Day trips from Nashville · Waterfall
Jackson Falls
67 miles from downtown Nashville · about 1 hour 15 minutes
Natchez Trace Parkway milepost 404.7, Hickman County, TN
Jackson Falls sits at milepost 404.7 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, reached by a paved 900-foot trail that descends steeply from the parking area. It is the easiest real waterfall to reach from Nashville, and it is free.
- Trail
- 900 feet, paved, steep
- Milepost
- 404.7
- Fee
- None
Permits, fees and access
No fee and no permit. The Parkway is a National Park Service road and it is free to drive. Open year round. One thing to plan around in 2026: the Double Arch Bridge near Franklin closed in April 2026 for construction and is expected to stay closed into spring 2027, with the Parkway closed between milepost 437 and the Highway 96 ramp and a detour of about seven and a half miles. That does not block Jackson Falls, but it changes how you get onto the Trace from Nashville.
One thing to know first
The Park Service asks people directly not to climb on the falls, because the rock is very slick and the injuries are significant. The paved trail is steep enough that the walk back up surprises people.
Access rules, fees and closures verified August 15, 2026 against the agency that manages this place. They change, sometimes without notice. Check before you drive.
The neighborhoods closest to it
If this is the kind of Saturday you want a short drive from your front door, these are the parts of Middle Tennessee that put you nearest to it.
I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date. If you are weighing a move to Middle Tennessee and want to know which part of it puts you closest to the things you actually like, ask me. No pitch.