Big South Fork - Bandy Creek Campground

[Markiemark32]

Big South Fork ~ Bandy Creek Campground

A lesser known supported National Park, located in the Eastern/North corner of Tennessee and extends into Kentucky, about 1.5 hr drive North-west of Knoxville, TN.

Big South Fork

Natl Park Service

Campground we stayed out was Bandy Creek.

Nice wooded sites, water & electric hook-ups, nice bathrooms, kept up nicely by volunteers and park service.

Popular horse country.

Some great hikes, river, Mtn Biking, river, A very unique area with some pretty amazing sites.

**Very outdoorsy, must travel back into to the woods to experience, but well worth it! **

Campground sites this past weekend (and nice setups seen):









Angel Falls (4 mile moderate hike)



Twin Arches (From trail head 2 mile hike), located down 5 miles of forest road

Climb on top of arch




Mtn Bike trails out of Bandy Creek (Several loops, up to 30 miles of trail):
Lunch spot

Views

Sweet trails (biking, hiking, horseback riding)


Lots of rock cropping's, caves, etc.....


Ride a mining train to see some history of mining village, Blue Heron:




Yahoo Falls (2 mile hike from trailhead):



From above looking down, YES no safety barriers, BE CAREFUL!!!!:


Unique sites are spaced out and you have to get out and make day trips, but really cool & well worth it!

Get out and make lasting adventures!

Markiemark:C

[bakerkids]

I'm supposed to be there in July with Sisters on the Fly. I keep returning to TN, though, so may cancel. I need to go other directions!

[Lou_Pat]

We stayed at Bandy October 2014. really great area. Amazed at the people pulling inh wit the horse trailers. They sure are experts at parking those rigs. Did most of the same hikes etc as you. Highly recommend this area. Enjoyed the train ride. Would like to return but there are so many places to go and things to do.

[bodyshop_bob]

Thanks for the review. I grew up just outside of Oneida (gateway city outside of BSF) and we used to head down to the river to get in trouble as teens. Now, its all Federal land. Bandy Creek is pretty remote and the CG's around Huntsville all cater to the 4 wheeler crowd. In the Royal Blue area (Scott Co/Campbell Co line) they re-introduced elk a number of years ago. That's the area that's crying out for a nice CG catering to the hikers/sight see'ers. It's only 7 miles off I-75 and would probably do well with overnighters.

[rv2go]

Been there several times. One of my favorite places. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Markiemark32]

linnemj wrote:
Thanks for the links and the photos. We are in the process of moving to Knoxville so it will be on our short list of places to try.

One correction - I think you meant to say the area is located in the Northeastern part of Tennessee.

Correct.....and corrected.

THX

[linnemj]

Thanks for the links and the photos. We are in the process of moving to Knoxville so it will be on our short list of places to try.

One correction - I think you meant to say the area is located in the Northeastern part of Tennessee.

[coolmom42]

That is indeed a beautiful area and a very nice campground. The Leatherwood Ford area is a great spot for spring wildflowers.

Thanks for the pics!

Blue Heron campground on the north end of BSF is also very nice.

Pickett State Park in TN nearby is worth a trip, but the campground is not as nice as the BSF campgrounds.

Alvin C. York SP near Pall Mall is a very nice and interesting day use park, also.