Rutledge Falls — Attraction in Tullahoma

First let me disclose that my review has zero reflection on the property itself. The waterfall is absolutely stunning and without human interference the water is beautiful, clear, cool, and the swimming hole is very nice. Parking is limited and the area fills up quickly and becomes overcrowded especially on weekends so beware. The property is privately owned and from what I've witnessed lacks any real rules or regulations for visitors. There is no entrance fee. Now for my why on less than 5 stars and to mainly raise awareness to the issues...

Born and raised in TN I'm very familiar with a lot of the now very popular and imo now overcrowded waterfalls. We still have so many left to explore and try our best to avoid hiking during the weekends. Today was only our second time visiting Rutledge Falls. The first time my husband and I hiked several weeks ago on Tuesday June 11th. It is an absolutely gorgeous natural area and I think it's amazing that the private owners allow public use of their property without charge or regulation. However, Today Friday July 5th we brought our adult daughter and her boyfriend visiting from out of town. I was extremely disappointed and frankly disgusted with the amount of litter and trash EVERYWHERE. It was obviously extremely crowded with the holiday weekend, but there was food (watermelon, meat, bones, etc) discarded all over in the water and rocks, trash included large garbage bags full just left behind, muddy clothing just left behind unclaimed by anyone, and even large groups lighting open fires to cook food along the trail by the falls while playing loud music like it was their own personal backyard. I'm all for being able to enjoy all the natural beauty TN has to offer without everything being over regulated, high entrance fees, etc but this is EXACTLY why it happens. LEAVE NO TRACE!!! It's not that hard. Pick up your trash. Pack appropriately and make sure you pack out what you pack in including your trash and wet muddy clothing. Be respectful of others in a public place and just enjoy the sounds of nature without blasting your personal music. And please don't cook food where there are no grills provided by the park, or property etc. Just common sense and common courtesy. I really think these gorgeous natural area could benefit from some trash receptacles near the entrance, posted signs banning open flames and urging visitors not to litter. If littering continues to be an issue I would post signs banning both open flames and picnics. It may seem extreme but what I witnessed today was disgraceful and completely destroying the environment there not to mention the natural beauty of this place. I would also post no loud music. There are plenty of places for that type of gathering and this in my opinion shouldn't be one of them. By all means visit, hike, swim, enjoy the gorgeous scenery, and then...

Rutledge Falls is located in Coffee County and though it is not part of a state park, it is accessible due to the generosity of it's landowner who keeps it open and available to public to enjoy. The falls are a beautiful sight and includes a swimming pool and creek under a shaded canopy of trees.

As you approach the falls parking area, you'll see the Rutledge Falls Baptist Church. As stated above, the land that the falls are located on is private property and fenced in though the sign is open and there is a sign welcoming visitors that requests basic considerations of those who visit.

The trail leading to the falls is very short and you get an almost immediate glimpse of the waterfall from an initial viewing area along with a statue, The Lady of the Fall, who was originally located at the Tennessee State Capital. It was a part of a set, named Morning, Noon, and Night and constructed in 1859. According to the Tennessee State Museum, the figure here is Night. A renovation project at the capital resulted in their removed and one of the owners of the falls, B "Pop" Jennings obtained permission to save the statue and place it on the short trail to the falls.

From the overlook, the descent to the falls is somewhat steep and rocky so caution is needed though small children can still make it with a little assistance.

The area around the base of the falls has plenty of shade and the water itself is quite cold though swimming is certainly an option with water getting to be 6 to 10 feet deep below the falls. The falls themselves are 40 feet tall and many climb it's wet rocks and plunge into the water below.

The body of water that feeds the falls is Crumpton Creek, which eventually empties into Normandy Lake and...

This piece is on private property. You park on side the road next to a cow pasture, across from a church. (Almost across). You're allowed to visit it between like 6AM to 6PM (I think).

The hike is fairly easy. You go through a small pedestrian gate. The gate is tied in with a vehicle gate (since someone lives back there). You'll walk on a nice limestone driveway until you see the turn off starting into the woods. (You can hear the waterfall by then).

Almost immediately you'll notice a statue of a (topless but not rude even to children) woman in B.C. era robe. Facing the statue and the river, you can go left to the bottom of the falls or right to the top. The right turn is a bit more strenuous having one section of a fairly sharp, upward angled mud cliff.

The left is a fairly decent descent down but not bad at all. It goes down in a zig zag bit of rocks and stuff. There is a bit of very old brick work into the side of the cliff going down (left side).

Once down, you'll walk on rocks until you get to the waterfall, maybe 150 feet away from descent. The deep swimming pool starts before at about 100 feet. You can cross the little creek that continues on, and go around right next to fall. Extending below fall, is a ledge about 15 feet out from waterfall, roughly 8 inches deep. You can stand and...