Things to do outside around Livingston

Planning a day out here

Livingston sits between two different kinds of day. North of town the land opens

into Dale Hollow, which is clear, deep and cold, and organised around boat ramps.

South and west toward Cookeville the creeks have cut down through limestone, and

the day is a walk into a gorge instead of a drive to a dock. Both are inside 45

minutes. Pick by the weather, not by the drive.

Cell service quits in the gorges and on stretches of the lake. Download the map

before you leave the house.

Almost all the good water is at the bottom of a hill, and the hill is the part

nobody photographs. Budget for the climb out, in daylight, with a tired child.

Gas, ice and lunch are easier on this side of the trip. Livingston has all three

within a block of the square; Allons, Hilham and Byrdstown do not.

What the seasons actually do

Spring is when the waterfalls are worth the drive and the creek crossings are

worth respecting. Water that was ankle deep on Friday can be thigh deep on Sunday.

Summer belongs to the lake. Obey River and Lillydale fill up by ten on a

Saturday, so either go early or go to Willow Grove, which sits up on a bluff and

never quite fills.

Fall is the season that works. Low water makes the gorges walkable, the plateau turns,

and the crowds are gone by the second week of October.

Winter empties the place out. Seasonal campgrounds close, Burgess Falls runs

8 to 4, and the bald eagles arrive on the Obey below Dale Hollow Dam. Bare trees

open up every overlook on this list.

Before you go

• Shoes with real tread. Wet limestone is slick even where the trail looks flat.
• More water than you think, most of it for the climb back out.
• The map downloaded, not streamed.
• Whatever fell upstream last night. These creeks come up fast and drop slowly.
• Sunscreen and bug spray from April to October.
• A bag for your trash. Most of these trailheads have no cans.
• Somebody at home who knows which trailhead your car is at.

Common questions

What actually costs money?

Most of it is free. The Corps day-use areas charge $5 a vehicle, or $2 if you walk

in: Obey River, Pleasant Grove, Lillydale, Roaring River and Wartrace Creek. Obey

River takes the America the Beautiful pass. Pleasant Grove's pay station is a

machine that takes cards only, so do not arrive with a five dollar bill. Cummins

Falls needs a Gorge Access Permit bought online if you want the base of the

waterfall, and summer weekends sell out. Everything else on this page, including

every state park entry, Bee Rock, the fish hatchery and all the city parks, costs

nothing to walk into.

Can I bring the dog?

Yes, nearly everywhere, on a lead no longer than six feet. That is the actual

number in both rulebooks: Tennessee State Parks policy and 36 CFR 327.11, which

governs every Corps property here. The consistent exception is water and

playgrounds. Dogs are barred from designated swimming beaches, from pools, and

from playgrounds at Corps areas, so Obey River's beach, Lillydale's two beaches

and the Standing Stone pool are all no. Do not leave a dog tied up unattended at a

campsite; that is specifically prohibited, not just frowned on.

Which places suit small children?

Cane Creek Park in Cookeville is the reliable answer: five playgrounds, paved

loops, a lake with piers, and boat rentals when the weather is warm. Dogwood Park

downtown has what Cookeville calls its only fully accessible playground plus a

fountain that runs April through October. Closer in, Livingston City Park and

Central Park are both a few minutes from the square. On the lake, Wartrace Creek

and Roaring River pair a playground with a beach, which solves most arguments.

The fish hatchery is the sleeper: small children will watch trout for longer than

you expect.

What can I do with a wheelchair or a stroller?

The Tennessee Central Trail is the flattest and widest paved surface in the region, 4.23 paved miles

and nine feet wide, flat the whole way from Cookeville to Algood. The Monterey

Rail Trail is the same idea at 1.1 miles. Cane Creek Park's walking loops are

paved, Dogwood Park's playground is built to be fully accessible, and the Dale

Hollow Damsite campground has a paved mile inside it. The fish hatchery is walked

on a paved road. Everything in the waterfall and gorge section is the opposite of

this, and Cummins Falls in particular involves walking in the creek bed.

Where can I actually swim?

Twelve of these have swimming. On Dale Hollow, Obey River has the biggest and

busiest beach, Lillydale has two, and Willow Grove has one you have to walk down

to. On Cordell Hull, Wartrace Creek and Roaring River both have beaches. Standing

Stone has a seasonal pool rather than a lake swim. The Boils on the Roaring River

is the local swimming hole most visitors drive straight past. Cummins Falls has

the pool under the falls, which is the one that needs the permit and the one that

floods. Burgess Falls has no swimming at all, which is the honest difference

between it and Cummins.

It is raining. Is anything still worth doing?

The lake is fine in light rain and the paved trails drain well, so Tennessee

Central and Monterey stay walkable. The gorges are the problem. Cummins Falls

closes its gorge on rain with no notice, and it is a flash-flood gorge, not a

muddy-boots one. If the forecast is wet, aim north to the water rather than south

to the creeks, or take the hatchery, where most of what you came to see is

happening in a raceway you can stand beside under cover.