The trail was a little bit washed out/muddy when we were hiking it, but since it's quite wide it…read morewas easily navigable and you won't get lost as it's clearly marked. We used the the Wilderness Road trail. On the trail, you get to pass through the "saddle" AKA the actual Cumberland Gap itself. It's a pass that was used as a trail and key passageway through the lower central Appalachians since the surrounding mountains are difficult to pass. There's a sign right at the saddle. At the peak/end of the trail, there is a gazebo with benches around the border markers. You can take in the views and stand in three states at once! It's a neat experience. Just make sure to bring water, hats/sun protection, and good shoes!

Absolutely beautiful! 1.2 mile walk there and back. My 5 and 3 year old were able to walk it. A lil…read morebit of high and low climbing.

I have played golf here before but had never eaten in the Woodlake Steak House so my wife and I…read moredecided to go there for date night. It is a bit of a drive but we had heard good things and decided to give it a try. I called in to check about reservations this past Thursday for dinner for two for the following night, Friday. I asked if a reservation was necessary and they said it is recommended so I set up our reservation for 7 PM Friday. We arrived a few minutes early and waited at the hostess station until 7:10 when the hostess showed up. She confirmed our reservation and said she had to check on our table. After 5 minutes or so she came back and apologetically said that it would be another 10 minutes so we went to the bar at 7:15. We waited another 10 minutes before finally being asked what we wanted to drink which was served about 5 minutes later. At 7:35 the hostess said our table was ready and we were escorted to it. The dining area was full and there were two large tables that seemed to be part of the same group and they were finished with dinner but were now drinking heavily. My guess is that they were tying up their many tables. After being at our table for 10 minutes we were brought over some rolls and butter and asked what we wanted to drink. We took the opportunity to order as well to get the show on the road. My wife ordered their salmon and I ordered the ribeye and both of us ordered a salad. We got the water and iced tea we asked for a few minutes later but the salads never showed up. At 8:05 we had enough and left. The server seemed surprised when I told her that then I said we had a 7 o'clock reservation and that over an hour later, we were still waiting for our salad with no main course in sight. Our evening was saved when we went to Tazwell and had a steak and salmon at the Rail Spikes Steaks. Great service and the best ribeye and salmon ever! I always look for the good and try to give grace on my reviews but our Woodlake Steak House experience was terrible. I don't blame the staff as they were kind and friendly. They said one of the servers called in sick. Management was not visibly present as far as I could tell. A good manager would be there in the mix, working to fill in for the staffing shortfall and talking to folks like us that were getting such poor service. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, "See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that is really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anyone can just take them."

The clubhouse was fantastic The Rangers were great…read moreThe girl selling drinks and chips on the course was sweet and provided great service The course was perfect for how I wanted to treat my daughter and her husband both captains in the US Army, recently back from deployment in one of desert places. The owners are rude and a few other things We divided our 4-some up and played best ball to be efficient because they're still learning the game. We even let 2 groups play through because we were told no one was behind them. Ironically neither of those groups used the 90 degree rule, driving straight up the middle of the course Halfway through our 9 holes we recognized we were causing a backup to a pair playing behind us. We were running to get the balls not being used and occasionally didn't drive exactly 90 degrees but only at slight angles to try be as quick as possible Turns out the course owners were behind us and complained to the rangers that we be reprimanded because we weren't playing the 90 degree rule. Funny thing, neither were they. Understand it's their course but you'd think they would lead by example. Wont be returning Thanks to everyone else who made the 7.5 holes a great memory. Hope our play satisfied the owners on the last 1.5 holes

Always good service and the food is some of the best on the lake. I moved my boat there because of…read morethe atmosphere and management. Top notch all the way around.

