Upper Cumberland Region of Tennessee
Tennessee's rural, wild side.
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The Upper Cumberland is a 14-county region in north-central Tennessee, anchored by Cookeville and situated largely on the Cumberland Plateau. Known for its rolling hills, rivers, lakes, and small-town character, the region offers a relaxed pace of life with reasonable access to larger metros. Nashville is roughly 80 miles to the west, and Knoxville about 100 miles to the east.
County / Main Town:
- Putnam – Cookeville (regional hub)
- Cumberland – Crossville
- White – Sparta
- Overton – Livingston
- Clay – Celina
- Pickett – Byrdstown
- Fentress – Jamestown
- Jackson – Gainesboro
- Smith – Carthage
- Macon – Lafayette
- DeKalb – Smithville
- Van Buren – Spencer
- Warren – McMinnville
- Cannon – Woodbury
Life in the Upper Cumberland moves at a pace.
The landscape does much of the talking. The Cumberland Plateau rolls across the region in waves of forested ridgelines, sudden gorges, and cascading waterfalls. Famous waterfalls and dozens of smaller falls hide along creek beds throughout the plateau. Water defines the Upper Cumberland in every direction. Dale Hollow Lake straddles the Kentucky border. Center Hill Lake winds through miles of wooded coves popular with boaters and kayakers. Cordell Hull Lake stretches quietly along the Cumberland River through some of the most peaceful countryside in middle Tennessee.
Throughout the region, you will find the best of Tennessee. Cookeville serves as the hub and the surrounding counties are rural but still connected.
The Upper Cumberland offers something increasingly hard to find — land and homes with genuine character, set against scenery that earns its keep. Whether it's a farmhouse, a waterfront property, a ridge-top lot with long views across the plateau, or a well-kept home on a quiet street in one of the region's small towns, the inventory here tends to reflect the landscape itself: unhurried, unpretentious, and rooted in place. Proximity to interstate corridors, state parks, and regional amenities means that choosing a rural property in the Upper Cumberland rarely means sacrificing convenience.
