Big Ridge State Park — Attraction in Maynardville

We stayed in the cabins here at Big Ridge and we enjoyed our stay, but there were a few things you really need to know before booking your stay. The pros: We personally loved the rustic-ness of the cabins and park, but that may not be for everyone. We loved the CCC history of the park. The cabins are in a great location and the ones that are on the lake have good access to just go down and fish. The swimming beach is so cool because it is completely concrete, so it's like a pool, but in the lake. I've never swam in a place like it. The woman that worked the desk in the VC was so nice and accommodating. She answered any questions we had and was just overall wonderful to talk to. There are a lot of things to do for the kids:hiking, fishing, swimming, playground, a small exercise place, volleyball court, basketball court, tennis court, and you can rent board games and puzzles and balls from the VC.

The cons: the cabins are rustic, so that's a plus to some but a negative to others. They are super cheap though. But there is no TV and no WiFi in the park. The kitchen is TINY and two people can not be in there cooking at the same time, also no microwave. There were only 3 different pans also, so we had to cook things one at a time. Not many bowls or utensils either and the can opener was a no go. So in a way, it really was like glamping. Parking at the cabins is okay if you have one car, but if you bring two, you'll need to park one down the road in the overflow lot so other cabin visitors can have a spot too. The road is a one lane road with just pull offs, so you will have to make a 7 point turn to turn around. The cabins stayed booked. That isn't a problem for us as we don't mind the people or the noise, but some people may have an issue with it. You also will have a lot of stairs to walk all of your stuff up to the cabin. The website said 20 stairs but it was closer to 30. The day we were leaving, I had just woken up and just had walked outside when I saw the housekeepers coming up the stairs to our cabin. I overheard one say "I'm just going by the papers that they checked out early this morning." I never said to anyone or implied we would be leaving out early and had I walked out just 10 seconds later, they would have been coming in...which is fine. No big deal. But it did somewhat make me feel like we really needed to hurry. You cabin doesn't have it's own fire pit and you can't have fires inside the cabin. The cabins do have a grill but it was like right in the middle of the stairs, so it was a little...

Big Ridge State Park is a hidden gem in East Tennessee. There are almost 4,000 acres of beautiful scenery that you can enjoy. Due to budgeting, Big Ridge may not get the funding like some of the other higher visited state parks, but if you want to enjoy natural beauty and serenity, this is the place to go. I have enjoyed going to Big Ridge since I was a small child. It is always clean, and I feel very safe there. There is a volleyball court, tennis court, basketball court, and play area. Among those features, there is a open swim beach area and an old time grist mill that you can even walk in. There is a campground that hosts up to 50 RV or tent camping guests. There are rustic cabins built in the early 1930s by CCC workers. There is even a beautiful recreation center where you can host parties or even weddings. Anyone that has a negative experience at this park obviously didn't contact park management to correct what they experienced. This is nature, so you can expect animals such as Canadian Geese, Owls, Coyotes and other wildlife. Don't complain about them! They are protected animals! Many people complain about the geese that frequent the swim beach area. They don't realize that it is a public area. People constantly try and hand feed the geese, and worst of all, they don't clean up after themselves, leaving trash and food laying around. So, the geese know what to expect when they come back. I myself am truly appreciative of the limited staff that the park has, and what they have to deal with on a day to day basis keeping this park beautiful. As for they park rangers, they are doing a superb job. There is a seasonal ranger during the summer that has weekend events that many people enjoy. The other park rangers have been at the park for years, and you can tell that they truly love their job. If you want change, donate your time and/or money to the park for upkeep. We can all keep Big Ridge a beautiful place for our family to enjoy now and for a long time...

This campground is part of Big Ridge State Park. There is only one way/in out of the campground, VA-61, and it is nerve-wracking -- full of hairpin turns and S-curves. In quite a few places, there is no shoulder – just drop off down the side of the ridge. Where there is a shoulder, it is small and usually consists of a drainage ditch. Before we started up the really steep part, we were lucky to find a pull-over and disconnected our Jeep Liberty “toad.” I drove up separately, and my husband followed in the RV. He said in places he had to stop, back up, and then make the 180-degree bend in the road.

The campground is family-oriented -- lots of noise, close-in sites, canopies, and children. That being said, it has lots to do for families -- lake, pool, playground, etc.

Site 50 did have more green space between us and Site 52 next door. They also back up against the woods, which is nice. However, we faced the western sun, so sitting out was not an option till much later.

Plan was to stay two nights, but we decided to leave the next day almost as soon as we arrived -- just not our style park. The young woman in the park office was very nice and processed a refund of our second night.

Going back down was somewhat easier as we were headed in the opposite direction than when we came up. Still a lot of S-curves and hairpin turns. (We had come up VA-61 from the south, and left...