North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park
Managed by Tennessee State Parks
318 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Falling Water
14% of Falling Water’s land is conserved: 451 acres
The biggest trail networks: North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park (1.1 mi). 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.4 per 1,000 residents. 10% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
451 acres · of 5.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
886 ft
Mailbox Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Falling Water?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Falling Water have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Falling Water is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Falling Water’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · TN 10 · U.S. 13DParks close to home10% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 36%
LessMore
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Falling Water’s 14% is ahead of 93% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
451 conserved acres
14% of Falling Water’s land. Who manages Falling Water’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land319 ac
State conservation318 ac
State parks132 ac
State Conservation Area · 450 acState Park · 319 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Trail State Park | Other state land | 319 | Open |
| North Chickamauga Creek Gorge Designated State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 318 | Restricted |
| Falling Water Falls Designated State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State parks | 132 | Restricted |
Things to do
9 places to go in Falling Water
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Falling Water
Playgrounds in Falling Water
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Falling Water
Clear Branch Falls 40In North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park
DirectionsFalling Water Falls 110
DirectionsPeaks in Falling Water
Mailbox Hill886 ft elevation
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Falling Water: April to June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 61 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 5.7 |
October is the driest month (3.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Falling Water →
Next door
Falling Water and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falling Water | 14% | 0.4 | under 1 | 10% | C+ |
| Soddy-Daisy | 4% | 0.2 | 11 | 41% | C+ |
| Chattanooga | 14% | 1.3 | 22 | 68% | A− |
| Walden | 1% | 1.7 | 12 | 92% | B+ |
| Mowbray Mountain | 17% | 1.6 | 623 | 53% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Falling Water
Where can I hike in Falling Water?
The longest trail networks: North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Falling Water is conserved land?
14% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Tennessee town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Falling Water’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Falling Water?
10,355 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Falling Water or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Falling Water have?
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Falling Water neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →