Reviews of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (Park)

Caleb Reed

An excellent and surprisingly overlooked park, but that just means more of it to yourself. The park stretches from Kentucky down into Tennessee. This park has options for back country camping and great day hikes.

cathy mosier

Beautiful area! The air was crisp and smell heavenly! Horse and hiking trails we're well maintained! We swam in the river to cool off after a long horse ride .

Cynthia Thomas

This is an amazing gem of a park. Great place for day hiking and Backcountry camping.

Kari Cross

Had an amazing time with my family. Seen a cub only a mile into the park. We can't wait to go back and Hike some more. The o&w train trail was gorgeous. It is moderately strenuous unlike what all Trails has it listed as easy. Very much worth the hour trip. The park rangers were very knowledgeable and easy going. Stop in there they have some very useful information.

Gary Tompkins

Big South Fork is a gem of a National Park.It's a great place for hiking,camping,fishing,horseback riding etc.It is very well run by Park Service Rangers.Facilities are always in top notch condition.I have been there many times and have always had a great experience.

Nick Baloga

Camp here yearly with group from kids school, overall a nice campground

Kaye Covey

I love National Parks

Chris McKnight

Beautiful and scenic river. Quiet place to hike, meditate, read, or just enjoy nature.

Patricia Pemberton

It was not me some piece of ///_ stole my phone

Candice Rizzo

It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. And I only took one point four miles to get to gentleman's swimming hole and it was so much fun.

Vickie Brown

Beautiful country! Rained most of the time we were there but still had a great time. Hope to visit again soon.

Keesha Gibson

Beautiful and fun for the whole family!

Drew Hartt

This is an awesome park! Went for a weekend camping/hiking trip and fell in love with the park. We stayed at Bandy Creek Campground. Each site has their own food storage container to keep away from bears, campfire ring and picnic table. Bath houses were super clean and well kept. Hikes from the site offered incredible views. Awesome place!

earl brendle

Great location with a lot to do. Good hiking.

Jeffery Todd Anderson Sr.

Lots of neat things to see!

Hilda Hendren

Planning on moving to the area and wanted to check out the park. Love all the horse back riding possibilities

Kay Osborne

Love camping and riding up there

Linda B

Views, views views. If you like views and nature this place is for you. Amazing after a storm, the steam, color from winter to spring is amazing with the lime green buds and red bud blooming. Hiking you will find all kinds of flowers. If you want to identify them I suggest heading to Stearns coal mining historical shop and find the local book on flower identification. Many trilliums, violets, dwarf iris, etc. April 17 hike. Also hiked March 13 still not many flowers up. Cell service rare, may have occasional service but don't plan on cell phone.

Chris Shores

Remote campground but well maintained with easy access to your site.

EatExploreHunt

Excellent place for remote camping and hiking.

Terri Callis

Went on a day hike to the twin arches. Beautiful!!!

Skates Alot

Took the family for a nice weekend hike. It was very peaceful. we used the map we bought at The Visitor Center to choose which Trail we would use. The scenery is also beautiful as the colors are changing for fall. The rest rooms were clean.

Wendy Garone

Incredible hiking experience!! Waterfall drops 116 feet into huge rock opening. Streams all the way to cool off in. Amazing scenery everything. Bathrooms available at start n top. All this beauty is FREE!!!

Mc KitKat

It was nice, peaceful. Kids loved it.

Josiah Payne

So beautiful, my only issue was getting sand in my shoes near the river, but that's such a little thing in comparison to how great of a time I had. Heads up, you can camp up on the ridgeline. Worth it

Jason Casada

The leaves are turning too early, but are so pretty? But that's nature's way of saying look what I can do, & show that life goes on no matter how good or bad it gets?