We've been staying at Powell Valley every year we've come to Norris Lake. We love the location and…read moreall of our family is able to be together. When we heard new owners took over this year we were extremely excited as the rooms were not great and the water pressure was poor at best. When we checked in this year it was already a mess. An employee had to jump up and look in each window to find an empty room since the room we were told we were in was occupied. After 3 hours we were finally in a room. The rooms were much nicer! The water pressure was amazing! Ok this is looking better. The price increased more than 2x from 2020 to 2021 so we were expecting it to be nicer. The marina is completely redone and great. The new food is perfect. Sadly that is the last positive thing I'm going to have to say. While on our stay we never got a single fresh linen/towel/wash cloth etc. even though we asked for them every day. "Sorry they aren't getting enough clean ones to me" is what the lady in charge of cleaning told us. There were NO blinds/curtains in the entire place. So if you wondering if you are being watched, any of the house boats or any one on the lake could get 11 free shows. This also made sleeping very difficult. We were traveling with two small children and were excited to see they had wifi, helps with rainy day entertainment and night time winding down. It was down the entire time we were there as was the TV. This was not a fun experience especially since cell reception here is non existent. So double the price for no curtains, loud neighbors until 2-3 with paper thin walls, no tv or wifi, and no clean linens. Yeah I'm not thrilled. Now for the main reason for a one star. Chandra. As a business owner myself the one person that is the most important is your manager. The face that people see can makeup for a bad time or make a good time even better. But wow this lady was beyond rude, didn't care at all, and just had no ability to be professional. Told us after we told her what we'd like to see improved "yeah it was a real sh*$ show this year". What?! Not sorry. That and yeah it was busier than we expected are all you can say. They have ZERO organization, they didn't know what rooms were full or not, they attempted to kick out my in laws as they were supposed to check out Saturday (clearly paid through Sunday on all emails sent back to them l), and then had the audacity to say "I'm sick of you people's attitude". We met Brad during our stay and the guy seems nice but he needs to find new help yesterday. We will never be back! I understand people are short staffed and things come up but the lack of professionalism or even common courtesy is something that can't be looked past. Pay over 2x for a better looking room but the worst experience ever.

Nice park, nice people and well mannered dogs! Water provided and everyone follows the rules.read more

This state park is near Cumberland gap. In addition to offering picnic facilities, a visitor…read morecenter, and access to a local rail trail, I was surprised to find that it also offers a historical recreation experience. I only just caught them at the end of the day, but the re-created fort was a window back into late colonial history when the nearby Cumberland gap was the route by which what is now Kentucky was settled. I chatted up some historical reenactors briefly. The mountainside aesthetics are majestic. The range of places that are under Virginia State Park control are impressive. Even as a current southwestern Virginian myself, this is at least four hours away. It is so far into the tiny little tail of Virginia. But I had driven by this area before and not stopped and I am glad I found the opportunity to do so.

The setting couldn't be more lovely! Nestled between two mountain ridges, even the drive out along…read morethe historic Daniel Boone Wilderness Road turned highway! During the warmer months, historic re-enactors demonstrate how things may have looked back in the days when settlers were gathering to attempt passage through the Cumberland Gap (nearby!) and settle the Midwest. The old fort even allows you to enter the buildings and look around! There were animals on site, and we even saw a baby bison (from a safe viewing distance along a trail of course, they aren't free range!) I was really impressed with the thatched roof in the Native American settlement, and if you can, start at the Daniel Boone Wilderness Center, then drive here to follow the historic path to the west!

I assume it's called Rarity Mountain because it's rare to get a quick glance, and you can forget…read moreabout snapping a picture to capture the actual beauty. On I-75, just over the Tennessee State line, is this gem of a landmark. You can take the exit to get a better glimpse, or so it seems. I've seen it tens of times. With ears popping and riding high on a mountain, there's no mistaken the beauty of Tennessee.

Over the years on road trips between Ohio & Knoxville / Georgia my kids & I have stopped at Rarity…read moreMountain Rd (an overlook off I75 near the TN & KY border) & taken pictures at the sign. Here are 2 very distinct pics. One from approx 2015 & one from this week (my youngest wasn't with us yet). At one time this area was very well kept. Over the last few years it's obviously suffered from gross neglect. The sign portion is even missing. I hope the local government can fix up this area and maintain it better going forward.

This is a roadway! It's okay to hang out here on a boat but standing ON the bridge is dangerous as…read morethis is a daily very frequently traveled road for locals who live in the area. When people are congregated on one side of the bridge it causes the traffic on one side or the other to have to wait to cross as you can only use one lane as to avoid possibly hitting someone standing there. That's not even to mention the variety of things that are I the water that you can't see such as old barbed wire.

Love hanging out here and jumping off the bridge. Great place to people watch and meet others. Oh…read moreand swim around and work on my tan ;)