Fall Creek Falls State Park — Attraction in McMinnville

We stopped at Fall Creek Falls as part of a 3-week camping trip this month. We got a last-minute reservation in one of the "cul de sacs" in B Campground. We were grateful for a spot, but honestly, it wasn't our favorite. The people around us were SUPER nice, but we were very close to each other. We like to walk in the mornings and evenings, and once we figured out the roads that connected the various parts of Campground B and didn't keep turning down dead-end cul de sacs it was more fun to explore for sure. The site itself was fine -- water, electric and close to the bathroom.

We went and hiked the Woodland Trail and it was a decent trail. We planned to do the Paw Paw Trail, but thunderstorms came in and so we didn't get to do it. We also hoped to go down to the bottom of the falls that day, but another shower kept us from attempting it.

We went to Pikesville to The Butter Dish for dinner, which was kind of fun. We got there for seafood night, which even at 4:45 had a 30-minute wait. We didn't get to the lodge restaurant, but we did use the laundry facilities (during another monsoon shower) and bought a few things at the General Store, which was well supplied and the staff was very courteous.

We also hiked from the Nature Center to the Falls and did the Gorge Overlook Trail. We took the side trail to Rocky something view -- and that was kind of like being back in Maine on the Appalachian Trail. :) Seriously, it's not something to do with little kids, but also I didn't think the view was worth the scramble (although we personally enjoyed the scramble!)

We like parks where we can walk to trails, etc., and FCF is so big, you don't have that option except from Campground C for trails and Campground D, I think it is, for the Village, where the store and laundry is. It's not a bad thing, but something we weren't mentally prepared for.

Also, the cabins looked really cool if you wanted to do that kind of a trip and the new lodge (I had been to the old one many years ago for a professional convention) was gorgeous.

Overall, it's a great park and there were LOTS of families and kids having a blast. Not sure if we'll come back, but I'd guess we might give it another shot because, after all, it's one of the prettiest parks in the Southeast...

This park is an absolute gem. Free to enter and lots of things you can do. Here are the things I did.

Falls creek falls - The best falls at this park for sure. Just drive straight all the way from the park entrance to get to the Falls creek falls overlook area. There is a restroom on the left side. Walk past this to get to the overlook. The view from here is awesome if its not foggy. From here, the hike to the bottom of the falls is a steep descend. It is 0.4 miles to the bottom of the hike. It is marked “strenuous” because of the slippery steps, tree roots and boulders you have to get through. But take your time, and you will be fine. I took 20 mins to get to the bottom. Once you get to the bottom, the views are just stunning! You can swim at the bottom, or stand directly under the falls. There are a few hiking trails from the bottom of the falls but i didn’t do it. The climb back is obviously harder, and takes a lil more time. YOU CAN DO IT!

After this I took the Piney Falls and Scenic loop road (first right). The drive is nice with some nice stops.

Millikan’s Overlook and Buzzard’s Roost - this overlook is on the right side while on the scenic loop. Make sure you do the very short hike/walk from the side of the overlook to the edge of the cliff. The views are very rewarding.

Piney Falls Overlook + Suspension Bridge - Both of this are on one stop. The Piney falls overlook is a very short hike. You can see the falls at a distance but its too far to get pics. After this, i did the suspension bridge trail to the bridge. It is pretty nice. I headed back from the bridge since I had a long drive back to Chicago. But you can continue a lil more on this trail to get views of Piney falls. Not sure if you can make it to the bottom of the falls though.

Follow @ajitho.photography on instagram for more hike...

My son just had his wedding here. The staff was helpful in helping them plan and make all their decisions. The ceremony was held on one of the over looks it was gorgeous. Now there is only parking for maybe 4 cars to pull of the road. It is also a little difficult to find. We had a few people bringing people up in vehicles from the parking lot. The road up is one way. It was kinda a pain. The path down to overlook was not well marked could have been easily missed if you didn’t know it was there. The walk isn’t that long maybe 3 minutes but it is the woods so it is filled with roots. This made it interesting in heals. All of our older guest did make it down with assistance.

The reception was held in the recreation hall. It was beautiful. Two large rooms on each end used one for eating the other for music and dancing was nice for older guest to have a quiet area to sit and talk while dancing was going on. The bathroom are very nice. A nice size kitchen with everything you need. It turned out to be a wonderful gorgeous day.

My only complaint was it was very hard to give directions and explain to guest where things were. We lost 3 guest in the woods looking for the overlook. They were found after the ceremony. But 3 ladies in heals and dresses walking through the woods wasn’t fun. The Recreation Hall wasn’t that easy to find either. There isn’t a lot of signs to help you around the park. And the cell reception wasn’t that great either we tried dropping our locations and that was a 50/50 success. But other than that it was a beautiful weekend.

I would suggest to anyone else having a wedding there. Plan way in advance and try to book one area for all your wedding party to stay at. We had cabins and Airbnb and we had people all over the place some as far out as 45 minutes. Which of course all their accommodations said right...