Cumberland Falls, Kentucky at Night - Information and pictures

Scroll and Click on the picture above for more on Cumberland Falls Lover's Leap Overlook Loop #4 and other hiking trails around the Falls!

Home About the Moonbow Cumberland Falls, KY Photographing the Moonbow 2019 & 2021 Cumberland Falls Moonbow Schedule Kentucky Moonbow Waterfalls in Kentucky The First Photo Attempt Cumberland Falls State Resort Park DuPont Lodge Kiwanis Trail Moonbow Inn Gatliff Bridge Moonbow and Lunar Rainbow Links Current Moonbow Picturesl Random Moonbow Photos    Cumberland Falls KY pictures by Mike ....Click on the photo above for Natural and Scenic Features of the area . History .... about the Falls CUMBERLAND FALLS, estimated to be about 250 million years old, originated miles downstream near Burnside from its present location flowing over resistant Pine Creek and Rockcastle Conglomerate Sandstones. Every waterfall is destined to disappear. Like other waterfalls, it is slowly but not visibly moving upstream due to weathering and erosion. The process is a gradual one. Ancient Appalachian Mountains River System Geologic Map and Prehistoric History of KentuckGeology of Kentucky    Local History of Cumberland Falls The Geology of Cumberland Falls, Ky Climate at the Falls & KY_Temperate Weather at Cumberland Falls       Scroll/Click DuPont Lodge 7351 Highway 90 Corbin, KY 40701-8857 Phone: (606) 528-4121 Toll Free 800-325-0063 Cumberland Falls@ky.gov     phases of the moon    The Falls area has been featured in 3 movies. 'The Kentuckian' - Burt Lancaster & Amos Miller 'Raintree County'-Montgomery Clift & Elizabeth Taylor and a flyover in 'The Fire Down Below' {#2}  Corbin KY water fall The Smithsonian Channel - Kentucky     Fishing at Cumberland Falls with a map of the area      Cumberland Falls Moonbow If you have a popup blocker and missed the moonbow panorama on the previous page   Pictures of Kentucky   Cumberland Falls is located: Travel Distances from Cumberland Falls Ky Area Sights Around the Falls Corbin 17 miles Birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken Whitley City 28 miles Yahoo Falls Williamsburg 18 miles Gateway to the Cumberlands Stearns 28 miles London 25 miles Levi Jackson State Park DuPont Lodge 1/2 mile Yahoo Falls Trailhead 19 miles Natural Arch 15 miles Natural Arch Trailhead The Grove Marina 15 miles Blue Heron 35 miles Barbourville 32 miles Dr. Thomas Walker State Park Somerset 40 miles Cumberland Gap 64 miles National Historical Park Middlesboro 60 miles One of a few cities in the US & World built inside a meteor crater Three Forks of Beaver Creek ..25 miles Dog Slaughter Trailhead 7.5 miles Pineville 50 miles Chain Rock Trails Pine Mountain State Park Lake Cumberland 40 miles The 9th Largest Reservoir in the U.S. Lake Cumberland State Park 82 miles Renfro Valley 48 miles Ky Music Hall of Fame and Museum Lexington, KY 104 miles Knoxville, TN 80 miles Louisville, KY 180 miles Home of the Kentucky Derby Mammoth Cave National Park 142 miles World's Longest Cave System Great Smoky Mountains National Park 131 miles Waterfalls in the Great Smokies   Cumberland Falls is located midway between Lexington, KY and Knoxville, TN.   Info / Information from Ky State Parks Brochure..   10 Jaw Dropping views from Kentucky           ...      Cumberland Falls One of the World's Most Romantic Waterfalls         Cumberland Falls Art          The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state!

