Stinging Fork Falls State Natural Area, a

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Class II Natural-Scientific State Scenic Area, is located in

Rhea County, Tennessee Rhea County (pronounced ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,870. Its county seat is Dayton. Rhea County comprises the Dayton, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also incl ...

, near Spring City. The Stinging Fork Falls trail terminates at the bottom of Stinging Fork Falls, a high

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

, about 1 mile from the parking area. A future segment of the Cumberland Trail is planned to connect to the falls. The area is owned by the State of Tennessee and managed by the

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the government of the U.S. state of Tennessee, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation. The Department of Conservation ...

. It was formerly owned and managed by Bowater Paper Company, which designated several areas in Tennessee as " Pocket Wildernesses" for public recreation.

References

External links

Topographic maps and GPS waypoints of Stinging Fork Falls

State of Tennessee Natural Area

Waterfalls of Tennessee Protected areas of Rhea County, Tennessee Nature reserves in Tennessee Landforms of Rhea County, Tennessee {{Tennessee-protected-area-stub