865 from Switzerland. Initially settling in New York, they decided to move to a new colony of Swiss settlers in southern Tennessee in 1870. They established a 640-acre homestead along Firescald Creek near Altamont. The property included a grist Mill, known as Long’s Mill.
The Loop
After the homestead, we took the loop counterclockwise (to the right) so that we could see Greeter Falls first. Going in this direction, we had a hard climb up after the falls.
Massive 40-foot sandstone cliffs rise along the path.
Lower Greeter Falls
We began with Lower Greeter Falls. A spiral staircase descends into the gorge to another series of wooden stairs.
Lower Greeter Falls plunges 50 feet into a wide basin.
We carefully scrambled over rocks to get additional angles of the waterfall and Firescald Creek.
While the waterfall was more of a light stream during our visit, the whole landscape made it worth the effort.
Note: Due to mist from the waterfall, the stairs are often slippery or icy. Take care as you make your way down. The large, slanted rock just after the last step was especially treacherous.
Upper Greeter Falls
Next, we backtracked upstream to Upper Greeter Falls. Cascading 15 feet over a wide ledge, it is twice as wide as it is tall.
This upper falls was the site of an early grist mill that was later converted into the Greeter family’s first lumber mill. Initially called Hunter’s Mill, it was renamed Long’s Mill.
A Native American trail, the Chickamauga Trace, crossed Firescald Creek at or near here. Until the 1840s, this Trace was the only road crossing the southern Cumberland Plateau.
Boardtree Falls
Last on the loop was Boardtree Falls, a 30-foot waterfall on a side stream. It is a rough, steep trail down. The waterfall cascades down a rockface before flowing over a small ledge. During our September visit, the cascade was little more than a wet wall.
Just after the waterfall, a suspension bridge crosses over Boardtree Branch to another trail. We crossed it to check out the views but then turned back to the Greeter Falls trailhead.
Blue Hole
The 0.4-mile Blue Hole Trail splits from the Greeter Falls Trail shortly after the trailhead. This is a popular swimming area, and it has tiny cascades.
I had fun watching fish swim in the still pool while birds sang around us.
Wildlife
We spied white-tailed deer and dozens of birds including American crows, Carolina chickadees, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, northern parulas, pileated woodpeckers, red-shouldered hawks, and tufted titmice.
Know Before You Go
The park has four trailhead parking lots – North (Great Stone Door), West (Greeter Falls, Ranger Falls, and Big Creek Gulf), East (Savage Falls and Savage Creek Gulf), and South (Suter Falls, Horsepound Falls, and Collins Gulf).
The Stone Door area offers rock climbing and rappelling opportunities. Each person climbing must have a permit.
Savage Gulf State Park is one of three parks that were formerly known as South Cumberland State Park. The other two are Fiery Gizzard State Park and Head of the Crow State Park.
Have you explored other areas in the park? Leave your favorite below!
Okay, you have outdone yourself. I hiked these trails and your descriptions, photographs, and lower greeter falls cautionary concerns were spot on.