Great Falls Dam

Great Falls Dam is located about 75 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee on the Caney Fork River just below its confluence with Collins River and on the border of Warren County and White County. The dam is 92 feet high and stretches 800 feet across the river. It’s named for the falls that empty into the Caney Fork a third of a mile below the dam. The dam was completed in 1916 by the Tennessee Electric Power Company for the purpose of hydroelectric power generation, but was sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1939. The dam is one of seven dams acquired by TVA from private companies. It is the only TVA dam located outside the Tennessee River watershed.

The area surrounding Great Falls Reservoir is a scenic wilderness with numerous waterfalls, including the one that gives the reservoir its name. Whitewater rapids below the dam are world renowned for kayaking and canoeing and have been the site for national and international paddling events.

Nearby Rock Island State Park offers hiking, camping, swimming, and boating on Center Hill Lake. There is a boat ramp above the dam on Great Falls Reservoir, an old mill site on the river below the dam, and spectacular fishing in the scenic gorge of the Caney Fork River.

Great Falls Dam was featured in “The Specialist,” a 1994 movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone.