This is a really nice state park. It has good trails for running/hiking. The camp ground has 2 loops and is nice. One loop is on Norris lake and offers fishing and boating. There's also a small separate lake for non-motorized craft. You can rent kayaks or bring your own for a small fee. Note that the segregated lake does not permit inflatable craft. There are several picnic pavilions and tables throughout the park. The swimming area is nice and has a paved bottom that slopes in towards a platform for jumping off etc. the bottom of the swim area can be slippery. There are also cabins for rent that look nice though we didn't stay in one. It's about 45 minutes from Knoxville. It's worth a visit. read more

It's a great park for younger children to swim they got concrete bottom fenced off from rest of lake from 1 ft to about 3ft for smaller children read more

Big Ridge State Park - Parks Near Me - Maynardville, Tennessee

The park itself is amazing. Nice trails, nice views, nice swimming area, a playground, even saw some people fishing. Camping -- Cheap at about $35 after taxes for water and electric. Late arrivals are allowed which is hard to find sometimes. Camping area is not well marked, some people got lost and I helped them find the right area while I was camping here. You'll get to the big parking lot and then see some large brown trash dumpsters on the left, that's where the turn for camping is. That's also the only area I found to throw your camping trash. Bathrooms are very run down, but clean. Showers are cold even after waiting a few minutes hoping it would warm up. Lots of cigarette trash on the ground, especially around the bathrooms. Dogs are allowed, on leashes. read more

Big Ridge State Park - Swimming area with nice views. - Parks Near Me - Maynardville, Tennessee

Big Ridge State Park is in Maynardville, Tennessee, and has 3,600 acres of forestry, ridges, and valleys. We know it was homesteads to Indigenous peoples in the Mississippian period, and was utilized by long hunters in the pioneer period. After Norris Dam was built, this was one of the subsequent projects. Today, it has 15 miles of hiking trails, a group camp site, a recreation site, a beach, twenty cabins, fishing, boating, and 50 campsites. The crown jewel is the 1825 mill on the property that was restored in the 1930s by the CCC. It's a huge park, and have some beautiful views at the foot of the large ridges of mountainous terrains. read more

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Pros and Cons abound here. Pros are the scenery and the overall feeling of getting away from it all. It is definitely far from any major city and gets you out into nature. The buildings are rustic and there are cheap cabins you can stay in if you are interested in staying on property. NOTE: There is NO A/C in the cabins, so time your visit carefully, or bring fans! We were here for a friend's wedding and they used an onsite building for their big day. The view of the lake was gorgeous and they offer a great space for photos. That being said, we had to repeatedly go to the front desk for access to the building, and the washing machine / dryer space that was promised to be accessible. In the end we still didn't have access to all the spaces that were supposed to be included and it cause havoc with the linens for the tables. Overall: C+ Great scenery and fun cabin spaces. Time your stay carefully as their is no AC. Be ready if you plan this as a venue space - you'll want to hold their feet to the fire to get what you are supposed to have access to! read more

Nice rustic cabins, wooded trails, RV lots on the lake. My family and I have been a few times just for a short trip away from home.

We did about 7 miles here today on various trails and thought it was beautiful. There are a couple little cemeteries in the park and plenty of views of the beautiful lake. The trails were kept up nicely. It's about 45 minutes from Knoxville and I'd get in the car and go again. read more

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Camping was very nice. The campsites are huge. The bathhouse was nice, but had lots of bugs in it. Also, the hiking trail said 1 mile but took over 45 minutes so clearly the sign was wrong. They also had recycling at the suitors center so that was nice. It was a little weird how there was no campground host so we didn't know what to do when we got there read more

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SNAKES!!! My friends and I rented 4 "rustic" cabins for two nights. It was not campfire friendly, only a small grill available but no fire pit area to roast some marshmallows or roast some hot dogs. Biggest disappointment were the snakes IN MY CABIN. We found 5 snakes inside my cabin the second night. We had to call the park ranger as we somehow locked ourselves out during our search of snakes which he was very quick to help us out. He was not too bothered by the snakes but we explained we didn't think that was appropriate for snakes to be IN OUR CABIN. We have called the office but they don't seem to want to do anything. We all left that second night as the others didn't want to find snakes in their cabins late in the night. Frustrated the park seem to be blowing us off about it. read more

Great State Park!!! All the rangers as well as the ladies in the information/gift shop are very nice and will bind over backwards to help you in anyway they can. read more

