Interest in 3 TN state parks, Have you been there?

[Guest Natosha]

I am interested in going hiking and doing a one night camp at these three TN state parks:

Rock Island State Park (About 2 hours aways so will it be worth the trip)

Fall Creek Falls State Park in Pikeville, TN

Panther Creek State Park in Morristown, TN

Any information would be fantastic. I'm also very interested in photography and think these would be a great place to take pictures. Any thoughts?

[Guest Natosha]

Also, Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area.

[KahrMan]

Haven't been to the other two but you can't go wrong with Fall Creek Falls. Great camping, hiking and photography opportunities. There is also some great fishing there.

[molonlabetn]

I've camped at Rock Island and Fall Creek Falls.

Fall Creek Falls has more campsites (= more people), and more infrastructure. It's still pretty nice.

Rock Island gets my vote though, it just feels better, and isn't so packed with campers that you feel like you're at a theme park with trees.

[Guest EasilyObsessed]

Dont hike the 12mi "Lower Loop" (its actually the northern loop) unless you are well physically prepared and have pretty good map reading skills. The trail is hilly and has a pretty intense hike down to the river and back out. The "Upper Loop" is an easier, though slightly longer option. Edit: If you do choose this loop, I would suggest hiking it counter-clockwise and tackling the canyon on the first day. The trail is darn near impossible to find when you enter the canyon if you hike it clockwise.

The maps they give you there are terrible (well...low quality) and it can be hard to see where the trails split especially close to the nature center. Dont be afraid to ask a ranger for details for the "crappy" parts of the map. We did this hike about a month ago....what was supposed to be a 12mi hike ended up being around 20mi because we missed several splits on the trail. My feet were so torn up from a combination of new boots and an overly heavy pack (35+ lbs) that I had to call in sick to work that Monday and Tuesday because I couldnt walk

You may also want to take a look at Savage Gulf (Southern Cumberland Recreation Area) or Big South Fork. Amazing hiking at both places.

Edited May 6, 2008 by EasilyObsessed

[Guest aBRG2far]

Not a whole lot of hiking to be done at Panther Creek, in fact unless you have a boat to launch on Cherokee lake there's not a whole lot to do there. They have a big swimming pool and soccer fields that fill with Mexicans on the weekends. The biggest plus there is the overlook of the lake for picnics. Fall Creek is a much better choice for hiking/photography.

[Guest Natosha]

Not a whole lot of hiking to be done at Panther Creek, in fact unless you have a boat to launch on Cherokee lake there's not a whole lot to do there. They have a big swimming pool and soccer fields that fill with Mexicans on the weekends. The biggest plus there is the overlook of the lake for picnics. Fall Creek is a much better choice for hiking/photography.

Thanks this is the type of feedback I was looking for.

[Guest Natosha]

Dont hike the 12mi "Lower Loop" (its actually the northern loop) unless you are well physically prepared and have pretty good map reading skills. The trail is hilly and has a pretty intense hike down to the river and back out. The "Upper Loop" is an easier, though slightly longer option. Edit: If you do choose this loop, I would suggest hiking it counter-clockwise and tackling the canyon on the first day. The trail is darn near impossible to find when you enter the canyon if you hike it clockwise.

The maps they give you there are terrible (well...low quality) and it can be hard to see where the trails split especially close to the nature center. Dont be afraid to ask a ranger for details for the "crappy" parts of the map. We did this hike about a month ago....what was supposed to be a 12mi hike ended up being around 20mi because we missed several splits on the trail. My feet were so torn up from a combination of new boots and an overly heavy pack (35+ lbs) that I had to call in sick to work that Monday and Tuesday because I couldnt walk

Which place is this one? Plus we are new to hiking and will be hiking with a child on our back! So our Kelty kid will have a 22 pounder haha!

[Guest db99wj]

Which place is this one? Plus we are new to hiking and will be hiking with a child on our back! So our Kelty kid will have a 22 pounder haha!

