I have always lived near ReelFoot lake and I grew up going there on special occasions. I had never…read morebeen on the boat tours until recently however. I had the opportunity on my day off from work to come visit this park in all of its beauty. My first boat outing was with their seasonal ranger Jewell West, she was very knowledgeable and personable! She was definitely passionate about the eagles, the park, our beautiful state, and the preservation of our state's natural wonders. On our outing we saw nearly 16 eagles, plenty of osprey, and many other native species. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the morning, and a very beautiful and relaxing ride! That afternoon I came back for the history of the lake boat ride, it was shorter than the eagle spotting venture, but was also with seasonal ranger West. She painted a unique picture about the geological origins of the lake and its troubled past. It was very interesting, and I really enjoyed hearing about it while actively seeing it in person. The facilities at the state park are brand new and they are amazing. They have very enriching and hands on ways to experience this park's history and biological elements. Many of their facilities are brand new due to increased funding and repairs after a tornado a few years ago. The flora and fauna of the lake are immensely beautiful. This place is most definitely a hidden gem for west Tennessee! I look forward to coming back this July for the 250th anniversary of the USA celebration.

As the biggest lake in Tennessee (covering 15,000 acres of water.,, but very shallow with most…read moreplaces not going over 5 feet), Reelfoot Lake was acquired by the state in the early 20th century and been maintained for public use since then. My wife and I stopped into their visitor center for a visit, being one of the few visitors on a Tuesday afternoon. It consists of two buildings: one is a museum/souvenir shop and the other had small acquariums, filled with snakes and fish. Outside, there were two sets of avian cages where a pair of bald eagles were kept in one, and the other had hawks.

Very remote area which is nice but honestly nothing impressive about it! Went for a long walk on a…read moregrated path through swamp area as I call it! Never found the lake at the end because it wasn't there just a bench sitting area. I travel the country and I've seen and explored way better park areas. Parking lot area flooded from all the rain and lots of flying bugs so bring your bug spray

This is a beautiful Park in the middle of the bootheel of Missouri. It is very remote with a nice…read morepicnic area clean bathrooms and a boardwalk so you can see the forest all around

A nice state park in the area with a pretty nice trail in the Ghost Dance Canyon. Some interesting…read morestuff to see when it's raining, but the rain also makes the rocks very slick. All in all, I have no complaints it, but this shouldn't be your first or second or even third stop if you have time to roam around in the area.

