Things to Do in Monteagle TN: A Local’s Guide to the South Cumberland Plateau

When people ask us for things to do in Monteagle TN, the honest answer is that Monteagle isn’t really a destination so much as the front door to one. The town sits at the I-24 exit on top of the South Cumberland Plateau, and it’s where you eat, fuel up, grab a coffee, and stage your day before heading out to the waterfalls, trails, caves, and college campus that make this corner of Tennessee worth a weekend. We run The Getaway on Ranger Creek about twenty-five minutes east of Monteagle, in Coalmont, and we send guests through Monteagle most days they’re here. Here’s what to actually do when you’re there.

A Local’s Take on Things to Do in Monteagle TN

Monteagle is a small town. About thirteen hundred people live there full-time. Historically it’s known for two things: being the spot where the highway crests the plateau, and being home to the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, a Chautauqua community founded in 1882 that still operates today. If you’re looking for a downtown with twenty restaurants and shopping, that’s not Monteagle. But the broader Monteagle, Tracy City, and Coalmont area makes a great base for hitting Foster Falls, the Fiery Gizzard Trail, The Caverns, and Sewanee on the same trip. The list below is roughly what we send guests when they ask us about things to do in Monteagle TN.

See the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly

This is the most distinctively Monteagle thing on the list. Founded in 1882 as a Chautauqua-style summer community for adult education, music, and family life, the Assembly is a ninety-six-acre gated village of historic Victorian cottages built between the 1880s and 1920s. The grounds are private the rest of the year, but during the Assembly’s eight-week summer season (early June through early August), outside visitors can buy a day gate pass at the gatehouse to walk the grounds, attend lectures and concerts in Warren Chapel and the open-air auditorium, and see one of the best-preserved Chautauqua communities in the country. Current rates and the full season program are at monteaglesundayschoolassembly.org.

Eat in Monteagle and Down the Road

Monteagle’s two anchor spots are the High Point Restaurant and the Mountain Goat Market.

The High Point sits on Tennessee Avenue and was built in 1929. The local story is that Al Capone used it as a rest stop on his runs from Chicago to Miami, and the basement still has a window where his cars would pull up. The food is upscale-Southern in the steaks-and-fish lane. Sit on the porch in good weather.

The Mountain Goat Market off West Main is the all-day move: coffee, sandwiches, salads, baked goods, a porch. Locals eat there. Hikers eat there. It’s a fine breakfast or lunch and a good place to slow down for an hour.

Beyond Monteagle, the food scene actually gets more interesting in the next two towns down the road. Tracyside in Tracy City (about ten minutes south of Monteagle) is the kind of place worth a detour, doing thoughtful plates in a small dining room. In Coalmont, where our property sits, Stingers and Small Town Junction BBQ are both better than they have any right to be for a town this size. These are the places we eat ourselves and send guests to when they ask.

Walk a Section of the Mountain Goat Trail

The Mountain Goat Trail is a rail-trail being built out along the old Mountain Goat railroad line that once hauled coal across the plateau. The completed sections connect Monteagle, Tracy City, and parts of Sewanee. It’s paved, gentle, and pretty: a good morning walk before harder hiking, or a fine evening loop after dinner. Trail map and current status at the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance.

Stop at the South Cumberland State Park Visitor Center

The visitor center sits on Highway 41 right in Monteagle, open 9 to 4 Monday through Saturday. We send first-time visitors here on Day 1. If you’re going to hike anything on the South Cumberland, start at the visitor center for current trail conditions, maps, and a ranger’s honest take on what’s flowing and what’s dry. Free, and the rangers know the trails better than any blog post.

Outdoor Things to Do in Monteagle TN: Hike the Nearby Waterfalls and Trails

This is the real reason most people end up in Monteagle. Within forty-five minutes of town:

• Foster Falls is a sixty-foot waterfall with a rim trail and well-known rappelling routes, about twenty minutes south
• The Fiery Gizzard Trail is one of Tennessee’s most legendary hikes, with the Grundy Forest trailhead in Tracy City about ten minutes from Monteagle
• The Stone Door and Savage Gulf offer cliff overlooks and old-growth forest on a four-mile loop, covered in our South Cumberland State Park guide
• Greeter Falls features two waterfalls and a swimming hole, about thirty minutes from Monteagle through Coalmont and Altamont

From our place in Coalmont, the closest of these (Greeter Falls) is about twelve minutes, and even the farther ones land under thirty.

One note that applies to every plateau waterfall: they all run on rainfall. After a dry stretch in late summer, flow can drop significantly or stop entirely. Check recent trip reports if water volume is what you’re chasing.

Drive to The Caverns

The Caverns sits about twelve minutes from Monteagle in Pelham. It’s a working concert venue inside an actual cave, named Theater of the Year at the 2026 ACM Awards and a regular stop for nationally known acts. The cave holds a steady 59°F year-round, which feels great in July and very chilly in January (bring a jacket either way). Day tours are also available when there isn’t a show. We wrote at length about what it’s actually like to see a concert at The Caverns.

If you’re coming for a show specifically, our Pelham lodging guide covers where to actually stay nearby.

Spend an Afternoon in Sewanee

Six miles south of Monteagle is Sewanee, home of the University of the South. The campus is Gothic stone, the chapel is one of the most beautiful in the South, and the Memorial Cross overlook gives you a clean view off the bluff. Pair it with lunch at LUNCH on University Avenue, a small farm-to-table spot that picked up a Michelin Bib Gourmand, or coffee at Stirling’s. Our full Sewanee day trip post covers the campus and the village in more detail.

Where to Stay While You’re Doing All These Things

The closest hotels are right at the I-24 exit and they are what they are: chains, fine, predictable. If you’re going to spend a weekend up here, though, end the day in something that feels like the plateau, not in something that feels like an exit ramp.

We built The Getaway on Ranger Creek about twenty-five minutes east in Coalmont with this in mind: a quiet base in the woods, with a creek, ducks, and chickens, from which everything in this post sits between twelve and sixty minutes away. The Geodesic Dome is the flagship (named #7 in The Dyrt’s 2024 Glampy Awards), the Scandinavian Cabin was renovated in 2026, and the Glamping Tent has a covered deck and a private bath in the bathhouse nearby.

Whichever way you go, Monteagle is the front door. The list above is roughly what we’d hand a friend asking about things to do in Monteagle TN. Start there, and the rest of the plateau opens up.