Cumberland Falls

Adding Cumberland Falls to my bucket list was an easy decision! Because it is known as the Niagara of the South, I had to compare it to the real thing! While it was much smaller and offered no boat tours - I still enjoyed my visit all the same!

I only ended up doing one actual hiking trail while I visited but I did make a two day trip of it. I stayed at the lodge in the park for the night (super afordable and offered amazing views from my room) which allowed me to then do some other lighter paved routes to overlooks and such the next morning!

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Eagle Falls Trail

After some light research this was the trail I settled on - it was only about 2.5miles (I obviously made it longer as I tend to wander off more than most folks) but in that stretch there were multiple over looks and a route that let you climb down to the river to see Cumberland Falls and get a lower view of Eagle Falls!

The photos above are in chronological order as you walk along the trail. So you start your trail across the river from the lodge and behind Cumberland Falls. As you continue it’ll split off for an overview from higher up the ridge (yes I did this; but the views further on I personally liked better). The next split however takes you down to river level where you can climb and boulder all over - and it’s actually where I got the peak-a-boo shot in the middle of Cumberland!

If you follow the sound of splashing water around the rocky outcropping you will find Eagle Falls. It’s very tucked away but sooo very worth the extra steps! Not only do you get the waterfall itself, but also a small little lagoon like area, with more water falling even beyond the outcropping you’re on. The last photo of the three I actually took while standing in the middle of the river flowing out of the river lagoon like area!

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Lower Leap Trail

Now to call this a trail would honestly be a bit of an exaggeration. It’s paved and has designated overlooks - but you can however also get down to the “beach” and wander as far as you’d like. And that’s exactly what I did. Now this path is on the opposite side of the river as Eagle Falls was so while you can see Cumberland Falls, it’s much closer and much less interrupted. It actually appears much less daunting from this side of the river and smaller too.

But I am also a Michigan girlie so Niagara has me biased when it comes to large waterfalls.

Beyond this overlook I took to the beach for a bit. I meandered until I found a log suitable for sitting and it was on that log that I contemplated my next travel contact. Wondering if I truly wanted to be that far from home again, what exactly I would be jumping into, how much longer I truly planned to continue traveling- to say I had a lot on my mind would be yet another understatement. So listening to the falling water on a log that had long ago floated down the very river I sat at… I agreed to move to Billings Montana.