Absolutely a hidden gem! We stayed in cabin 10, which has a sneaky water view, amazing screened in porch, a porch swing, fireplace, fire pit, chairs, grill, and television with over air channels! It was spacious and rustic, historic yet modernized with ac and heat as well as a small kitchen with all the necessities. The park has a ton to offer, too! Multiple areas to explore, lots of trails, a museum, and the dam, which has a pedestrian path and several cool overlooks! It was very pet friendly, the dog came with me, and near enough to Knoxville and other sites to not feel too out of touch, but still private and woodsy with a view! read more

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Norris Dam and the surrounding marinas offer beautiful lakeside fishing, tubing and boating. We had the opportunity to reserve a cabin near the Sequoyah Marina and spent the day enjoying the views. Don't miss the short drive to the Norris Dam visitors center and walk over the bridge for spectacular overhead views of the dam. read more

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The "standard" cabins are great - three bedrooms, a fully-stocked kitchen, gas fireplace, outdoor porch, etc. The one drawback is, if you're planning on cooking or having breakfast, etc., there IS NO SALT, PEPPER, OR SUGAR in the cabin. The staff says this is for "sanitary reasons", but there's this thing they have now: salt, sugar, and pepper in individual packets. Maybe I'm overly used to airbnb's, but this seems pretty extreme. If you have to buy these condiments, it's a real waste. Luckily, we were able to accumulate them via restaurant packets. read more

Norris Dam has the cleanest water in TN. We love to rent a boat and go around Norris. Swimming, playing, water slides, picnicking and my boys love to fish. It can be crowded, but there are all sorts of areas you can pull out and swim without 100 other people, just keep looking!! I just wish that people wouldn't throw trash on the shores. Come on everyone, take care of TN!! read more

I'm a HUGE fan of Norris lake. Wish we owned a boat or wave runner ... but since we don't ... we rent them. You can visit the dam by car or by boat. We've done both. Usually come here to the dam each time we visit. read more

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In the age of COVID travel plans turn into cross country road trips. I love the idea of a good old fashioned road trip until I'm behind the wheel or in the passenger seat. When the podcasts have run dry and we are in our 6th hour I get antsy and can be heard whining "Are we there yet?". So to prevent the restless legs and incessant whining we have started a tradition on our long road trips to find a place to stop and spend some time out of the car. I'm so glad we found Norris Dam State Park as it was the perfect setting to stretch our legs. We found the perfect trail through the woods taking us on a little over a 1/2 mile loop which was the perfect break for us and our four legged friends. We loved that there were so many trails and areas to choose from as well we didn't even run into another person with all the trail options. If we find ourselves packing our things and hitting the road if Norris is on the way it will definitely be checking out a new trail to stretch our legs and get some fresh air! read more

Pretty, calm, open, safe. Boring, but in a good way. I've been here a couple times and the drive is always really nice. The vibe is always serene. read more

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Living just a mile from this Park allows me to enjoy frequently. The trails are well kept and it's nice meeting the many visitor's from all over the country. A real hidden gem and the rangers are very knowledgeable and friendly. read more

As my wife and I settle into our Home Sweet Home and become East Tennesseans, we are daily thrilled with the beauty of the landscape that everywhere meets the eyes and engages the senses. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Tennessee State Parks System. Currently, fifty-three parks are accessible to the general public and ALL ARE FREE. What an incredible dollar value in today's economy, and none of them are in legislative peril of being closed! (California would do well to investigate this model instead of closing so many beautiful State parks). Today we went to Norris Dam State Park, located off of Interstate 75, about 30 miles north of downtown Knoxville. Built in 1936 as a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) public works project. This hydroelectric dam, built on the Clinch River, was the first of twenty-nine dams subsequently built to control flooding along the Tennessee riverways and tributaries. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that within the park's borders, cabins and camp sites are available, along with a swimming pool, the "Tea House" which can be used for family or corporate get-togethers, as well as a marina, boat launches and water sports. What a beautiful place to spend a special day, weekend, or week-long vacation, all in the foothills of the Beautiful Cumberland Mountains. read more

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Drove through the park on my way up north from Knoxville. It is a nice stop. Really pretty views. read more

Norris Dam State Park - Parks Near Me - Rocky Top, Tennessee

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My review is on the campground here in the park. If your wanting to camp here in your RV, think twice before coming here. VERY narrow roads in and out of here. If there were 2 campers coming from both directions at the same time there wouldn't be enough room to get both of you in or out of this campground. I was nearly hit head on by a small car coming into the campground in my tahoe. The campground is very small looking at the sites and your on top of everyone. We didn't camp here, thank goodness and so glad we decided to check this place out before we brought our camper up here. Very disappointed though. The views are amazing and the trails look like they'd be awesome. In all seriousness though the road off of the dam to get to this campground is very, very narrow. Good luck- read more

