You know those amazing adventure spots you see when perusing Pinterest that make your eyes glaze over with envy at the person who was actually standing in that spot, able to snap that pic? What if I told you that there’s a spot like that, less than 2 hours away from Nashville?
Lost Creek Falls is a 60 foot, beautiful, waterfall located in Sparta, TN. Formerly located on private property, this spot has remained a secret until fairly recently.
In 2012 the well-known Fall Creek Falls State Park purchased the land to add to their park system.
On the day we went, we were the only… people… there.
We had the entire waterfall and cave, all to ourselves. It was absolutely magical! One of the lesser known facts about Lost Creek is that it was used by Disney to film scenes for “The Jungle Book,” its 1994 live-action version of the Rudyard Kipling classic. How neat would it be to watch the film before your adventure?
Our Adventures
How to get to Lost Creek Falls
Despite being part of Fall Creek Falls, it is still not widely advertised which means that it can be a bit of a challenge to find unless you have a GPS in your car or on your phone.
Talking with a friend who had taken her family there previously, she suggested that the easiest way to find the trail head is to type Lost Creek Falls, Sparta, TN into Google Maps. It will give you driving directions, but there is not an official address for the Falls.
If you’re coming from Nashville, take I-40 East until you get to exit 288 towards Livingston/Sparta, turn right onto TN-111 S.
At this point I would take a few minutes to stop in one of the gas stations along 111 and have everyone use the restroom! There are no restroom facilities anywhere near the Falls location.
From there you’ll follow Hickory Valley Rd. and Lost Creek Rd. to get to White’s Cave Rd. It will feel like you’ve been driving forever, winding through country back roads, but it’s really a gorgeous drive.
If you’re not looking carefully, you’ll miss your turn into the trail head, so pay close attention to your GPS once you get close.
The road you need to turn down is a (very) sharp right and down a hill. My suggestion is to actually drive past the turn in, turn around and then take the turn. It will be much easier than trying to maneuver the tight right turn!
Once you’re on the road going down the hill, just keep driving until you reach a gravel parking lot with a trail head sign.
Great to Visit with Kids
Unlike most of the waterfalls in Tennessee, this one is a short, easy walk to get to. This makes it absolutely ideal for taking small kids along. The walk is not difficult, and it’s only about 0.2 of a mile, but you will need to be prepared with good shoes because it can get slippery, especially if it’s rained recently. The trail is marked and you will actually be able to hear the waterfall as soon as you start down the trail.
Everyone will be eager to see the waterfall, but don’t pass by all the beauty of the trail itself! Lots of huge trees and mossy rocks, fungi of all kinds and of course lots of interesting insects to look at.
About halfway down the trail you’ll see the stunning Lost Creek Cave in front of you. Honestly, the pictures of the cave don’t do it justice. The size of the cave will absolutely stop you in your tracks. It’s huge and it’s open to explore!
I would not suggest exploring the cave with little ones, however. We looked around inside for a bit, and my older children climbed on the rocks just inside the cave entrance, but you’ll want to be prepared with caving helmets and headlamps before exploring any further.
From what I understand there is water at some point in the cave, so sending children into the cave on their own is not recommended. Once you see the cave entrance from the trail, you’ll make a left and follow the trail the rest of the way down to the base of the Falls.
Lost Creek Falls and its Pool
We spent about three hours there playing in the pool under the waterfall and climbing behind it. There are two smaller cave entrances on either side of the Falls that are much safer to explore since they don’t lead anywhere. My kids had fun strapping on headlamps and exploring in there, but it was a tight fit, so I stayed at the entrance.
The surrounding rocks offer a great spot to enjoy lunch as you watch the water cascading down. As we ate, we watched the birds and squirrels in the surrounding forest, leaving us in awe of the beauty of the place.
Everyone, including my 4-year-old, were mesmerized by the water crashing down into the pool below.
The other thing that makes this a great summer hangout is that because the base of the falls is down near the entrance of the cave, it stays fairly cool there even on the hottest summer days.
On the day we went it was near 90 degrees, but after splashing around for a while we could’ve used jackets while sitting to eat our lunch.
What to Bring on Your Adventure
That brings me to the most important part of this post which is what you should bring with you on your adventure!
Please keep in mind that this list is just a suggestion and I’m certainly not a professional hiker, but these are the things that we brought along (or wish we had) that made our trip safe and more enjoyable.
