Fall Creek Falls State Park Day Ride

Combine the highest free falling waterfall east of the Mississippi, epic scenery and one of the best motorcycling roads in the Southeast,  you have the perfect formula for a great ride.  The self-guided route to Fall Creek Falls State Park will deliver all this and more.

Fall Creek Falls State Park is one of the largest parks in Tennessee, covering almost 30,000 acres.  

The park is on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau.  Constructed by the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps 1938 to reestablish forests and control severe erosion, the land and improvements were deeded to the State of Tennessee in 1944.

Fall Creek Falls, the marquee park feature, is 276 feet tall making it the tallest falls east of the Mississippi.  The park actually contains six waterfalls within its boundaries:  Fall Creek Falls, Cane Creek Falls, Cane Creek Cascades, Rockhouse Falls, Piney Creek Falls, Coon Creek Falls and Lost Creek Falls.  Fall Creek Falls, Cane Creek Falls and Cascades and Coon Creek Falls can be viewed with a short walk from established parking areas.  The remaining falls can be accessed by various hiking trails.  The park’s road system will also route visitors past several scenic overlooks such as Buzzards Roost and Millikan's Overlook.

This day ride to Fall Creek Falls will take you through the quaint towns of Watertown, Woodbury and Rock Island, the latter being a great stopping point for a break.  Before getting to Rock Island you may want to stop at Rock Island State Park for a few photos of the Caney Fork River cascades and Great Falls Dam.

Heading out, you will be traveling on Bone Cave Rd., Laurel Creek Rd and onto TN 30, one of the twisty favorites of “local” riders.  Tennessee highway 30 will bring you to Fall Creek Falls Park Road.  The route will continue through the park past overlooks for the falls as well as a scenic loop along the Cane Creek Gorge.  The route will continue through the park and to McMinnville where there are many options of lunch.  After lunch enjoy highways TN 288, TN 96, TN 264 and New Hope Road for your return to the rally grounds.  Fall Creek Falls State Park is one of the most beautiful places in Tennessee.  So leave Lebanon early enough to give yourself plenty of time to stop and enjoy the views of the Fall Creek Falls State Park and enjoy the hospitality small Tennessee towns have to offer!  

You can explore and download this route here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49550983.  To see all the routes for this year's rally as they are released, go here: https://ridewithgps.com/events/345410-moa-rally-2025.

USING RIDE WITH GPS

Ride with GPS is a great way for the MOA to share and distribute maps, GPS routes and turn-by-turn instructions. As with any great service, some best practices in the form of tips and tricks are in order.

• You will need an account to access routes on Ride with GPS for free.  To create an account go here: https://ridewithgps.com/signup
  • Account creation is free.  So if prompted for a subscription, exit out by looking for 'X' in the pop up window on a web browser to close it.
  • Or consider giving RwGPS a trial, after all they do provide a free trial subscription. Use code MOArally2025 for a free 2-week premium trial subscription.
• Next, you will need to join the organization area in Ride with GPS for the BMW MOA.
  • To do this quickly and with immediate access to the organization click this link: https://ridewithgps.com/auto_approve/Club/5475/g3pCQrS4F4g9kxp1
  • If you don't do this it could be a few days before you are granted access.

You can explore and download this route here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49550983.  To see all the routes for this year's rally as they are released, go here: https://ridewithgps.com/events/345410-moa-rally-2025.

To get routes on your GPS device:

• Each route in Ride with GPS is equivalent to a track in the world of Garmin GPS units and BaseCamp software. So for all the routes, make sure you get the entire collection of routes in Ride with GPS.
  • Ride with GPS allows you to download many different GPS files types, including GPX, for the BMW Navigator series and other Garmin productsWhen downloading GPX files, only download the "GPX Track" version.
  • The "GPX Route" version will leave you at the mercy of the settings on your Garmin GPS, and will take you off the planned route and maybe to unexpected places and road conditions.
• Once you have the "GPX Track" version loaded on your device and want turn-by-turn navigation, convert the "track" on your Garmin GPS to a "trip."
• If you don’t have a dedicated GPS device and use your phone for navigation, Ride with GPS also has a number of file formats to work with various navigation apps for phones.
• Ride with GPS also has its own phone app that will also help guide you! Download now for Apple iOS or Android.