This review covers the walking/jogging paths that parallel the Clinch River....... The paths are very well maintained, covered with a fine limestone gravel. The edges are close-mowed for approximately 3', at which point high grass or woods vegetation takes over. Waterways that cross the paths are bridged with concrete, and have very secure railings. Numerous fishing points dot the banks along the paths. At several points along the path, kiosks with maps help show 'where you are'. The paths are very level, and alternate from full shade to full sun, with mowed fields adjacent. ADA for restrooms AND paths is excellent. It's not unusual to find disabled folk enjoying this park, alone, and with caregivers. A note: Please be aware of fishermen along the banks, and show due consideration. They are in quest of the wiley and reclusive trouts that inhabit the frigid pools of the river. Also, alarms will sound when water flow is increased for power generation. When the alarms sound, DON'T MESS AROUND! These waters are very cold and will become extremely swift and dangerous within a matter of minutes. Depth increases of 3-4' are not unusual in these instances. read more

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Are you a trout fisherman? Because if you are you are in for a treat. With some of the nations best right here in the Smoky Mountains. A cold mist or breeze coming off the water to cool off even the hottest day. The family can picnic on the banks in the ideal setting, full of walking trails and wildlife while you enjoy the day reeling in the fishies! read more

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When I think of this State Park my thoughts go to the water and how many activities there are at the park relating to those. There is a lake, so naturally that means there is boating, jet skiing, canoeing and of course fishing. But what about those who aren't looking to do those things and want to tackle the park in a different way? What is there for them to do? Well I am one of those people who enjoys the water, but truly likes to go to a place that has hiking and other activities for me to do as well. This place had so many things all in the peaceful setting of the lake. I enjoyed the museum on location the Lenior Cultural Center, which was a great way to see the past through the items which were commonly used in the area not only to establish them dam but also in the earlier days of the development of the area. It was really interesting to see some of the items. For those looking to do something a bit more hands on they also offer interpretive programs at this facility and ranger led programs. Then there is the hiking, lots and lots of hiking!! I personally found this to be the best aspect of this park. Located just a short distance from the Smoky Mountains, a lot of times you don't think of hiking in this area because you are wanting to go to the "bigger better" trails in the National Park, but bypassing these trails is a huge disservice to yourself if you are in Tennessee. There are 16 trails overall at this park alone with difficulty and distance ranging. All the trails are natural surface trails and while many of them seemed very flat none were truly ADA accessible. I stayed here at one of the two campgrounds, however they do also offer backcountry camping and cabin camping at this facility. My site was shaded and slightly off from the water on higher ground. it was flat and had hard packed dirt where my tent was set up. there was a lot of grass in the area around my campground. The site itself was pretty typical with a fire ring and concrete picnic table. The only thing I found slightly off-putting about this camp was the mosquitoes, even late into the season they seemed to still be thriving. This made preparing food at night really a battle even with bug spray. TIPS: * If booking online (during busy months). there will be a $5 online service charge. Despite this fee this is the best way to ensure you have a site during busy weekends and holiday weekends when it tends to be very busy. * Bring bug spray and a candle for camp to keep the bugs away. read more

We rented the rustic pet friendly cabin #12 for our children to visit us for Christmas. The cabin was well equipped. There was Four of everything in the kitchen. There were plenty of towels and linens. One complaint was the FULL size beds. I had not slept in a full size bed in over 35 years. There was an electrical problem in the overhead lights. One over the bed would go on and off and one in the living room area would also. No one was available to answer our questions. The ranger was very polite when we checked in and he explained that the maids did not want to clean the cabins during the holidays! We wanted our relatives to be able to join us for the weekend and no one was there to answer the question phone call or such read more

Norris Dam State Park - Parks Near Me - Rocky Top, Tennessee

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I'll probably visit Norris Dam State Park again sometime in the summer and have a better experience and add another star or two. But based on my first-ever visit last week to camp for one night, I'm only giving it a single star for (a) having all of their bathrooms closed for the winter, and (b) not mentioning this on their web site but instead leaving up the claim that "Modern bathhouses and dump stations are provided". I am not too proud to visit a truly primitive camp site and bring a trowel; but the trowel, unfortunately, tends to get left at home if I'm looking forward to a "modern bathhouse" after hiking and setting my tent up. The fact that temperatures were near freezing at night would have made some sort of warning about the winter bathroom closings even more polite. Instead, it's not until you've walked up to the bathroom building and can see the "Closed" sign through the screen door that you even know they're locked and disabled. If the park insists on keeping the camp site bathrooms locked, it would be nice if they at least kept the visitor center bathrooms open all night, instead of having them automatically lock from 5pm to 7am. The camp sites, and the whole west end of the park, is criss-crossed by huge power lines, humming audibly above several of the primitive camp sites. It doesn't really feel like wild and untamed nature -- until you discover that it's winter and you have to go to the bathroom. read more