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Always loved Big Ridge as a kid. Great hiking, swimming, boating and camping. read more

Big Ridge State Park - Parks Near Me - Maynardville, Tennessee

Booked a 3 night stay in a cabin to meet up with family from Florida. Cabins are very basic which is ok by the "rustic" standard. Only draw back to the cabin is there is no fire pit. Now onto the bad part we came from Ohio and as we settled in, we noticed the cabin had a hole in the linoleum which in turn created a soft spot in the sub flooring. There was a decent size cockroach on the bathroom door frame. To top it off the cabin was infested with bed bugs on both beds. They were in the bedding and on the walls. Now at 11:00pm we now have to load up 4 adults and 3 children and bag up our belongings and find a place to stay. After finding a nearby hotel to stay in, then dry, wash and dry agin all of our clothing finally bed time at 3am. Upon returning to the cabin rental office the next morning they did refund the 3 nights stay, but we were informed that the particular cabin we stayed in has had issues with bed bug in the past and most recent was 2 weeks before our stay. Not only did we lose the family vacation we lost pillows and money for having to wash and dry the clothes and since we were so far away from home 2 nights in a hotel. The corporate office offered nothing in return to compensate for the hotel rooms, pillows or money spent on the laundry, just free 3 nights back there. Definitely will not be back!!! read more

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We rented a rustic cabin here for a weekend and loved our stay. The cabins are absolutely rustic but in a charming, back to nature sort of way. The cabins are really well maintained, especially for the price (about $60 a night). We brought two dogs and the park has a couple cabins that are pet friendly for just a bit more a night. We booked well in advance as there were fewer pet friendly choices and didn't want to not have a place to stay. The cabin came with linens and towels, just a like a hotel but it also had a full kitchen and a few pots and pans. There was a nice screened in porch as well. The rest of the park had nice playgrounds, pavilions and space to roam. read more

I love big ridge park it's absolutely relaxing and my children have a ball. Been going to big ridge for about 10 years now. Love it every time read more

One of my favorite parks around Norris Lake! Plenty to do including camping, hiking, fishing, family picnics... Big Ridge State Park also has tennis courts and a playground! Definitely worth visiting! Try a small hike like the Dark Hollow Trail Head or Meditation Trail. Great views of the lake! read more

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The "rustic" cabins here are great and the price is better than any motel you'll find close by. Probably less than $60, even on weekends. The cabins are rustic though - not little Embassy Suites. But they are sort of secluded with great views of trees, and a lake, and more trees. Nice walking trails, pond, campsites, and picnic areas. I like state parks and this is much better than average. Be warned - your cell phone might not work here. BUT - is that necessarily a bad thing? read more

I am so very disappointed. I booked 2 nights for my hubby's birthday. We wanted to get away and unplug. We stopped at a grocery store and got way too much food because we were excited to grill. We got there, got everything into the cabin and sat on the porch for about an hour. Then my hubby went in to get food started. I was in the bedroom and noticed mouse droppings. This was not good. At all. But, it's my hubby's weekend, and I thought I could deal with it for a couple nights. Then, of course, I see a mouse. And scream. Finally my hubby gets me calm enough to go to bed. The next morning there are mouse droppings ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER. EWWWWWWWWWWWW. We go to the office and they say they've had pest control out and they haven't seen any indication of mice - I call BS on that. They do not have another cabin to move us to - and say that even if they did, there might be the same problem...... (See, BS! Complete BS!) We decided to leave, so they refunded our second night, but not the night we stayed. I guess in this case "Rustic" means mice. read more

Tennessee offers a large number of state parks throughout the state. For a park originally built in 1949, Big Ridge is clean and amenities are great, especially for families. There are choices of shaded and unshaded sites and even sites with hooks for hammocks. Electric and water to all sites excellent. Access to the lake for fishermen and boaters is also excellent. Easy to find off I75 north of Knoxville. Online reservation system works great too. Book your site in advance! read more

Great campsite! Awesome swimming and fishing. Beautiful relaxing and peaceful, fun for the whole family. Nice playground for kids..

Although the price is good the cabins are lest than stellar. They are clean, we found no evidence of bedbugs. In Cabin 9 we were greeted by a strong odor of mold and mildew. Sometime in the early morning hours we heard scratching in the ceiling that moved to the bathroom wall. We asked park management for another cabin. There were none available. We asked for a refund for the second unused night of our reservation and management refused. read more