Rock Island State Park — Attraction in McMinnville

Worth it!!!! The blue hole section has plenty of parking spaces, there's a restroom facility at the end of the parking lot, there's a couples of picnic tables to the side of the trails entrance as well, the signs are posted properly and in perfect view for directions, the trails here are very well kept, no trash ,or graffiti on any of the trails,the entrance of eagle trail and blue trail are combined and signs are posted within a few feet directing you in which trail you would like to take, the eagle trail has quite a few signs posted along the trail telling you inform about different trees, and it leads to a few small waterfalls, the views of these though are hard to see due to tree growth in this area, the blue hole trail, is constantly WET, so come prepared, there's a few stairs at the beginning of this trail,and the waterfalls here keep them very wet, so use caution, however totally safe due to the hand rails to hold onto, and metal spiked railing for non slip issues, in on section as well, this trail is ALL DOWN HILL,so you will be climbing up on the way back,to the parking lot,after the Steps of the entrance to the trail it leads to a staircase, then a metal bridge, and then a metal/wooden ladder ramp,then onto climbing nature to see the waterfalls on this area,the east part of climbing down or up ends very quickly after the metal/ wooden ramp, these are surrounded by waterfalls, this whole area is, from the first step to the staircases to the end of the trail, there's water everywhere, please wear proper foot protection, it is also a great place to explore and take great photos from start to finish, plenty of standing to view, places, climbing spots are endless, and at the end of the trail a beautiful river view with a mountain side view running along with the river, very beautiful!! Very worth coming to see, and explore, the waterfalls are at full flow in August, which is amazing !! * NEXT * we went traveled to the end of the state park, and discovered a beautiful picnic area ,grills and its seating is next to the edge of the river and mountain side, as well,but no bathroom in this section, still plenty of space for great views, and eating areas, and photos to be taken, Next we went to a location right beside this picnic area and Wow,a beautiful long ,very long beach front area ,a huge parking lot, two to be exact, one for those who brings boats, kayaks, surf boards, this parking lot is the first one to your right, the second park lot next to the first one is for normal traffic, due to the first parking lot having a loading and unloading boat dock, you will find all sorts of entertainment here, from the water to the beach, to the fire pits, to the volleyball area, there are 🚻 bathrooms here, and yes swimming is allowed even for your pets in river, the views are amazing, and you can also find art on the sand that people have left using, rocks, feathers, and twigs, most of the tourists are hanging out here, and still there's plenty room all-around to pitch a canopy, or throw a blanket for picnic reasons, or lay out and sun soak, or take pictures, you'll find people on boats, kayaks, paddle boats, surf boards, dogs swimming and people fishing, and people swimming,and skipping rocks lounging and playing music, all in and around the river as one...it's amazing and the space, is very spacious, even this location and restroom area is kept very nicely. Needless to say I will definitely be coming back to revisit this little yet big state park again !!...

First, the cabins: Check-in went smoothly. The cabins were clean, surprisingly spacious, well-stocked with most things you’d need. Although, my son, ever the keen eye, found a hairbrush and a toy duck in one of the rooms behind a bed, and a snickers bar in the couch cushion, so maybe they just want to inspect a little closer when they clean. 😆 It also bugs me when they use a flat sheet instead of a fitted sheet on the beds. Those flat sheets do not stay in place, and I have no interest on sleeping on the mattress pad that almost certainly doesn’t get laundered between guests. They make fitted sheets for a reason. Another gripe: when you book the cabin, everything they send you says to check in at 4:00. HOWEVER, the front desk closes at 4:00, so if you get there at 4:00, nobody will be there. You really have to check in at 3:00, which we only found out because my husband called them to inquire about something else. Please update your information in your emails on website to reflect the 3:00 check-in time. Last small, irritating thing: they don’t provide coffee filters. They provide dish soap, dishwasher pods, paper towels, dishes, pots and pans…but not coffee filters. We would not have known this if we hadn’t called ahead, and we had to buy a whole pack of coffee filters for 2 mornings. Please put a few coffee filters in the cabins. They’re pretty cheap, and the cabins are not.

Ok… As for the park itself: Several people I spoke to raved about this park, but it’s not a park I’d come to over and over again. Maybe my expectations were too high. If you’re just checking off a bucket list, (we are trying to see as many Tennessee waterfalls as possible) then stay a day and see the park. I personally wouldn’t want to stay here more than a day. There’s not enough to do. If you don’t own a boat, it’s basically just fishing and hiking. The hiking trails are not as extensive as other parks. And SO. MUCH. POISON IVY!! We have a few in our family who are dangerously allergic to poison ivy, and I know it’s everywhere in TN, and it’s not anybody else’s problem, but it was really everywhere here, worse than any other park. We had to be really extra careful. Some of the paths were narrow with poison ivy reaching into the walkway. Thankfully, we’re experts at identifying it. Rock hopping in the gorge was the best part, but not recommended if you have any mobility issues and might be too much of a challenge for very small kids. And if the gorge is closed, then you’re out of luck. The beach was flooded when we were there, so no swimming hole. There was even poison ivy on the beach. 😮‍💨

No dining in the park, and not a lot of restaurant options nearby (avoid Newt’s BBQ; Renea’s is good; The Trolley is over-priced, but fun). If you’re looking for a park to stay a few days with lots to do, pick Fall...

Tennessee has become one of my favorite states because of this trip! This was one of the best vacations we ever took and I already can’t wait to go back! Great falls & twin falls were beautiful and we loved learning the history of the cotton mill. The view was great for my mom who is older and not as steady on her feet but honestly she loved it so much she was finding ways to make it work so she could see more too, lol. For this leg of our trip we stayed in Rock Island Cabin No. 2 and not knowing what to expect as the pictures on the booking didn’t tell us much we were more then pleased when we opened the door. Very spacious clean and welcoming the house had everything you needed to feel like home full kitchen, two bathrooms, washer & dryer which was really helpful to be able to wash our clothes before we headed to North Carolina. A TV in the master and living room for my little one and my boyfriend to veg out at the end of the day (yep they brought the x box 🤦‍♀️). We had great neighbors so even our dog made friends too. The playground was charming, the staff we encountered were all very nice and when they were cleaning the house next to us we accidentally locked ourselves out of ours and the gentlemen opened it for us right away. The waterfalls are breathtaking, the hike wasn’t too intense although I wore too many layers that morning so I sweat my butt off but the cherry on top was that they had a spot with stairs that my mom could go down and see them too. I will absolutely be back bc this was my favorite out of all the places we stayed on our Maryland Tennessee North Carolina “cancer picked the wrong girl”celebration trip. My hope is that the next time we come we will stay longer in Tennessee b/c it really is a 💎! Thank you to all the people that clean and work at Rock island to make it so amazing for...