Jackson Falls — Attraction in Centerville

Driving along the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, you'll find Jackson Falls, one of the Trace's most popular sites at milepost 404.7. The falls are located along the intermittent Jackson Branch that empties into the Duck River and named after President Andrew Jackson.

There is a large parking area with bathrooms and a picnic area where we grabbed lunch before heading down the hiking trail.

From the parking lot, the trail leading to Jackson Falls is a short and steep concrete sidewalk that leads to a clear pool at the base of the falls.

Especially for children, be sure to bring bathing suits, towels, and footwear with good traction. The falls have steps that they'll love climbing up to get their picture taken and there are natural slides going into the pools a the base of the slides that they'll enjoy sliding into.

Once you are done cooling off at the base of the falls there is a path to the right of the falls where you can climb onto the upper level. The upper level is flat and there is a large "platform" on which you can stand and observe the upper portion of the falls of which I tried to capture in the photos and...

This is a beautiful home and definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area. Their are two main ways to get to the falls. If you're coming from the Franklin area the longer hike to the falls is just a few minutes before the shorter one. The longest hike is only a third of a mile and only takes about ten minutes, the shorter hike is only about 2 minutes. I recommend the longer one as it connects you onto the shorter one. It has beautiful views along the way and neither are intense hikes. The longer hike only has difficult section and it's right at the beginning for only about ten feet (it's just loose dirt ground that can make it easy to slip) I've done all sorts of hiking and this trail is one that's fine even for beginners. Also, the shorter trail can be done in a wheel chair as long as you have someone strong enough to control it on the way down. The short trail is almost all paved so the only difficulty will be having to control and hold the chair...

This trail is only accessible from the Natchez Trace Parkway. Closest main Highway will be US 50 in Hickman County near the Maury County line. We opted to start the day at the northern most mile marker near Loveless Cafe and wind ourselves to this trail head enjoying the natural beauty along the way. There are of course multiple places to stop along this route (Parkway) to rest, or view scenic overlooks.

This trail is relatively short in distance but pretty steep as you descend to bottom of the ravine at the base of the falls. The Park Mgt has placed safety railing along the pathway to help you with balance and to stop your fall. On a crowded day of hikers plan on waiting your turn for prime positions to shoot your perfect shot. I think the Park signage states that the drop from top to bottom is just...