- Good hiking shoes/sneakers (I would definitely not suggest sandals for the walk)
- Water shoes for exploring the Falls
- Bug spray (something good for deep woods exploring)
- Sunscreen
- Water…LOTS OF WATER!
- A picnic
- Swimsuit
- Towels
- Change of clothes for the ride home
- A well-stocked first aid kit
- Headlamps
- Compass
- Whistle
- Camera
- Snacks
- Magnifying glass
Family Fun Facts
Lost Creek Falls And Cave (Map) *See directions in post
Open – Sun Up to Sundown
Cost : Free
Thank you for your detailed post. I wanted to go and told my family. My Aunt offered to drive us even though she can’t get down there. It was wonderful. My aunt and mom came down a little bit and sat in lawn chairs to wait for us. The falls were easy to get to and take photos. Your directions were spot on. Thank you. We all used the bathroom before there weren’t any.
Cool! I haven’t been to Lost Creek Falls yet but I can’t wait to check it out. Thanks for the inspiration and all the helpful planning information.
The falls was the setting for Disney’s Jungle Book movie that came out in 1994. It is that spectacular.
Is it possible to kike in and camp the night?
Hi Matt, I don’t think you can camp. Lost Creek Falls is managed by Fall Creek Falls State Park. Give them a call at 423-881-5708 and double check though.
This was awesome of you to write! I like all the detail you provided and can’t wait to go there.
Thank you for taking time to share it all.
This is indeed a beautiful place and I’m the first to encourage families to get out and do things together. That being said, I have concerns about people without proper gear and/or experience entering Lost Creek Cave. First of all, you need to obtain permission from the park office located at Fall Creek Falls. Caves are a unique and federally protected feature of the Tennessee landscape. This is to protect not only the cave itself, but avoid injury to would be explorers that may not be properly prepared. Being a caver with 30 years experience, there is a minimum of gear required for each individual member in a caving party. These include such things as three sources of light, one of which being a good quality headlamp attached to a proper helmet with a secure chin-strap, hiking boots, protective clothing, gloves, water, first aid kits and a waterproof cave pack to carry gear in. On my last visit I witnessed a family of 7 entering the cave, including 3 young children, equipped only with a variety of cheap headlamps and hand held flashlights, wearing T-shirts and shorts, with only tennis shoes and flip flops on their feet. This is a dangerous situation as one slip on a muddy rock or while climbing fallen boulders(breakdown), can result in serious injury without proper protective gear for the head and body. In addition, an injury underground is much more life threatening than it would be on the surface as rescue times are very much delayed and, depending on the location in the cave, could take several hours to extract the injured party. Caves are dangerous places and to enter them, especially one as large and complex at Lost Creek, without proper training and gear is utterly irresponsible. You are literally taking your life in your own hands. Please enjoy the area to its fullest but don’t enter the cave without permission or proper gear. You find out all about proper techniques and caves in general at caves.org , the website for the National Speleological Society. Check out their accident reports section to see for yourself how a simple slip can result in fatality underground. Be safe and be well.
Thank you so much for the information and safety tips, Ray!
Yes, I was told that there are only certain times of the year you are allowed to go into the cave and that you do need permission. One reason is that someone knows you went in there!
Thanks for the info, and that makes sense that someone outside would need to know if you go into the cave. The trip is worth it for the waterfall alone. 🙂
Thanks so much for the post! Decided to head that way today and will add a couple notes for future visitors: as you drive down Whites Cave Rd you will eventually see a sign that says “Lost Creek State Natural Area” and then further down will see a sign on the left that says “parking for Lost Creek State Natural Area day use only” (that’s where the sharp right turn is). There is a definite temperature difference as you walk into the valley which is awesome! (but not so awesome on the return trip back into the humidity haha). Also my boys discovered that the small cave on the left of the waterfall is actually a pass through which was pretty cool for them. It made for happy kids (ages 4-7) and served as a nice break on our road trip – thanks again!
Oh – on another note we didn’t really have much, if any, signal with our verizon phones once we actually got onto Whites Cave Rd as a head’s up for those that are using phones to navigate or think they will get to FaceTime from the waterfall.
Thank you for being so thorough! Even down to the last bathroom stop, which is very, very important.