One of my favorite outdoor recreation parks to visit is Big Ridge State Park. The small park tucked in the hills of Maynardville, TN only sits on about 3,687 acres. For a park that includes an RV area, cabins, hiking, basketball courts, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a small lake, a dam, and a gristmill it does not take up very much space at all. However, as you can see by the list of amenities, what this park does not have in size it sure makes up for with the number of fun activities available to fill a day or even a long weekend.
My favorite part of the park is the great selection of hiking trails. You have many options from short simple hikes to get great views of both Big Ridge Lake and Norris Lake and cross a primitive dam. Or you could go on an intense hike that takes you up the valley and back to an are that seems to see very few people. If you are feeling brave you can even try to lace all the trails together to complete the full 15-mile trail system in one day.
Another great opportunity the park presents are the ampule amounts or great fishing spots. You have the option to fish from the banks of both Big Ridge Lake and Norris Lake by hiking the bordering trails. Thanks to how clear the water in the park is you can normally see fish staged in the water in the summertime, which makes sight casting a blast. If you do not see them do not worry fear, they are always under the water somewhere. Rental kayaks, canoes, and rowboats are available to rent if you would like to explore more of Big Ridge Lake. Personal watercraft are permitted, but you are required to pay a fee. You are also not allowed to use gas motors on the lake. A boat ramp for Norris Lake is located just outside of the park that does not have motor restrictions or fees.
We have yet to stay at the RV park in one of the cabins as of the writing of this article, but we would love to at some point in the feature. The RV park offers reasonable pricing, with some spots on the Norris Lake bank. They also offer the normal amenities you would expect from an RV park. The cabins all look very nice from the outside and the inside appears to be nice from the pictures on the website. They do not have air conditioning which is what has caused us to not book a stay in the summer months. I do believe they would be great in the spring before the temperatures rise too much. Some of the cabins are located right on the bank of Big Ridge Lake, so those would definitely need to be the first choice if booking one.
We once went to this park after it had rained heavily for days in the area. We decided to hike to Big Ridge Dam. I had made this hike many times in the past and never had an issue. This time, however, we did notice some high water at the head of the trail, but easily crossed so we trekked on. We quickly made our way down the trail, we turned the last corner before the dam to find it completely under water. This was a very shocking moment, normally Norris Lake is about 10’ below the dam and Big Ridge Lake is slowly slipping through the spillway into Norris Lake. This time both sides of the dam were at the same level covering the walking path of the dam.
Needless to say, we decided to turn back and make our way back to the trailhead. Once we made it back to the trailhead we decided to make our way to the gristmill, because LaBre had never seen it. We made the short drive to that side of the park to find the area of the gristmill flooded as well. The whole parking area was flooded, thankfully the water had not flooded the gristmill or any of the other park structures.
If you love the outdoors and are looking for a great place to take your family I highly recommend this park. This area offers so many options you can make a day that fits your family perfectly. Also, if you have never been to this area I also recommend at least taking a drive through Norris Dam State Park to see and drive over the dam that was built in 1936 and has shaped the area. Thank you so much for reading and be sure to check back for more information about great parks in East Tennessee and beyond.