Tony and I went hiking at Dixon Springs State Park and we had a nice time. The rock formations are…read moreawesome and there is a bridge across the top of the Waterfall. I was able to get some great photos from the base of the rocks and the waterfall. The park was a little dead today but it was early about 10am. There was only one other couple there. There was picnic tables and some grills..and even some grills where I guess there was some picnic tables that are now gone...hummmmm...they also have a pool for the public use but it is still pre-season so it was not open..but I was there for the stunning rock formations and the beauty of God's backyard. This park is FREE to enjoy..which is always nice and very easily located on the intersection of Rt. 146 and Rt . 145. Here is some important information from the website: Dixon Springs State Park is one of several state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills. The park is on a giant block of rock which was dropped 200 feet along a fault line that extends northwesterly across Pope County. The 801 acre park is about 10 miles west of Golconda on Illinois Route 146 near its junction with Illinois Route 145. The first land acquisition was in 1946. Facilities at the park include a modern swimming pool, bathhouse, and 45-foot water slide provided for swimmers' enjoyment. Lifeguard is on duty at all times. Towering oaks, elms, and birch trees shade the pool. A concession stand near the pool provides a variety of refreshments. Picnic tables and outdoor stoves are available at three shaded picnic areas. Two picnic shelters, playgrounds, parking areas, and drinking water are also available. There is a Class B trailer camping area with a sanitary dumping station and electricity available. Also available are ten sites for primitive camping, two hiking trails, two basketball courts, three horseshoe pits, two volleyball courts and an archery range Also some HISTORY OF THE AREA which I found very interesting information I wanted to share: The area around the park was occupied by various tribes of Algonquins who, after the Shawnee had been driven from Tennessee, had settled near the mouth of the Wabash River. Dixon Springs was one of their favorite camping grounds and was called "Kitchemuske-nee-be" for the Great Medicine Waters. One of the better known Indian Trails, which the early French called the "Grand Trace," passed to the west of the park and south to Fort Massac, then branched out into lesser trails. Much of the "Grand Trace" is Illinois Route 145, one of the most scenic highways in the state, running nearly all of its length south from Harrisburg through the Shawnee National Forest. This section of the state was part of an Indian Reservation occupied for a time by about 6,000 Native Americans. Like the buffalo, most of the Indians were gone by the early 1830's. Dixon Springs takes its name from William Dixon, one of the first white settlers to build a home in this section, who obtained a school land warrant in 1848 from Governor Augustus C. French. His cabin was a landmark for many years as was an old log church on the adjoining knoll. A small community grew up at Dixon Springs with a general store, post office, blacksmith shop, grist mill, and several churches.Dixon Springs Dixon Springs became a 19th century health spa which attracted hundreds to the seven springs of mineral-enriched water. A bathhouse provided mineral or soft water baths, hot or cold, available at any time. The natural beauty of the area and its interesting stone formations helped to give the park valley a more equable temperature in the summer than most of southern Illinois. This made the resort so popular that people came by steamboat excursions from as far away as Paducah, KY, Evansville, IN, and Cairo to Golconda. They then traveled by train to within a couple miles of the park. The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming waterfalls of varying sizes and heights. Bold cliffs and crags overhang a bubbling brook while large boulders, overgrown with ferns, ivy, lichens, and moss, fringe the hillside. Giant century-old trees interlock above the small creek as cliffs rise on either side and huge boulders are scattered through the valley. Equally intriguing are the names given numerous points of interest, including Album Rock, Red Man's Retreat, Wolf Pen, Lover's Leap, Ghost Dance, Pluto's Cave. Alligator Rock, the Chain of Rocks, Devil's Workshop, and Honeycomb Rock. The principle canyon has walls nearly 60 feet high with a long, narrow passageway. I found this park very nice and I would definitely go here again..so if you are in the area...enjoy some hiking and gorgeous scenery...God gives us so much to ENJOY for FREE !!! A great Park

This is the most boring state park I've ever been to out of around 25 TN state parks (and several…read morein KY and SC). However, I say this as someone that loves to hike and usually long distances. I drove here from Franklin, TN. The drive is around three hours. It was a bit aggravating as 95% of the way here was one lane roads that will get you stuck behind semis going 15-20 under for 15-20 miles. SR-432 is littered with potholes and desperately needs redone. Also, for reference, it's June and 94 degrees in Greenfield, TN. I chose this state park because it's a hot day and I knew my dog couldn't be out long. It was worth it in a way for me because I'm trying to visit every TN state park ‍ Keep in mind that there are only two trails at this state park, both paved (well one is a boardwalk so wood I guess). I started at the visitor center which was closed and had no posted hours. I noticed the park was pretty empty, only one other car and I didn't end up seeing any people here. I went at 1 pm on a Tuesday for reference. There were some t shirts in the visitor center. If you park at the visitor center and walk behind it towards wooden signage, you will get to the boardwalk trail. There isn't a map of the trail at the start, but there is some history info that's somewhat legible if you can squint past the wealth of bird poop. Once on the wooden boardwalk, it's pretty and well taken care of. There are plenty of spots to sit, but also a million mosquitos so I didn't want to stop moving for long (I forgot to put on bug spray). Just a little bit into the boardwalk there is construction and there weren't any warnings at the beginning that the trail was closed past a certain point. The water around the trees was mostly dried up from the heat so it might be better to go when it's not hot or after a lot of rain. You can hear birds here, but the only wildlife I saw was a small lizard scurrying across the boardwalk. I then went to the picnic area parking and ate lunch. It was a nice little spot to eat lunch and there are tons of benches and tables around this area, some more tucked away. Park bathrooms are so hit or miss, but this bathroom is nice. It looks newly renovated and it was clean and cold inside. I walked the trail after. It wasn't anything too exciting, but it was a storybook trail and the story was legible throughout the entire trail so good for kids. It was more shaded than the boardwalk, but you might find a tick on you after this one. There's a basketball hoop, a playground, and lots of those little park grills. There are paper maps available by the picnic area parking. As for dog friendliness, there aren't poop bags and the refillable dog water bowl is broken and gross. However, there is a faucet next to it with a half broken concrete divot that will hold enough water long enough for your dog to drink water. I would be careful where your dog steps though and don't let them lay down because there's a jagged piece of unmovable mesh wire poking up. There's a little garden, but I will say it's hard to tell what plants are what because there are so many weeds. Overall, an underwhelming state park that you might just have to visit in order to check it off your list.

Nice place to spend the day . Trails are good . Playground and clean restrooms. Great place to…read morepicnic.

I've visited multiple historical sites similar to this mound site, across the country. Of all the…read moreexperiences this one stands out for a very specific reason. All the others are just the mounds with their accompanying history explained. This is the first one I've been to that goes above and beyond just seeing a grassy mound and actually has a fully excavated, and protected site within it. I find this fascinating. This type of historical location is only as exciting as the person visiting it wants to make it. Having this extra layer of dirt removed to actually see what's under one of these mounds is much more gratifying. In any event, I think it's important to take a moment and imagine life at the time the mound was created almost 1000 years ago and how different it is from what we experience today, standing in the same spot. This is an excellent site with great documentation and a very friendly and helpful staff. Definitely worth taking an hour out of your day if you're in the area to stop by and experience this place.

Stopped here on our way to explore Cairo staff was wonderful learned a lot about the mystery of the…read morearea

I don't like man made lakes. It is totally fake. They ruined thousands of God made acres of…read moreforest and river to build a "makework" dam project for thousands of unemployed discharged soldiers. The water is filthy. The fish have so much mercury and lead you can't eat them. People have ingested brain eating amoeba by swimming in lake wappappapello even. It's a toilet bowl as far as I am concerned. I visit Ozark Nation Senic riverways frequently but haven't been to Wapp. for over 40 years.

We had a very day trip here. It was very green and not hardly any people. The oaks trees were huge…read moreand it was so quiet. You could hear the birds singing. We saw a beautiful dear grazing. Lots of roller coaster hills. Plenty of camping sites and a ranger station on site. There is a small store before you get to lake and a very small park store at lake in case you forgot drinks ice etc. I did 4 , because bathrooms were horrible! Had not been attended to in I don't know when. Toilet was bearable but there was friends like lizard and mouse and spider in there literally. Best to go outside if you are afraid of guests. And paint peeling off doors etc. They needed love for sure. No reason for that condition at all. But other than this .... Lake was beautiful and park was lovely. Oh they also had cabins that could be rented.

Depends on your style and tastes because it definitely is a little eerie! If you like weird,…read morethough, it'll be a good place to visit. It will definitely be something we will always remember, but not one we necessarily recommend.

This is definitely a one-of-a-kind place. Every display throughout the property has a related pun,…read moreand the toys in his toy house are displayed in ways that make funny stories. Sadly a storm took out the electricity to the toy house and he isn't permitted to fix it because the electric is connected to the house and the town said he has to upgrade all the electric in the house, which he and his wife don't have the means for right now. When he had electricity a lot of the toys would move and contraptions on the property had lights and water on some of them. The toys stretch back to the 1940s. Definitely a trip down memory lane. The gentleman who owns it is very nice and came out to give us a tour and pointed out the many puns related to the displays. The little general store his grandparents ran back in the early half of the 1900s is still standing and full of interesting memorabilia and artifacts. It's donations only, no cost, but the man and his wife can use the help. If you're not a fan of weird junk art and old toys, you probably wouldn't like it. We spent about 45 minutes there.