k   Cumberland Falls State Resort Park Joe Mounce ,..Park Manager near Corbin, Kentucky All of the above Cumberland Falls photos are 5 minute exposures{used for night moon light photo comparison} taken at Lover's Leap Overlook near the Thomas Coleman DuPont Plaque .      INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CUMBERLAND FALLS Located in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Southeastern Kentucky, Cumberland Falls State Park is on the Cumberland River, 18 miles southwest of Corbin, with the waterfall bordering Whitley County and McCreary County. The outstanding natural feature of the park is Cumberland Falls, world famous for its moonbow. The 125 foot wide waterfall has a 68 foot drop that showers onto the boulders that lie in the rocky gorge below. The mist rising from the largest waterfall in Kentucky, creates a unique natural phenomenon that is not regularly visible anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere on a predictable schedule during a time period around the Full Moon. Cumberland Falls has an easily accessible area where everything lines up at the correct angle. The Falls are situated in such an odd way facing north and flowing north, as to reflect the light of the Moon to make a rainbow like arch, an optical phenomenon called a " moonbow". The Moonbow can be seen here on clear, strongly moonlit nights. It is sometimes called the "Niagara of the South", "Little Niagara", and even Moonbow Falls . It was long known as "the Great Falls". This waterfall is one of a few locations in the world where you can find a moonbow or as others have called it, night rainbow, a moon rainbow or lunar rainbow. The average yearly park attendance is 750,000+ visitors. GPS Location:  36.8390° N 84.3452° W About Cumberland Falls Facts Height of falls at normal pool = 68 ft. Width of falls at normal pool = 125 ft. Height of the waterfalls at flood stage = 45 ft. Width of the waterfalls at flood stage = 300 ft. Elevation of the falls = 825 ft. above sea level Elevation of the Lodge = 1,090 ft. above sea level   The Cumberland River Named in 1750 when Kentucky explorer Dr. Thomas Walker named it after the Duke of Cumberland, a son of King George II of England, the Cumberland River is created when three small streams, Poor Fork, Clover Fork and Martins Fork flow together near Harlan in Harlan County, Ky. along with other tributaries, nearly 120 miles upstream from the Falls on the Cumberland Ridge region of the Appalachian Mountains. The confluence is located in Baxter. From the headwaters, the river meanders its way through the mountains of Kentucky. From the falls, the river converges with Laurel River and Rockcastle River, which then flows into Lake Cumberland. The south fork of the river then winds it way southward into Tennessee. From Wolf Creek Dam at the Upper Lake Cumberland, the river flows southward into Tennessee. After flowing through Nashville, the river continues west through Tennessee , then back up into Kentucky in the western region creating Lake Barkley, part of the Land Between the Lakes and then empties into the Ohio River near Smithland. The Cumberland River is the only river in Kentucky that flows south, then changes course and flows north. The waterfall is considered as on the traditonal western edge of the Appalachias'.  Cumberland River at Cumberland Falls   Minimum flow = 4 cubic ft. per second Maximum flow = 59,600 cubic ft. per second Average flow = 3,217 cubic ft. per second Source elevation = 1,155 ft above sea level Cumberand Falls at Flood Stage Cumberland River Length above falls = 119 miles Cumberland River Length below falls = 563 miles Cumberland River Length = 687 miles Cumberland River Watershed covers 18,500 square miles Kentucky's first commercial oil well was drilled on the Cumberland River in 1819 A witnessed meteorite fell near Cumberland Falls in Whitley County, Kentucky in 1919 Cumberland Information, History and Facts from the KY State Park Visitors Guide   .More History about Cumberland Falls... This interesting place is a favorite vacation destination for many, including Thomas Coleman DuPont , a Kentucky native and U.S. Senator from Delaware. Unhappy with plans to build a hydroelectric dam at the site on the river in Southeast Kentucky, in 1930, the DuPont family donated 600 acres surrounding the Falls to Kentucky, urging the Commonwealth to set aside the property as a state park. Despite DuPont's passing, additional land was bought, and in 1931 the state legislature designated the scenic property as Kentucky's third state park . Since 1983, the Park has been a part of the State's Nature Preserve Program . Click Here to See Kentucky's First State Park   Click on the Image Above for a Map on how to get to Cumberland Falls Driving Directions HOW TO GET TO CUMBERLAND FALLS  from Corbin, Ky From Interstate-75 exit 25 (Corbin) take US-25W south to KY-90. Continue on KY-90 to the Park Entrance. It's 15 miles from I-75 exit 25. From Williamsburg, KY If traveling north on I-75, take exit 15 at Williamsburg and turn left and continue to the park entrance. Be careful at the stop sign. The road forks. It's a short hiking distance with low-lit sidewalks from the parking lot to the viewing areas. Click Here for a Cumberland Falls Park Area Map     WATCH OUT FOR DEER and BEARS!     ...........................................Cumberland Falls Moonbow Fall and Winter is supposedly the best time to visually see colors in the moon bow because of the cooler air, clear atmosphere and fallen leaves. I've seen the light colors, along with others, year around. It all depends on the conditions like the moon path and angle. Any time around the Full Moon is a good time to see the moonbow, weather permitting. Admission is free and the park is open year round. The gates are always open. The Park Rangers are really good. and knowledgable. They know when the moonbow is occurring and go out of their way to accommodate visitors. This is a night waterfall in the US. An unusual and rare Winter photo of a frozen Cumberland Falls photo by Scott Clouse. Another unusual Winter photo of a cold Cumberland Falls by Jim Begley  Besides moonbows, rainbows may be seen almost any sunny day.     Full Moon Dates Schedule While observing the moonbow is the park's best known activity, there are plenty of other fun things to do. There are other trails to hike around the Falls area. Things to bring to a Moonbow and other activities. The park is Handicap Accessible     Visit ColorFall for colorful fall photos of the peak foilage. National Fall foliage Prediction map here! Peak times for Kentucky foilage map. The Top 10 Best Autumn Waterfalls Spoiler Alert: Cumberland Falls in Kentucky is ranked at #1!         Did You Know?... Kentucky has the greatest number of navigable miles of running water in the United States     A PRIDE Enviromental Education Center           18 Minute Exposure during the fall season photo with film from the Bank of the Cumberland River At 1 AM......    Photo of the moonbow at Cumberland Falls       Other Adventurous Things to do in Kentucky             ^TOP^ Cumberland Falls is the waterfall in Kentucky in the United States that creates a moonbow when the moon is full or nearly full and is one of the few places on the planet earth where you can see a moonbow.     Hidden treasure in KY....Special thanks to Dr. Truman Perry, Corbin, Ky Dr. Paula Hollingsworth, Lexington, Ky and Dr. Robert Salley, Lexington, Ky .Without them, this site and these moonbow pictures would not exist! And of course, my Grandmother!