Bill Neill

Big South Fork National recreation park is approximately 125,000 acres with about 300 miles of horse trails. Southeast Pack Trips provides multiple horseback rides there.

tonypics pyrénées

Fantastic Park, unknown, perfect unless trails for every one, bikes, hike and horses. The twin harches are just the most beautifull thing i've ever seen, and i've been travelling the World for more thanks 20 years... Will come back in automn

Geneva Schutt

Absolutely beautiful place to go to. Loved the camping lots too!

Dave Shaw

Beautiful scenery!

Joey Wise

Great place just to walk around Joy mother nature

Milan Panth

Good for camping and hiking. Can reserve the spot!

Philip Vetter

Loved this place. Absolutely beautiful and trails for all makes and models :)

Robin Lynch

Had a great time. Loved every minute if it!

Henrry Jons

Nice big park. The scenery is wonderful. The staff is very accommodating and knowledgeable. The river is perfect for fishing and kayaking. The trails are great for hiking, and the whole park overall for camping or just going with family or friends to enjoy the nature.

William Thomas

The trails were fantastic, some of the best rock formations ever!!!

Jarrett Foster

Nice place to take the family, great walking trails!

theresa rathell

Nice hike,not too long or strenuous.Also has public bathrooms, swimming area,and very nice boardwalk type trail for wheelchairs and strollers

Renee Smith

So beautiful here. We were on vacation from Oklahoma to visit my sister, niece and nephew. We had the day to ourselves so decided to take on scenery. The views were breathtaking and the trails were great.

Darlene Godsey

It is a very informative place to visit. The displays take you step through the coal process. The whole area was just beautiful.

Wolfe's Amsoil Synthetics

Very nice park

Rick Stephens

JUST A GREAT PLACE TO RELAX AND ENJOY NATURE

Gregory Stiller

This Park has so much to offer for all ages. Gorgeous place. Great camping sites. I Just have a hard time getting use to Nine to Five hours. I usually rise at four a.m..

Julie Almond

Great hiking trails, tubing and more. No showers so only 4 stars.

Grant Sexton

I take the family here several times a month. Great place to go with the wife and kids.

Brent K

Love whitewater hiking and kayaking here

Laura Rios

Awesome place to take in nature, relax at a big roaring river that isn't overrun by tourism. You must come if you hate crowds and beware of snakes and bears.

Mary Ekstrand

Loved it! It was very beautiful

Michael Faust

Beautiful natural area-easy to find solitude and lots of room to wander

Emma Campbell

Pretty scenery

Stephanie Blevins

Yahoo Falls is a great place to take a relaxing hike. Gorgeous photos every step of the way!

Talisa Morgan

Great place for camping and hiking

James Dotson

This is a small national park largely surrounded by a national forest. Lots to do if you are nearby, but much of the area is nothing more than wooded lands that could be put to better use.

Adam Myers

Awesome place to hike and spend time in nature.

Amberlee Douglas

The tubing is very nice a relaxing. The history of the land there is amazing also. Inviting air museum as well.

Tammy Berry

I enjoyed the sights

Brendan McNulty

Park rangers go above an beyond for this national park. It is very quiet with a lot of things closed Monday to Thursday but the park rangers make this an enjoyable experience. This is an isolated area that is people quiet. Fascinating insects are common here (walking Stick and luna moth). It is an active black bear area so food safety is required. But really a great time. Make sure to speak with the park rangers they are knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

Mark Stephens

Beautiful area great hiking trails and Backcountry camping trails. Lovely views. Well worth going seeing and making a day or we can out of it. I recommend hiking in the Twin arches Loop. Also another fun one but it is strenuous is the Honey Creek Loop but plan on getting wet because there are creek crossings.

Ryan McGill

Great area full of beautiful trails.

Patriot / Kenneth Burlingham

Rugged and wild! Went face to face with my first mountain lion while hiking the Sheltowee Trace trail. Amazing place!