This was awesome! Went here with 2 cars, 4 adults and 2 kids and there isn't a car fee, it is a per…read moreperson fee. And we got 4 buckets of feed per car, which ended up not being enough. You end up feeding the beginning animals and have nothing left for the ending animals. I wish there was a half way through point to buy more food because we would definitely buy more! Missed money opportunity there for sure. The camels took our buckets of food and the food got all over the rental car - had to take it to get vacuumed out which was fine, just beware. The animals were great and seemed really friendly - almost too friendly because the llamas/alpacas stood right in front of our car and wouldn't move for us to go around them. It was cute to see! My kids had a great time! It was a tad long, wish it was like 15 minutes shorter as we didn't end up doing the zoo at the end because we had to get on the road. You can tell they maintain everything because everything was very clean and taken care of. Would definitely recommend to anyone!

This was a surprise. We were taking our 5 year old Grandson on a trip before school starts. We…read morevisited last minute and we are so glad we did. He LOVED it as much as we did. It was unexpected fun. They offer feed - we bought 4 buckets for $10. Get 4 - you'll be glad you did. Just be aware, the camels will take your bucket from you so be ready. They will put their head in the car and try to take the entire bucket. The lamas are fun and will walk with your car. The ostriches don't eat a lot but will stick their heads in the car and hit your bucket a little hard. Not mean. Just hold on to it firmly. There are A LOT of animals. The deer also enjoy eating from your bucket but are not as forceful. The walking zoo is okay. Get some carrots from the gift shop to feed the giraffe. That was pretty cool too Overall, totally unexpected fun. Go for it. It's worth it.

On Monday, September 27th, until Friday, October 1st, my wife and I spent a very relaxing time at…read moreColumbus-Belmont State Park. Not only was the park itself beautiful--but Cinda, the campground hostess, was by far the best hostess we have ever had in our many years of camping. Cinda was present whenever we needed her. She would willingly drive her golf cart and wagon to get us firewood or ice without once complaining. She was always cheerful, smiling, and happy to talk about the Park and the historical area. We consider Columbus-Belmont State Park to be our favorite campground--well worth driving all the way from Colorado, where we live--and consider it especially so now that Cinda is the hostess. We look forward to returning there!

Located in Kentucky, Columbus Belmont State Park is on the site of a previous Confederate…read morefortification during the Civil War. It was named after the two nearby cities, with Belmont being the site of the first battle led by General Grant. It preserves the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, and contains certain artifacts from the era, including Polk's Giant Chain, with an anchor that weighs 4 tons. The bluffs have railings around it for safety of visitors. There is a large covered picnic area as well.

My husband picked this campground online, and wow did he nail it. It's fantastic. Just $25 a day…read morefor the small RV section, and that includes free electricity, water, and gray water dumping right at your site. Black water dumping is available at a designated area. The highlights for me were being near the water, and the absolute gem of a camp hostess, Melissa. When my husband checked us in he said, "She's really friendly," and a few hours later I met her myself and had to agree. Plus, I got to meet the camp kitties. Shadow, the all-black mini panther, totally stole my heart. What a sweetheart. The campground was very quiet and peaceful, with free firewood and super clean bathrooms that are ice cold, which was a total win on a hot day. The showers are free and in great condition too. The entire park is tidy and well maintained. It's a dry park, so if you're planning to enjoy a cocktail by the fire, just be a little stealthy and bring a cozy. Civilization is about a 15-minute drive away, but still dry... so plan accordingly. Highly recommend this place. We will definitely be back.

What a nice park. I came here as it showed up my hiking app and I wanted to walk my dogs before…read morecontinuing my road trip. I walked the lake trail, the rushed gravel trail along the edge. Cyclists have to use the paved trail so walkers and dog walkers can rest with ease There are restrooms at every pavilion. The park also has playgrounds, shelter, a campground and forested hiking trails. The best thing for those with dogs is the dog jumping pier. My dogs had a blast on the warm day we were here. There is also a dog beach.