Rock Island State Park, Rock Island: Photos, Reviews & Location

At the confluence of three rivers with dramatic waterfall, park offers fishing & year-round cabins.

At a glance

#2 of 6 Tourist attractions in Rock Island

LocalGuideWorld score: 4.80

1.3 km from the center of Rock Island

Rating breakdown

5 ★84%
4 ★12%
3 ★2%
2 ★0%
1 ★1%

What reviewers talk about

Share of 16 recent reviews that mention each topic.

Cleanliness56%
Service & staff44%
View19%
Price & value19%
Location13%
Waiting & crowds6%

82 Beach Rd, Rock Island, TN 38581, United States

tnstateparks.com

+1 888-867-2757

Photos of Rock Island State Park (233)

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Rock Island State Park, Rock Island – photo 1

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Rock Island State Park, Rock Island – photo 12

Quick facts

What is the rating of Rock Island State Park?: Rock Island State Park is rated 4.8 out of 5 based on 8,930 reviews.
How does Rock Island State Park rank in Rock Island?: Rock Island State Park is #2 of 6 Tourist attractions in Rock Island by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
Where is Rock Island State Park located?: 82 Beach Rd, Rock Island, TN 38581, United States — 1.3 km from the center of Rock Island.
What do visitors mention most about Rock Island State Park?: Most often: cleanliness, service & staff, view (from 16 recent reviews).
How can I contact Rock Island State Park?: Phone: +1 888-867-2757 · Website: tnstateparks.com

Reviews (16)

Kasey Loftis 2024 Aug 01

We stayed in the cottages and we absolutely loved our stay here. The park is just beautiful and there are so many wonderful things to see. The only complaint, and not the parks fault is that it has been crazy hot. But we have loved going and seeing the falls and the gorge. Our cabin is amazing for the price. Tennessee state parks have unbeatable prices for their cabins and as long as they stay that way, we will continue to come. Our cabin was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with 2 porches, WiFi and 2 tvs. We definitely plan on coming back here!

ARE 2024 Jul 24

Beautiful falls! Close enough for day trips to other falls areas. Clean, well kept, friendly campground with playground, horseshoes, volleyball court, trails, swimming area, fishing and more!

Lincoln Jolley 2024 Jun 28

This was an amazing experience, I went it both areas which was the waterfalls and the lake area. The lake area was quite muddy but it was expected. The waterfall area was extremely slippery, make sure to be safe. The park currently as of this day closes at 6pm,

michelle white 2024 Jun 27

Loved this side stop!!! My husband and I were making a long road trip from Texas to Philly looking for a few short stops along the way and if those stops have some beautiful scenery and water all the better. The path down to the great fall area closed at 6 which was perfect because we got there at 4 which gave us time to hike around the gorge. The “beach”area seemed nice but we didn’t spend much time there. And the twin falls were beautiful. Easily seen from the parking area but of course we had to hike down for a closer look!!

Jenifer D. 2024 May 28

Although our anniversary trip was cut short due to a disturbance in the Force back home, the one day we spent there was just magnificent. We rented a cabin, and we're gobsmacked by how large and well laid out it was, especially for the price! The bed was comfortable and every need one could have for any length of stay was generously provided for. Since we anticipated a stay of four days, we started off at the Twin Falls Overlook. On our walk down to the bottom of the gorge, we encountered beauty that left us speechless; the waterfalls, bright colors showing more shades of green than I knew existed, sun dappled trees, birds singing...

After spending an hour and a half exploring there, we carefully walked back up the stairs and drove a short distance, parked our truck, and just started walking. Tennessee forests offer the perfect 'wandering' environment. Tall trees with little undergrowth allowed us to spend hours exploring and being in awe of nature's magnificence. We even stumbled upon a late 1800s cemetery, which wasn't marked on the detailed map we picked up from the Visitors Center! We returned to the truck and drove to the swimming areas. Eventually, we returned to our cabin and fired up the fire pit with grill and cooked up the best steaks & fire roasted potatoes. We absolutely plan to go back, with a dream visit of renting two cabins and having all our kids, their spouses, and our first grandchild, Jensen gather for a week and relax in the slice of Heaven on earth that is Rock Island State Park.