We usually go on a house boat trip in Kentucky every June, but this year we decided to change it up a bit. We rented a house on Lake Norris called The Pit Stop. The house was cool but the steps down to the lake were not :) there were around 70 steps... We counted. The water was not very clean either. There were large tree branches and trash everywhere. The lake was very narrow as well so it made maneuvering around the debris difficult. I usually like to relax in a raft all day but here at the house's dock the fish were very persistent. They kept swimming all around me and it really bothered me so I didn't really relax in my raft. I don't think we will be returning to Lake Norris. read more

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It's an AMAZING place. Love the scenery and all the old buildings and things. From the trails to the cabins, to the museums. I love it all

We recently stayed at the West campground of the State park. This campground is not at all as it is advertised on their website. There are no views of the lake, Dam or of the mountains, nothing. You are just in the woods! They advertised many trails, however, there was only one accessible from this campground... pretty much down a steep mountainside. You could connect to another trail from that one. For the rest of the trails, you had to get in you car and drive to them. You also had to Drive to the Dam, the lake and Marina. There are no views of the Dam, Marina or Water from any of the campsites. Now, the worst part, in the West campground there were only 4 one person bathrooms. One was out of order. They have 50 campsites, half of them were filled with tents, a group of about 50 little girls, and only 3 toilets!!!! Seriously, and if someone was taking a shower and you had to pee..... Now, the other problem; there were two really old campers there and it looked like these were permanent residents. One was either drunk or high and constantly screaming at his dogs. The other one had a lots of cars driving by slowly... stopping, looking at us, looking at the run down camper. This was on Sunday night when only 5 campsites were filled. Everyone else left on Sunday AM. Definitely something shady going on there. We did not feel safe there. Will never return. read more

I would visit this park again, but I would probably do tent camping here instead of staying in the rustic cabins. ~ When we first arrived the person at the park office had kindly taped our key to the front door, as we arrived during the night. The room was clean upon first glance, particularly inside the fridge. ~ There was, however, a piece of rodent poop on the bed right under the pillow. We washed the sheet under it with soap and water and removed the pillow from the bed completely. I don't want to knock too much off for this because as someone who has had mice in their own home I know they can be difficult to get rid of, especially when the cabins are in the middle of the woods. We didn't see any mice or rats, so it's possible it was there when they went to wash it and it stuck on. ~There were a couple of stink bugs in the room, but again, that is to be expected when the cabin is in the woods. Most campers are probably ready to deal with bugs, but I just want you to be aware that you may encounter a few bugs. ~ They could use a few more signs on their roads. We got confused and turned where the deluxe cabins were instead of the rustic ones. This probably wouldn't be a problem in the daylight, but we were driving the roads in the dark. The rustic cabins are across the dam from the deluxe ones. It was fun to drive over at night as they have lights lining the entire thing! ~ It would also be nice if there were some sort of lights near the cabins as it was a bit hard to see the path in the dark. However, that doesn't weigh on my review at all as it's more of a luxury thing. Just beware and bring a flashlight! ~ The power went out for multiple cabins (some of our neighbors confirmed) in the morning while it was still dark out and because of this we couldn't use the oven for breakfast, nor the fridge. ~ We called the office, but no one picked up (it was the weekend, so they may not have been open.) The answering machine also didn't tell us which ranger was working at the time even though the paper on the door said it would. ~ The cabins were a bit on the expensive side when I take into account these negatives. It ended up being about $120+ due to a weekend tax. So, if you're staying on the weekend be aware that it will cost a bit more. Otherwise it's pretty reasonable. ~ Many of the rustic cabins DO look out over the water, which is nice. You can look at the map when you reserve them to pick one that is near the water. ~ I really like that each cabin has a screened in porch with a door that latches shut. It's nice to relax on the porch and feel safe. The porch also has a swing. ~ Best of all they gave us %50 off of our stay due to the power outage and rodent feces. That definitely took my review up a star. Pros: Good customer service, nice views, screened in porches, the dam was neat, full kitchen with oven, microwave, and fridge. Cons: There was rodent poop (otherwise it looked very clean, though,) a power outage (which hopefully doesn't happen often,) roads were a bit confusing inside the park, office answering machine didn't seem to work for us, a bit expensive (particularly on the weekends, but pretty fair on week days.) I would recommend visiting this park, but perhaps staying in the tent/RV areas or trying the deluxe cabins. Happy camping! :) read more

