3 hr 30 min
By car from the Public Square, 205 mi
Field Guide 04 · Tennessee State Parks
Big Ridge State Park
A Civilian Conservation Corps park on Norris Lake, deeded to the state by the TVA in 1949. It has a small lake of its own with a swim beach and boat rentals, cabins, a campground and backcountry sites, and 13 trails, one of them past the Ghost House.
Union CountyMaynardvilleOpenChecked October 20, 2026
3,687
Acres
—
Visitors in fiscal 2025*
13
Trails listed, 14.5 miles
Cabins
Overnight: camping, cabins
7
Activities the state lists
* Visitors: The plan's count for fiscal 2025, 239,748, is the same figure Burgess Falls' plan gives, so we print neither.
What's there
Things to do
- Birding
- Boating
- Camping
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Paddling
- Swimming
On site
- Amphitheater
- Basketball
- Beach
- Bike Trails
- Birding
- Boat Access
- Boat Ramp
- Boat Rentals
- Cabins
- Campground
- Canoe Access
- Fishing
- Gift Shop
- Laundromat
- Paddle Rentals
- Playground
- Rental Venue
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Trails
- Visitor Center
- Volleyball
The trails
| Trail | Miles | Difficulty | Surface | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Valley Trail | 1.9 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Chestnut Ridge Trail | 0.75 | Moderate | Mixed | Open |
| Dark Hollow Trail East | 1.4 | — | Natural | Open |
| Dark Hollow Trail West | 2 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Fishermans Trail | 0.35 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Ghost House Trail | 1.25 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Indian Rock Trail | 2.65 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Lake Trail | 1.8 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Loyston Point Trail | 0.3 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Lyons' Loop Trail | 1.5 | — | Natural | Open |
| Meditation Point Trail | 0.1 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Ole Mill Trail | 0.25 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Sharps Station Trail | 0.25 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
As the park's hiking page lists them on October 20, 2026. Lengths are one way unless the trail is a loop, and some trails share ground, so the total is the sum of the list, not the miles on the ground.
Where to camp
- Big Ridge CampgroundTent & RV
- Big Ridge Backcountry CampsitesBackcountry Camping
Getting there
1015 Big Ridge Park Road, Maynardville, TN 37807
Park office: 1-865-992-5523
The park's page at Tennessee State Parks
Campsites, cabins and lodge rooms are booked online through the park's page or by phone at 1-888-867-2757, the state's reservation line.
Nearby
- Norris Dam State Park10 miles away as the crow flies · 3 hr 20 min from Franklin
- Cove Lake State Park16 miles away as the crow flies · 3 hr 25 min from Franklin
- Seven Islands State Birding Park24 miles away as the crow flies · 3 hr 25 min from Franklin
- Indian Mountain State Park26 miles away as the crow flies · 3 hr 50 min from Franklin
How we know
Every fact on this page but the summary at the top is the state's, read on the date above, except the drive: that is Valhalla's route on OpenStreetMap's roads from Franklin's Public Square to the park office, with no traffic, rounded to five minutes. Visits are the park plan's count for the year named, mostly from traffic counters. How the guide was made.
- The park. Tennessee State Parks: the Find a Park list, the park's own page, its hiking page and its camping page, read October 20, 2026.
- Acres. The park's strategic management plan.
- Visitors. The park's strategic management plan, its site fact sheet for fiscal 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025). The plan's count for fiscal 2025, 239,748, is the same figure Burgess Falls' plan gives, so we print neither.