Amy Painter 2024 May 27

Rock Island State Park is an absolute gem! Even during a holiday weekend, it wasn’t insanely crowded, allowing us to fully enjoy its natural beauty and historical landmarks. The park offers so many amenities: multiple playgrounds, basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts, a community fire pit, and numerous picnic areas. We were fascinated by the old mill and the numerous waterfalls, which added a charming historical touch to our visit.

The trails are clearly marked and impeccably clean, making for a pleasant hiking experience. It’s obvious that the park is well-maintained and cared for. We had a fantastic day trip and are already planning to come back and rent a cabin for a longer stay. Highly recommend this park to anyone looking for a beautiful and serene outdoor escape!

Janice Kelley 2024 May 04

First time visiting the park, a bobble with the phone reservation ( quickly solved by the camp host and Park Ranger), level well maintained sites. There were water falls, beach area, hiking trails wild life and historic areas. Well stocked visitor center with a knowledgeable and friendly staff lady. We will be stopping back in on future trips.

Madan Nagaraju 2024 Mar 17

True to its name, it is rocky but beautiful waterfalls and gorges around. Great Falls, Twin Falls, TVA dam, beach area near the lake, and a lot of amazing hiking spots.
It's an hour and a half drive from Nashville. If timed well with post rain visit, this place would be beautiful to enjoy.
The visitor center is quite small, but it offers clean restrooms and a small gift shop. The customer service could definitely be better.
Cabins are super spacious and could easily fit in about 8 to 10 people.
This place is awesome for a day visit, or if you are planning to stay overnight in the cabins or camping - RV and tent campsites are available for reservation.

Chris Powell 2023 Sep 17

This place was great. Our favorite trail was the Blue Hole Trail. It's not for the faint of heart and you definitely want footwear that can get wet but it was great. We also really liked the Great Falls Trail. We went down and walked behind some of the waterfalls which was awesome.

Dawn Campbell 2023 Sep 14

This is one special place! So much to do, and see! The rangers were on it when we hit the water in our kayak, he practically ran out to the waters edge to make sure we were safe, and had our life jackets on board. Thank you for taking such wonderful care of the park, and the people visiting ❤️
My only complaint is not towards the park services, but the trashholes (that's what my husband and I deemed people who don't carry out, what they carry in) clean up after yourselves! Take care of these beautiful gifts given to us, such as this park!
We stayed in the campground, and enjoyed it.
Paddled the beautiful waterfalls, took many trails, and loved it