Daniel Howard

The only reason this isn't a 5 star review is our noisy neighbors on our last trip. We love the Bandy creek campground and the area around. If you are visiting with kids make sure and do the Junior Ranger program. Which leads me to Miriam. Miriam is a ranger at the visitor center. She is the most hospitable ranger we have encountered in any of the parks. She spends countless amounts of time with anyone that comes in, especially the kids. Each visit there she has been amazing and gone above and beyond with our kids. I would definitely recommend this park and make to visit Miriam.

dana schwartz

Beautiful area ,wild life everywhere I spend the whole day there.

shawn mcclure

Visit you won't regret it. We loved it

Brandon Brown

Great area and beautiful mountains. The camp site was clean and well laid out. There were not many mosquitos but lots of flies. The water was good and trails were nice. I was very impressed with the landforms, especially twin arches. I didn't see as much wildlife as I would have expected but it was hot. Could have done without seeing the copperhead, but it left us alone just like we left him alone.

Mike Drum

Great hike for those of us who are not exactly fit. I took the Angel Falls trail. The hike is pretty well shaded, so even in the heat of the day, it's not bad at all. It was 90° the day I went. It is a damp, Rocky place so be prepared for the possibility to encounter snakes. Thankfully, I only saw a garter snake. Just watch where you step or put your hands; you'll be fine. Have fun!

That white Guy

I got a late start and went during flash flood weather, had a blast. I seen 3 people the whole time I was there. I recommend heading there early because there's tons to see and you're gonna need all day or a good weekend to see the coolest stuff.

Kristina McFeeters

This is one of our favorite places to go hiking, exploring, nature photography, canoeing and swimming!!

Tammy Mitchell

Absolutely loved it . the train ride was very scenic

Anthony Pippin

Absolutely love this place. So much to do. Hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping, canoeing, kayaking and so much more.

Stephen

Nice trails ranging from casual nature walks to challenging hiking for only the most fit if adventurers. Beautiful natural bridge arches and some small waterfalls. Great for horseback riding as well. This is a good place to spend a night or two in the woods or for a good day hike. Check with locals to find out which trails are more difficult before heading out.

chie tnk

Great place for hiking!

Kristin Ockerman

Such a great time.

Raymond Smith

This area along the Tennessee/Kentucky line has stunning scenery with many caves, waterfalls and natural bridges to explore. The Cherokee, Yuchi and Shawnee Indians inhabited this area when the first "Longhunters" arrived and discovered the abundance of furs and ginseng in the surrounding mountains and valleys. Kentucky was known for its herds of Bison, Elk and deer, especially in the Bluegrass Region. Native American Indians considered Kentucky, a neutral hunting grounds area, where personal differences with other tribes were set aside. I have hiked parts of the 323 mile Sheltowee Trace Trail and advise wearing snake leggings, as the Cherokee Indians never left camp without them. Sheltowee is the Shawnee Indian word for "Big turtle" and the adopted name given to Daniel Boone, when he was adopted by Chief Blackfish in 1778. My Uncles Henry and Richard Skaggs were "Longhunters", for which Skaggs Trace was named. I descend from their younger brother Peter and his Cherokee Indian wife Martha, for whom Martha, Kentucky is named after.

ATBMF KILLA

Amazing scenery and great whitewater kayaking.

Blessed By Travel

Beautiful forest. We saw 3 snakes there and that's just a little too much for me

Brandy Smith

Love going to look at the beautiful nature

Amber Toliver

Was so beautiful. Would recommend spending the day. It's a decent flat hike for the most part and very peaceful. Angel Falls was just the right place for today.

Sheree Nance

Some beautiful country. The campground is nice. We seen a deer and bear while out hiking. We will definitely be back to explore some more!

Valerie Fullerton

The campground, roads and hiking trails are all maintained excellently. This area is gorgeous, we especially loved the natural stone arches.

Brandi Luttman

This park was awesome. Loved the way trails alongside the river, beautiful!

James Wilson

Brought Scout troop backpacking and camping. Beautiful area, well marked, clear trails!!!

Duckwah Nublet

Beautiful place. It is big south. Very south. The big big of south I tells ya.

