NASHVILLE, Tenn., – Nashville Adventures has launched private hiking and waterfall tours departing from Nashville, adding an outdoor product line to a company known for walking history tours, ghost tours, and pub crawls. The timing is deliberate: forecasters expect fall color on the Cumberland Plateau — where most of Tennessee's marquee waterfalls sit — to run roughly October 20 through November 3 and peak around October 27, with Middle Tennessee following through mid-November.
The tours are fully guided and include round-trip transportation from Nashville, which removes the single biggest barrier for visitors: nearly every waterfall worth the drive is 90 minutes to two hours outside the city, down county roads, with no transit option and limited parking.
Destinations include Fall Creek Falls State Park, Burgess Falls, Cummins Falls, Twin Falls at Rock Island State Park, Ozone Falls, and South Cumberland State Park, along with closer-in options for groups with mixed mobility or shorter windows — Radnor Lake, the Warner Parks, the Harpeth River trails, and Long Hunter State Park. A typical day runs from an 8 a.m. hotel pickup to a 6 p.m. drop-off. Itineraries are built per booking rather than run on a fixed route, and groups can combine multiple stops in a single day.
“We love hiking. We got tired of saying no when people asked if we do hiking tours,” said Paul Whitten, founder of Nashville Adventures and a U.S. Army veteran. “Our guides were getting that question all summer. Somebody books a Civil War tour, has a great morning, and then asks where they can go see a waterfall — and we'd hand them a map and wish them luck. That's a bad answer. Now we just take them.” Why the drive is the product Nashville drew record visitation again this year, and the overwhelming majority of that traffic never leaves a roughly two-mile radius downtown. Whitten argues the gap is logistical, not motivational.
Why the Drive is the Product
Nashville drew record visitation again this year, and the overwhelming majority of that traffic never leaves a roughly two-mile radius downtown. Whitten argues the gap is logistical, not motivational.
“Nobody flies to Nashville planning to skip Tennessee,” Whitten said. “They skip it because getting to Fall Creek Falls means renting a car, figuring out which trailhead, and hoping the gorge isn't closed for water levels. That's four decisions a person on vacation does not want to make. We make all four of them before they wake up.”
The company says it will not run a trip into unsafe conditions — Tennessee's waterfall parks periodically close trails and gorge access after heavy rain — and reroutes to alternate destinations rather than pushing a fixed itinerary.
Built for Corporate Groups and Retreats
Nashville Adventures is positioning the tours for the corporate and group market alongside leisure travelers. The company already runs corporate and team-building experiences, and Whitten expects offsites and leadership retreats to be a meaningful share of hiking bookings. “Meeting planners are desperate for something that isn't another dinner reservation,” Whitten said. “A day outside, on a trail, with no cell service, does more for a team than any breakout session I've ever sat through. And it's the thing people are still talking about at the airport.” Tours operate on the company's Sprinter fleet under Nashville's 2026 tourism vehicle permit, issued by the Metro Transportation Licensing Commission.
Availability
Private hiking and waterfall tours are bookable now at nashvilleadventures.com/hiking-tour or by phone at (615) 882-1151. Custom itineraries for groups, corporate clients, and DMC partners are available on request. Interview availability with Paul Whitten, and photography from Tennessee waterfall destinations, can be arranged through the media contact above.
About Nashville Adventures
Nashville Adventures is a veteran-owned tour and transportation company founded in 2023 by U.S. Army veteran Paul Whitten. The company has served more than 25,000 guests through history walking tours, ghost tours, pub crawls, and corporate experiences, and donates one percent of all revenue — not profit — to veteran-related causes including Operation Stand Down Tennessee. Nashville Adventures is the 2026 recipient of the GNHA Community Service Award, a 2026 Nashville Entrepreneur Center NEXT Awards finalist, and the company behind Nashville and Tennessee Tourism General Manager of the Year honors. Learn more at nashvilleadventures.com.
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