Great place to walk. Beautiful walking trail. Dog friendly. I've been walking on this trail since I've lived here....about 13 years. I can't wait to start taking my puppy on this trail. It's really been too hot to take her yet. This trail if you go round trip (circle) is approximately 3 miles. read more

I give this park four stars because it is very pretty but if I could rate the dump station separately, I would only give it one star. This is a nice park but I'm surprised no one has mentioned anything about this before. We have a Class A and wanted to empty our tanks prior to setting up considering the sites aren't full hookup. The driveway and area to park for the dump station are nowhere near level plus the port is on the top of a concrete slab. Obviously you can't get your tanks empty that way. The ride in is long and winding which I liked but my husband who was driving got annoyed after a while. The driveway is narrow so in a big rig like ours you might need to do some maneuvering into your spot if its a corner spot. The spots are not level so you'll be loving your auto jacks - we definitely were! It is dark and super quiet at night. I loved the abundance of lightening bugs which we don't have at home. read more

Great place to take the family for a picnic, hike, fishing and more! Norris Dam State Park is clean and offers plenty for those that enjoy the outdoors! read more

Norris Dam State Park - TVA System of Norris Dam - Parks Near Me - Rocky Top, Tennessee

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This is one great state park. They have rustic cabins for rent near the Norris Dam and they are super reasonably priced. Then, over by the park headquarters, are the deluxe cabins - including three bedrooms with one bath, big kitchens, free firewood, and decks overlooking the natural forest scenery. They are cheaper than most of the motels at the nearby exits. The park is sort of split up between the two sides of the dam/lake with plenty to do - as long as you like the woods, rivers, and a great big beautiful clean lake! read more

I stay at Norris Dam 3-4 weeks per year for the past 5 years... The rustic 1930's era cabins near the dam are an enchanting value. I like warming up next to a fire in the rock fireplace, eating my dinner on the screened in porch swing, and seeing the deer outside my cabin every morning. There are a few hiking trails around the cabins which I explore every evening to my unauthorized swimming hole. The sheets and pillows are prison-issue, so I strongly recommend bringing your own! The condo-like cabins in the main park are extremely comfortable, especially for under $100! They have 3 bedrooms, a large-ish kitchen, bigger bathroom, strong central AC, and big windows which look out into the woods. read more

Norris is truly a fantastic state park. It is a scaled down national park. The Lenoir museum is a must-see. The east campground is not well shaded and older (w/ power lines above it, they are clearly visible so it's not like they sneak up on you and hum) but is very close to the rustic cabins and you can walk or bike out of your campsite to the lakeside trails. The west campground is well shaded, newer and secluded. It is the much busier of the 2 campgrounds. The deluxe cabins on the west side of the park are very accommodating and the rustic cabins on the east side are comfortable and great for a couple. This is a great mountain biking and hiking park. Trails can be accessed everywhere and there is no need to drive to any trailhead to access the seemingly endless network. Norris lake has plenty of boat docks to rent a boat or jet ski and lots of good swimming and fishing. If you are in the northern metro Knoxville area this park is well worth the visit. read more

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A good spot for gas but that's about it. The restaurant had not been open when I go and the supplies at the marina are sub par. There are way better marinas in the area. The staff is very tentative and friendly though read more

Not the best campground I've been to. Pack a weed eater and bring a map. Poorly marked. Also the bathhouses are not very clean BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) read more

DO NOT STAY HERE!! What a disappointment. My family and I stayed at the West Campground as someone from our family had chosen this park. The campsites were extremely rocky (my new tent will need a new floor after staying here). The inner campsites were decent and grassy but the outer rim sites (which most of my family had to camp on) were hilly and rocky, with absolutely no grass. There were a lot of trees, so it was shady, but rarely caught a breeze. (The sites near the open space near the restrooms often had breezes.) The management had said that there were "pads" at each site for tents, but that was absolutely not the truth. Many of the sites had a fire pit with the area around it so restricted that only 3 or 4 people could sit around it, There was electric and water at each site and a small pad for parking. My brothers had to get other sites than those they reserved because the parking pad for their campers was far too small (even though they had talked to the staff before reserving the site and before coming). (Also, the management had several of our reservations mixed up.) The park was nowhere near the lake, and their was no swimming allowed in the park except at their pool which was open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 or 10 am to 6 pm, and closed for the season on the 7th of August. The campground itself was not well maintained and the sites were dangerous if you had even the slightest difficulty with mobility as there were countless rocks, roots (everywhere) and big gaps between asphalt or concrete near the stairs and pads for parking and table. I didn't check out the East Campground as it hadn't any trees at the sites and had Hi Power Lines over it per other reviews. There is a very nice park nearby, Big Ridge State Park and it has a swimming area and you can rent boats, etc. and it appears to be quite grassy and shady. You really have to do your due diligence before camping and I thought I had done enough. Alas, it was not so. read more