Melannie Lough

Beautiful views. Well kept.

sherri Look

Great hiking and mountain biking. Don't miss the Grand Gap Loop Trail. Gets hot in summer, but spring is awesome. Campground is excellent, has showers. Electrical and water hook-up if needed. Separate really nice tent area. Peaceful, secluded.

Mitchell Greene

One could spend a lifetime exploring this place!

Glena Faust

Amazing with no people for hike or back country camping any where natural river with up to class give rapids, fishing bottany etc. Old railroad bridges, old homestead

Greg Reynolds

NICE train ride! Friendly people! Enjoyable Day!

Brennanbooth89

Gorgeous! So much to see and do. Well maintained.

Tracie Dunn

Love the horseback riding trails here!

Robin conquest

This was such a fun thing to do. The museum was great to learn about the family history

Virginia Miller

Beautiful scenery. Washed out bridge over river.

Douglas Reed

Great place for camping and MTB ..Epic cliff views along the way

Rick Wells

Awesome hiking and views. Rangers are very helpful and friendly.

Chris Rubottom

Great place to hike. Know your skill level, be prepared with the time, water/filter, and map/app you'll need.

Stephanie S

Only got a glimpse but very breathtaking scenery.

David Rogers

Peaceful place to camp with miles of great hiking! Careful driving the roads to and from. Campers with larger units may want to enter off 297 from the West side. Hair pin turns on the East side.

Robert McGrath

Love this Park. Generally well maintained trails that are unpopulated. Good place to go to get away from the crowds at GSMNP. Dog friendly as well. Backcountry camping is cheap too!

Mike Dustin

Blue heron loop trail was fun although close to the road at times. Look out for alot of spider webs across the trail.

Gayla Daniels

Loved Black Bear Horse Camp

Steven Stone

Spectacular scenery of deep river gorge, stone arches, old roads. More isolated than Great Smokies, receives about 2% as many visitors. Great alternative for those who value seclusion and hate crowds.John Muir and Sheltowee Trace National Recreational Trails go through here.

Rick Verastegui

Great hiking.,easy access

Andrew Cuevas

Gorgeous park! This park is an absolute must-visit if you're in the area (and it's well-worth the drive if you're not)! I unfortunately went when it was raining, but from what I could see (in addition to the awesome junior ranger badge I earned) this park is solid in what it offers. The ranger mentioned that there are over 500 miles of hiking trails available, in addition to numerous equestrian trails, fantastic overlooks, scenic drives, massive rivers, and so much more. I will definitely be making my way back when there's less rain so I can enjoy the full beauty of this park!

Kristi Harp

A hidden gem! These trails are beautiful for hiking or horseback riding. I highly recommend the Twin Arches loop - and not just going straight to the archws, but do the whole loop, there is a lot of beauty in those woods.

Larry Welch

Very cool water fall. Worth seeing

D. Ice-Cable

Great park. Weather made it even better. Beautiful scenery and the staff everywhere was fantastic.

Amanda Hammock

Really enjoyed riding down to the river

Vivian Hurley

Love this neck of the woods. So many awesome trails, camp grounds, and waterfalls. Incredible Scenery. Amazing Landscape. Can't recommend it enough.

Katie Mason

We hiked to Northup Falls and the Twin Arches. Both are fairly easy (there are some STEEP stairs on the Twin Arches trail-almost like climbing a ladder, but not terrible) and beautiful!

Shona Williams

It's the most happiest feeling in the world when I am here. If I am ever down just go here and I will be instantly happy.

Maelstrom Eyre

Great for horseback riding, hiking and sightseeing. Beautiful.

Mike Hawkins

Beautiful and not a lot if traffic. I highly recommend a stop by Charit Creek Lodge.

Coyote Gamer

It was soo beautiful I loved it but the hike up was exhausting.

Tony Miller

Yahoo falls; great place for a walk with nature. Very tranquil setting

Marissa Jacquemain

Wonderful for hikers without the huge crowds that the Great Smoky Mts always has from Spring to Fall. Beautiful and peaceful.

