Labyrinth Weir at South Holston Lake

Definitely a cool (literally) place to go hang out with the family on a hot summer day. we took a picnic lunch and ate at one of the tables by the river. Then I tried my luck at catching some of the trout from the river - maybe next time .... we then hiked the 2 mile loop around Osceola island. It was a good way to spend a hot summer afternoon, the cool breeze off the river was especially nice.

The Labyrinth weirs are about a mile below South Holston dam. The weirs were built by TVA in the early 90's to provide oxygen to the water when the hydropower plant isn't generating electricity.

I took the picture at the right from the bridge that crosses over to Osceola island. There is a matching labyrinth weir on the opposite side of the island.

Take SR394 past the Bristol Motor Speedway to the intersection with SR421. Turn right and continue 2.9 miles south on 421. Turn right onto Emmett Road and continue for 1.6 miles - bear right at the fork. After crossing the bridge, you'll find parking for the recreation area on left.

Cades Cove and Spruce Flats Falls

It rained and stormed the whole morning before we got to the Cades Cove loop, so the wildlife in the park was still taking cover ... at least that's my story as to why we saw just a few turkey and a few whitetail deer.

But the barns were cool and I like barns, old ones, new ones, doesn't matter. There's just something about the shape of a barn. Simplistic utiliy. The first one is at Cable Mill.

The next one is at the Tipton Farm. It's a cantilevered design, I've never seen one afore. It makes sense for creating shade, and some protection from the weather, but it looks top-heavy, kind of like a big wooden mushroom, or maybe like someone has stolen the bottom half ... regardless, it's a cool looking barn.





We also hiked to a waterfall on the way out of Cades Cove named Spruce Flats Falls. It was a pretty average hike, about a mile each way, a bit steep at each end, and the falls were just ok, not that different from most of the other falls I've seen.

What was cool is that this was the first time I've taken a picture with my new handy-dandy ND8 neutral density filter installed.

It was about 2:00PM so the light was really bad for waterfall picture taking, but this filter did a respectible job of getting a 10 second exposure in bright light.

Dennis Cove Falls

The hike to Upper and Lower Dennis Cove Falls is about a 3 mile roundtrip walk on a well worn trail through a tunnel of rhododendron along the many cascades of Laurel Fork Creek. The good news is that, unlike most waterfall hikes around this part of the country, there's very little gain in elevation (about a 100ft) from the parking lot to the falls. The bad news is the three creek crossings with no bridges - we don't need no stinkin' bridges. On this trip the three crossings were manageable with some creative rock hopping, but if the water was much higher the only choice might be to wade across.

Both the upper and lower falls are cascading waterfalls which form large pools at their bases, perfect for a swim on a hot summer day. Laurel fork is a popular trout fishery, so be courteous to the folk you see fishing.

Several hundred yards after the third creek crossing, you'll come to the only tricky part of the trail, tricky because it's a very narrow ledge alongside a slick rock with some tree roots to hold onto. Just a bit further up the trail and you come to a side trail on the right that angles down to the pool below the lower falls.

Lower Dennis Cove Falls (10-ft high)
N36 14.981 W82 05.946, 2880ft elevation

The lower falls are a 10 foot high cascade with a wide shallow pool at the base. The tree on the left obscures most of the falls, but you can rock-hop into the middle of the creek for a better view. I got to the falls a bit late in the morning, so getting a high-quality, long-exposure shot was no longer possible.

Return to the main trail and continue for a few hundred feet to a second spur on the right that angles downhill to the base of the upper falls.

Upper Dennis Cove Falls (25-ft high)
N36 14.981 W82 05.946, 2860ft elevation

The upper falls are a 25 foot high double cascade with a large pool at the base of the lower fall.

I didn't get to the falls until mid-morning, so there was too much light to get a really long exsposure shot to work. I really need to get myself a neutral density filter for days like these. I was able to get this one which has some 'swirlies' in the pool below the falls - they are so cool when done right, but this one was just too short of an exposure get it really right.

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To get there from Rt. 19e in Hampton, go north on route 321/67 toward Mountain City, drive 0.8 miles and turn right onto Dennis Cove Road - immediately in front of Citizen's Bank - there's a small brown 'Dennis Cove' sign pointing the way.

Dennis Cove Road is very curvy, very steep, and quite narrow in places. Travel the 4.9 miles to a gravel parking area on the left immediately before crossing the single lane bridge which leads to the Dennis Cove Campground. The trailhead is back across the paved road, just to the right of the bridge.