A 110-foot waterfall over a sandstone cap rock into a rock-strewn gorge pool, visible near the roadside close to Crab Orchard.
Ozone Falls drops about 110 feet over a sandstone cap rock into a deep, rock-strewn pool in a narrow gorge, within Ozone Falls State Natural Area near Crab Orchard in Cumberland County. Tennessee's Natural Areas program classifies it as scenic-recreational, and its history includes a gristmill that once stood near the brink until it washed over the falls in a flood around 1900. The site sits just off U.S. Highway 70, close enough to Interstate 40 that the falls can be seen without a long approach.
A rugged, roughly three-quarter-mile round-trip route descends into the gorge along Fall Creek to the base of the falls; it is not a maintained, railed trail, and the state's page notes the area is open sunrise to sunset, with rappelling prohibited and dogs not recommended. The official natural-area page we reviewed did not carry a specific swimming or drowning advisory, but the plunge pool sits beneath wet rock and a sheer gorge wall, and the site has a documented history of fatal incidents; treat the pool and brink with real caution and check current signage on arrival rather than assuming a formal swimming area exists.
Know before you go
Ozone Falls State Natural Area, Cumberland County; exit I-40 at Crab Orchard, then east about 4 miles on US-70 to the falls on the right.
Open year-round, sunrise to sunset; flow is heaviest after rain and can be a trickle in dry periods.
Unofficial, rugged route of about 0.75 miles round trip descends into the gorge along Fall Creek; no maintained trail or railings.
No fee noted on the state's natural area page.
Steep, rocky, unimproved terrain; not accessible.
2026-10-12. Conditions and requirements can change; confirm with the land manager before travelling.
Sources & further reading
This is a researched visitor guide, not a claim that our editors have personally visited. Trail conditions, permits, and access can change.
