Founded in 1856 as a railroad depot, Johnson City, TN was dubbed “Little Chicago” during its Prohibition bootlegging heyday. The quaint college town, with it’s classic brick buildings lining downtown streets, became home base in late-October for our trip to northeastern Tennessee to celebrate my birthday. Carrying on the city’s spirited past, we discovered four breweries within walking distance of our loft.
I researched eight waterfalls for our two-night stay in Johnson city. We stopped on the 3.5-hour drive to hike the 2.4-miles, out and back trail to Margarette Falls near Greeneville, TN.
The trees’ colors in this area were just beginning to blush, and the trail was covered with a thick blanket of rust-colored leaves.
Margarette Falls spills down 60 feet of layered granite, spreading wider as it nears the base. It was a great place to get off the road, relax and eat lunch. We hiked on a Thursday and had the falls to ourselves.
We treated ourselves to some tasty libations and Bar-B-Que after checking into a loft in Johnson City. The next morning’s first hike took us to Laurel Falls. The beginning of the trail followed an abandoned railroad bed.
The hiking path to Laurel Falls was a pleasure. It was mostly level for the first mile, with easy creek crossings.
This beautiful walk through the woods passed through several towering, rocky gaps strewn with boulders that fell from the sides.
This section of the Laurel Falls trail was flanked on both sides by soaring trees that stood watch like sentries.
The easy stroll came to a halt when the trail dropped off the ridge into the Laurel Falls gorge. The last 1/4-mile was straight down on strategically placed rocks and boulders.
Touted as “the most spectacular waterfall in northeast Tennessee, Laurel falls was truly magnificent.
We ate lunch and lounged in the cool shade not wanting to leave the peace of Laurel Falls beautiful ravine. The fall leaves teased us as we were too early for their full burst of brilliance.
The 1/4-mile climb out of Laurel Falls’ gulf was a real test of knees and backs. We were thankful for the flat terrain on the return trip at the top.
We squeezed in Coon Den Falls before heading back to Johnson City. This hike was a very, very steep, 1/2-mile in while the light of day faded. The narrow, deep furrow this relentless little creek carved into the solid granite amazed me. The 90-foot fall was not huge, but very unique.
We had a great time in quaint Johnson City. There are hundreds of waterfalls in this area that merit a return visit. The first settler in Tennessee homesteaded in Johnson City and the surrounding Cherokee National Forest is full of historic sites and beautiful scenery. We have so much more to explore.