Winding Stairs Loop and Cummins Falls

I use Alltrails app to find local hikes that are worth exploring. One of the hikes was Winding Stairs Loop located near the statelines of Tennessee and Kentucky. I headed there on a Sunday morning. Google maps did not have the road towards the trailhead mapped, so initially I ended up in a parking lot of an apartment complex. I used Alltrails app to navigate towards the non-mapped road, which ended up in a paved parking lot at the trailhead.

It was a bit chilly in the morning, but was warming up pretty quickly. I was initially planning to hike two trails in the park, but since they were pretty similar, I chose the Winding Stairs. 

Since my car was only the second car in the parking lot, I had the park almost to myself. The sounds of birds and flowing water were meditative, to say the least. The video below shows how different water can sound. I found this fascinating. 

I decided to explore the stairs first leading towards the bottom of the small canyon. The rock looked almost unreal. It felt like jungles for some reason. 

View from top of the stairs

View at the bottom of the stairs

The trail continued uphill where there was a nice view of the landscape. The trees still don't have enough foliage to make it a great view, but it was a really good view even without it.

Wildflowers were everywhere. Some areas were just carpeted with various species - white, blue, yellow flowers - just a lovely landscape!

I was used to an earlier wildflower season in California, so I felt like I was missing out on seeing the flowers, but this hike gave me some hope. 

I had to cross the creek twice, but it was nice and low, so it was accomplished without any difficulties. The trail regained its elevation, and I was on the other side of the waterfall and back to the stairs. The hike was completed, but I felt like I wanted to do some more exploring today and headed to Cummins Falls an hour away.

I realized later that I debated whether this hike was worth doing or not because it had water crossing which I was not intending to do. By the time I got there, it was too late and I decided to at least see the waterfall and get to the water.

It really was beautiful. The reviewers also said that it is even more amazing up close, but it would require crossing the water that looked deep enough to be up to the waist, which I was not prepared for. Regardless, I enjoyed the hike.

One thing I don't enjoy in these "red" states is the gun shots that can be heard in so many areas, especially parks. Not sure if someone is hunting or just shooting targets, but I am against guns in general. We should not be killing animals altogether, especially for sport.