Nefarion

I'm a very experienced hiker. Big South Fork is great for RVs, very short hikes with cool views but NOT for tent/ primitive camping or real hiking. Do not hike here, seriously; see below: The longer trails are difficult to get to, overgrown and very muddy. There is a tick infestation here like I have never seen and its impossible to avoid them due to the poor trail maintenance. As soon as you stop to remove the ticks, you get swarmed my mosquitoes. There is coal all over the place and the Sheltowee Trace trail literally has a carpet of mold at one place, 50 ft long and 20ft wide, growing on the coal. I would have stopped for a picture of this otherworldly growth but who knows how bad standing on and breathing that is for you, I didn't want to find out. I love to hike and camp and I have enjoyed every trail I have ever done for individual reasons but this park is a nightmare for real hikers, I would not recommend anything but RV "camping" there. Other than that, drive right past it to a much better area, the smoky mountains and Gatlinburg. I hate to hate on it but it was that bad.

Jeffrey Hunt

Very cool place lots of trails, overlooks, etc.. Devil's cave not an actual advertised park feature but kinda cool. You will need to descend some rock features with a knotted rope about 10-12 ft. high but not too bad Ask around I don't want to blow this place up by posting the info on Google reviews. Also check out the Twin Arches loop trail...just an amazing site to visit. And finally Maude's crack, descend into a crack about 2-3 feet wide by walking backward while gripping a rope, it comes out on the bottom about 60ft. lower than where you started. It's about a mile hike from the parking area. All three of these areas are about 1/2 hour to 40 minutes apart, we did all three in a couple hours. Really a very cool area.

John Burmeister

Wow. Absolutely incredible place. The views were amazing. The trails were excellent. We did the IMBA epic and were not disappointed. One of the rangers there was extremely helpful in sending us the right way for the ride. The trails here would make for some excellent hiking as all seem accessible via gravel roads. Worth a stop if you're passing by.

Renee Hay

I love all of the trails here!!! It's easier to do almost all of them backwards. I return again and again. Honey Creek is a really fun trail.

Bob Smith

Lots of waterfalls, overhangs, and arches!

Dean Cooper

It's a beautiful wildernesses and really an undiscovered gem. Low crowds and lots of nice trails.

Carol Ballerstedt

Well maintained park.

Nathan Kosmak

A path less taken, and a hidden gold mine many people don't know about. I take trip to Big South Fork at least once a year. It's $5 for a Backcountry permit for two weeks tons of trails hardly any people and just a lot of nature. If you want a nice camp ground they have one at Brandy Creek with showers and a pool. One thing to note is to make sure you have a full tank of gas as there is no gas stations for about 20 miles.

James Owens

Lots of beautiful wildlife lots of trails for the kids and plenty of places to fish

Ashley Dunnam

Amazingly Beautiful!!! True TN backwoods

Shawn Brown

Hiked the Yahoo Falls loop. 16 miles. I recommend doing the trail clockwise vs counterclockwise. We did it the other way, and it is far more difficult that way. This could be done in a day, but it would be better as a overnight hike. Keep you eyes open for a very small and old cemetery, mines, chimney stack from an old homestead. There is a shelter available on the trace part. Several established campsites exist, so you can overnight easily. Plenty of water sources, so bring a filter.

Doug Carey

Was a nice time with family. A new experience for us.

Kathleen Woodward

Beautiful everyone should stop there if in area in Tn

Coreda moms fast music Reynolds play.

TENNESSEE STATE IS BEAUTIFUL. And that's not the ONLY PLACE.

John Reed

So much nature to see here, recreation trails to ride and hiking trails to traverse. Beautiful place

James Burk

It's a good park. It gets busy, but there is excellent hiking, fishing, kayaking, ohv trails, climbing, and horseback riding. With excellent accommodations around the park.

