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Field Guide 04 · Tennessee State Parks

Norris Dam State Park

4,038 acres on Norris Lake north of Knoxville, one of five demonstration parks the TVA built with the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps; the CCC's cabins are still rented. Two campgrounds, a marina, the Lenoir Museum and 41 listed trails.

Campbell CountyRocky TopOpenChecked October 20, 2026

3 hr 20 min
By car from the Public Square, 194 mi
4,038
Acres
340,245
Visitors in fiscal 2022
41
Trails listed, 62.8 miles
Cabins
Overnight: camping, cabins
7
Activities the state lists
Where Norris Dam State Park isA map of Tennessee marking Norris Dam State Park, in Campbell County, and Franklin.FRANKLIN
The black dot is Norris Dam State Park; the square is Franklin. The grey dots are the other state parks. All of them, by drive time.

What's there

Things to do

  • Birding
  • Boating
  • Camping
  • Fishing
  • Hiking
  • Horseback Riding
  • Mountain Biking

On site

  • Accessible Paddling Launch
  • Adult-Sized Changing Table
  • Bike Trails
  • Birding
  • Boat Access
  • Boat Ramp
  • Boat Rentals
  • Cabins
  • Campground
  • Canoe Access
  • Fishing
  • Gift Shop
  • Horseback Riding
  • Laundromat
  • Marina
  • Meeting Rooms
  • Museum
  • Playground
  • Snack Bar
  • Swimming
  • Trails
  • Visitor Center

The trails

Trails at Norris Dam State Park, as the state lists them
TrailMilesDifficultySurfaceNow
Andrews Ridge Trail1.95ModerateNaturalOpen
Camp Sam Trail1.5DifficultNaturalOpen
CCC Access Trail0.6ModerateNaturalOpen
Christmas Fern Trail0.5EasyNaturalOpen
Chuckmore Trail2.3ModerateNaturalOpen
Elkins Trail2.25ModerateNaturalOpen
Harmon Loop Trail0.95ModerateNaturalOpen
Highpoint Spur Trail0.75—NaturalOpen
Highpoint Trail2.45DifficultNaturalOpen
Holly Grove Trail1ModerateNaturalOpen
Homestead Trail1DifficultNaturalOpen
Hootin Hollow Trail1.1EasyNaturalClosed
Lake View Trail6.55DifficultNaturalOpen
Marine Railway Spur0.2—NaturalOpen
Marine Railway Trail4ModerateNaturalOpen
PawPaw Trail0.7DifficultNaturalOpen
Scenic Cove Trail0.15—NaturalOpen
Sequoyah Trail1.35—NaturalOpen
Sinkhole Trail0.85ModerateNaturalOpen
Storybook Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
Tall Timbers Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
Tennis Court Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
TVA River Bluff Trail2.7ModerateNaturalOpen
TVA Songbird Trail2EasyNaturalOpen
Tennis Court Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
Harmon Loop Trail0.95ModerateNaturalOpen
Marine Railway Spur0.2—NaturalOpen
Marine Railway Trail4ModerateNaturalOpen
Storybook Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
Christmas Fern Trail0.5EasyNaturalOpen
CCC Access Trail0.6ModerateNaturalOpen
Tall Timbers Trail0.4EasyNaturalOpen
Lake View Trail6.55DifficultNaturalOpen
PawPaw Trail0.7DifficultNaturalOpen
Homestead Trail1DifficultNaturalOpen
Highpoint Trail2.45DifficultNaturalOpen
Camp Sam Trail1.5DifficultNaturalOpen
Holly Grove Trail1ModerateNaturalOpen
Clear Creek Trail1.4Easy—Open
TVA Songbird Trail2EasyNaturalOpen
TVA River Bluff Trail2.7ModerateNaturalOpen

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

  • Norris Dam East CampgroundTent & RV
  • Norris Dam West Side CampgroundTent & RV
  • Backcountry Campsite 1Backcountry Camping
  • Backcountry Campsite 2Backcountry Camping
  • Backcountry Campsite 3Backcountry Camping

Getting there

125 Village Green Circle, Rocky Top, TN 37769
Park office: 1-865-425-4500
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

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Acres. The park's strategic management plan.
  3. Visitors. The park's strategic management plan, its site fact sheet for fiscal 2022 (July 2021 to June 2022).

All 69 parks, by drive time