Mid week visit and there was hardly anyone around. No cost to enter. The parks were clean and well kept. The marina near the dam was very nice. The scenery was amazing! Highly recommended!
We used Norris Dam State Park as our home base to explore the surrounding area. They have two campgrounds (east side vs. west side) and I chose the bad one when I booked it [sad face emoji]. Regardless, we explored the park and got some hiking in. We stayed in the East Campground (but should have stayed in the West Campground). Oh well, we had a nice time exploring the park. I made a video about our time there if you'd like to watch it on my YouTube channel (DeanoRolls) the video is called "Exploring Norris Dam State Park (Rocky Top, TN)".
What a wi detail time and absolutely gorgeous state park. We were there for a wedding, all the cabins were just perfect. We had the smallest one, with a fire place and it was so cozy and quiet. Bed was comfortable and even though the bathroom was small, it was just fine. Hiking, walking or driving.. plenty to do. Marina, restaurant, playgrounds, and conveniences are also right outside the park.
This is a really amazing sight to see and drive across. There is a viewing spot below the dam on one side and above the dam on the other. Very quiet with few people. We were not in the rest of the state park - just there to see the dam as we drove home from the Smoky Mountains.
What a HUGE disappointment! Let's begin... Check in (all Tennessee State Parks) is 4:00. The office closes at 4:30, figure that out. We found are site for our 35' fifth wheel, site 26. The park website lists it as having plenty of room for my rig which it did. BUT because of the curve it's on, the tree on one side of the back in driveway, the campsite number on the other side (why not have the sign on the same side as the tree?), and the drop off on the opposite side of the road THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I could maneuver my rig into the site! As we were arriving on the Wednesday prior to Memorial Day weekend all of the other sites that we could fit into were booked. We got into a different site but were told that we could only stay until Friday. This major inconvenience caused me to have to find another campsite at the last minute for Memorial Day weekend! There were no maps available of the trails anywhere but online. Thankfully we had a printer with us and got one off of the website. The trails were nice but some were permanently closed with wooden signs but not indicated on the map. Lots of ticks and poison ivy but that's to be expected. The final thing that caused this ONE STAR REVIEW was the fact that the dump station on the West Side Campground was CLOSED and under repair. This other major inconvenience caused me to have to leave without dumping my tanks, travel to another close-by RV park, then pay to dump my tanks. We will not be back here again.
We stayed in the
“New or Westside “ campground.
Good water pressure, 30 & 50 amp electric service. No sewer hook-up , but they have a dump station. No Wi-Fi but we had cell service.
All the sites are shaded with tree’s. Each site has a concrete pad with a picnic table and charcoal grill. Most have paved parking spots for your RV
Lots of places for tent camping too.
The whole park is well maintained and very clean
The bathhouses/ showers are very clean and have heat and air conditioning