Christina Cole

Very nice trail rides and very pretty atmosphere

John Eaton

A relaxing day in a beautiful place.

Joshua Caldwell

Big south fork is the greatest place in the world. If you take exception to that statement , then you will have to go there and experience it for yourself.

Willy Oakley

I have been going to the big South fork started went I turned 13 and now iam 66 and still going to there love it thank God for his love that created it

Mike York

Great place to get away from it all. You can go "high" either trails asking the ridge tops. You can go low and hike along the river. The river rout is easier as it is relatively flat. Enjoy!

Michael Meacham

Fantastic place, not very busy. I'm sorry but there are some places I can't speak of . Sort of hidden gems!

Erica Ecklar

Great place to go hiking! The Honey Creek Trail was beautiful with an overlook, IF you're ready to climb up some stairs/ladder. The park is full of wildlife. In just a day trip, we got to see eagles and baby deers freshly learning to walk.

Kenneth Edwards

Good place to vist

Gabrielle Mashburn

Beautiful as alway love living here

Marcos Monterde

Beautiful place with some great hikes and history. Everyone should visit Heron and get and an experience of what made this country great. See what hard work and real life was really like. Maybe if more people will visit and learn our past they will appreciate this country for what it is instead of the handouts it will give.

Bill S

A seasonal fall visit at the campground found the foliage delightfully colorful and the temperatures pleasant. The number of campers wasn't great and they distributed themselves at reasonable distances from each other so it seemed that you were along in the woods. The hiking trails to view the foliage were not challenging to stroll along.

Bless Amour

Awesome views. The water falls are beautiful and pretty.nice size fish in the river.

Our Motorcycle Adventures Randall and Pat

Beautiful beautiful

Wendell Nealon

Excellent area to find adventure wheather hiking a trail or horsebacking. Great place to camp as well. A bit isolated so bring your supplies or pick up at the Camp Store.

Teresa Brown

Great place to make some wonderful family memories! Great camping, stables for horses, and trails for riding. They have well maintained trails that you can take a long, short, or medium ride! The fall colors are the best! Would highly recommend for a place to unplug and enjoy nature at its finest!

Melissa Schell

Beautiful views from historical areas.

Shane Ollice

It a beautiful place to visit! I love the scenery, the history and Blue Heron campground.

Alicia Short

We visited Yahoo Falls (KY side) a few weeks ago and we visited Honey Creek Loop (TN side) yesterday. Yahoo Falls is a pretty easy trail other than a set of steps, you can do the loop and add some mileage if you have time. Yahoo Falls is the tallest waterfall in KY and it is very pretty. Honey Creek Loop is a BEAUTIFUL and unique trail. A little less than 6 miles (if you don’t get lost) and it takes at least 5-6 hours to complete it. The trail is marked pretty good on each end, but not so much in the middle. So, my advice is in the middle of the trail is to stay along the creek until you find trail markers again. You have to hike the creek bed in areas and cross the creek many times. There are numerous waterfalls, rock houses and caves. There are several areas of climbing up and down hills/mountains. Also, there are a couple areas where you have to use a rope (already secured and in place) to scale a rock face about ten feet. Honey Creek Loop is truly a majestic place, but do realize you need to be a fairly experienced hiker to complete this trail. Great trail, have fun and bring plenty water and snacks!

Sean Myers

Excellent park with amazing views.

Kecia Strunk

Beautiful quiet place

Caroline Shealy

Beautiful rock formations and shaded paths.

Bobby Ivey

Best thing I can say about these places is put down your phone getting your car and ride

Jackson Hays

Great camping, great roads to ride on and good information

Lee Fortune

It was peaceful can't wait till the fall when the leaves start turning I think it will be stunning

Bill Porter

Been there so many times for so many different reasons over the years that ine review couldn't contain all that I love about the park. It is one of my favorite places on the Earth. And now that they've found glow worms in the park and are taking groups to see them, it is even better.

revelo1970

Well maintained. Give Stewart Brown a raise