Winding Stairs in Lafayette, Tennessee

Winding Stairs, Lafayette, Macon County, Tennessee [Map]

The Winding Stairs is a unique waterfall located in a city park of the same name in Lafayette, Tennessee. It is a narrow and short limestone canyon formed in the upper Ordovician units of the Nashville Basin physiographic province, with the watershed being mostly within the lower Mississippian Fort Payne Limestone. The waterfall begins in the Ordovician units whose thinly bedded stratigraphy resemble stairs.

The park has access for wheelchairs, and has easily accessible overlooks for children and elderly people to enjoy. The trail beyond the paved portion gets steep and rocky very quickly.

Steep, rocky terrain with intermittant seeps makes springtime at Winding Stairs an excellent time to find plenty of beautiful wildflowers.

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