Summer Jones (ANGEL) 2023 Aug 20

Worth it!!!! The blue hole section has plenty of parking spaces, there's a restroom facility at the end of the parking lot, there's a couples of picnic tables to the side of the trails entrance as well, the signs are posted properly and in perfect view for directions, the trails here are very well kept, no trash ,or graffiti on any of the trails,the entrance of eagle trail and blue trail are combined and signs are posted within a few feet directing you in which trail you would like to take, the eagle trail has quite a few signs posted along the trail telling you inform about different trees, and it leads to a few small waterfalls, the views of these though are hard to see due to tree growth in this area, the blue hole trail, is constantly WET, so come prepared, there's a few stairs at the beginning of this trail,and the waterfalls here keep them very wet, so use caution, however totally safe due to the hand rails to hold onto, and metal spiked railing for non slip issues, in on section as well, this trail is ALL DOWN HILL,so you will be climbing up on the way back,to the parking lot,after the Steps of the entrance to the trail it leads to a staircase, then a metal bridge, and then a metal/wooden ladder ramp,then onto climbing nature to see the waterfalls on this area,the east part of climbing down or up ends very quickly after the metal/ wooden ramp, these are surrounded by waterfalls, this whole area is, from the first step to the staircases to the end of the trail, there's water everywhere, please wear proper foot protection, it is also a great place to explore and take great photos from start to finish, plenty of standing to view, places, climbing spots are endless, and at the end of the trail a beautiful river view with a mountain side view running along with the river, very beautiful!! Very worth coming to see, and explore, the waterfalls are at full flow in August, which is amazing !! ** NEXT ** we went traveled to the end of the state park, and discovered a beautiful picnic area ,grills and its seating is next to the edge of the river and mountain side, as well,but no bathroom in this section, still plenty of space for great views, and eating areas, and photos to be taken, **Next** we went to a location right beside this picnic area and Wow,a beautiful long ,very long beach front area ,a huge parking lot, two to be exact, one for those who brings boats, kayaks, surf boards, this parking lot is the first one to your right, the second park lot next to the first one is for normal traffic, due to the first parking lot having a loading and unloading boat dock, you will find all sorts of entertainment here, from the water to the beach, to the fire pits, to the volleyball area, there are 🚻 bathrooms here, and yes swimming is allowed even for your pets in river, the views are amazing, and you can also find art on the sand that people have left using, rocks, feathers, and twigs, most of the tourists are hanging out here, and still there's plenty room all-around to pitch a canopy, or throw a blanket for picnic reasons, or lay out and sun soak, or take pictures, you'll find people on boats, kayaks, paddle boats, surf boards, dogs swimming and people fishing, and people swimming,and skipping rocks lounging and playing music, all in and around the river as one...it's amazing and the space, is very spacious, even this location and restroom area is kept very nicely. Needless to say I will definitely be coming back to revisit this little yet big state park again !! Well-done TENNESSEE!

Ray Brown 2023 Aug 19

I recently tent camped for a couple of days at the park and it was wonderful. The campsites are spacious with electricity and water at the front of each site. It's about 70 feet from the electrical to the tent area, so bring an extension cord if you're running devices in the tent. It was great sleeping with the fan on. There's plenty of room between campsites. The bath house was very clean. The rangers were friendly and knowledgeable. There are parking lot overlooks for both the Great Falls and Twin Falls. TVA was releasing water, so hiking in the Caney Fork River Gorge was unavailable. I highly recommend visiting and camping at the park.

Susan Guryanova 2023 Aug 14

Hiking at the Blue Hole and the Eagle Trail were nice. The Blue Hole was a good 8yo+ hike and the Eagle Trail was fun for all ages. We saw lots of mushrooms and insects including some big millipedes.

I wasn't impressed with the playground areas or the beach but they were nice for free activities. The playgrounds held water even after the rain was gone and the platforms were slick. The beach allowed fishing in the swimming area. Which worries me because no one wants to step on a fish hook. Thankfully the water seemed clean of such objects. It is super muddy and the water is brown river water. Most of the sand has washed away and the entire beach is clay-sand.

Hailey Vittetoe 2023 Aug 04

10/10❤️Waterfalls are seriously insane!! So amazing. There is several ways to get to the most popular falls. Most GPSs will take you to the parking lot right by the gorge trail(by the fairy house). This is a nice spot to see the other smaller falls/rapids from the parking lot, can see the fairy house, abandoned building, read park info, and has bathrooms. HOWEVER… this is sometimes closed… there is another road that will take you right up to the falls… basically the end off the gorge trail. No hiking even necessary to see the falls from the other parking lot. (This is where my pictures are located, down the second parking lot). The visitor center has great information, bathrooms are clean, and staff is friendly. Park is kid and dog friendly. Note: getting right up to the falls is hard for a dog. Could’ve gotten closer up than the pic but my dog could get over the rocks.

Danette Kuzel 2023 Jul 03

Amazing park! Well kept. There's couple overlooks one the drive further up to the beach where you can bring kayak/ canoe to paddle down the river. There are some places to stop along the way but be careful with slippery rocks. Take a swim. You can paddle up to the rapids. The beach was dog friendly (on leashes) & picnic tables throughout. Restrooms are clean. Hiking was closed when we went so not sure about trails.