My 6 month old, 20+ pounder would drool all over me if he was on my back!

[Guest Natosha]

My 6 month old, 20+ pounder would drool all over me if he was on my back!

HAHAHA Jude is 16 months old and 22 pounds. Wow you have a big baby on your hands.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Last weekend my girlfriend and I hiked to campsite 18 (near Tremont) in the GSMNP. This is one of the prettiest campsites I have been to in the Smokies. There are large boulders with whitewater in the main creek. Where we camped, there were four streams that ran into the main creek, if I recall correctly. This is about a two mile hike. We saw a young bear on the way in, a young buck who looked like it was his first time away from momma; he came within twenty feet of me before running away, and another young bear on the way out. The main creek has a log crossing w/ handrail that has some very nice views of the creek. I'll try to post you some pictures of the campground when I get them loaded onto my computer.

[Guest EasilyObsessed]

Which place is this one? Plus we are new to hiking and will be hiking with a child on our back! So our Kelty kid will have a 22 pounder haha!

Oops, that is Fall Creek Falls. Those are the overnight/backcounty hiking trails. If you are bringing a baby, I assume you arent camping in the backcounty so my advice is irrelevant?

I have car camped at Fall Creek Falls several times and it can be quite crowded/loud on the weekends. That being said, all the campsites I have been to there are quite nice and have running water and electric. But, I might recommend somewhere with easier hiking if you are going to be carrying a baby on your back. The hikes up to the falls can be slippery, especially if this trend of Friday night rain that we have had for the past couple months continues.

[Guest db99wj]

HAHAHA Jude is 16 months old and 22 pounds. Wow you have a big baby on your hands.

This is our 4th and the other 3 were and are not big. This one though, he is in the 90+ percentile in everything. He's fat, healthy and happy.

[Guest Natosha]

Thanks Everyone!!!

I know I am ready for rain on mondays! I am itching to go camping and I really would prefer to do it on a sunny day without rain.

[Guest Natosha]

This is our 4th and the other 3 were and are not big. This one though, he is in the 90+ percentile in everything. He's fat, healthy and happy.

yeah my son has been in the bottom of the percentile since he was 6 months old. The last time we were at the doctor he was only 13 % for weight and 18 % for height.

[Guest JavaGuy]

You might look at some of the places down on Monteagle Mountain (South Cumberland State Park as mentioned by Obsessed). I recall seeing campsites at Fosters Falls.. and I believe on the Grundy Trails Day Loop in Tracy City. Those are both hike-to style campsites but were still relatively close (within a half-mile) of the parking lots. That South Cumberland park isn't one big contiguous park, but rather a conglomeration of wilderness areas scattered around Monteagle.

History.. you can find beehive coke ovens around Tracy City. They did a lot of iron smelting there back in the day...

Hiking and camping.. trails range from gentle (Meadow Trail at the visitor center for the park) to tough.. Yes, I've looked at the tough and generally opted for a day trail that wasn't going to wear me out.

Waterfalls.. that Grundy Forest day loop has several waterfalls on its path. None are really big, but it's still very pretty. Fosters Falls is bigger and quite pretty.

If you're looking for pretty scenery, there's plenty to choose from here in Tennessee.

[Tim Nunan]

Not a whole lot of hiking to be done at Panther Creek, in fact unless you have a boat to launch on Cherokee lake there's not a whole lot to do there. They have a big swimming pool and soccer fields that fill with Mexicans on the weekends. The biggest plus there is the overlook of the lake for picnics. Fall Creek is a much better choice for hiking/photography.

Panther Creek park has some mild hiking paths of varying lengths that can make for a nice afternoon outing. Some nice overlooks of Cherokee lake but nothing to compare with Falls Creek falls.

[Guest aBRG2far]

I'm planning on going to Grotto Falls in the GSMNP this weekend. Last month I went to Laurel Falls. I'm working on one hike a month in the park starting out slow and increasing the lengh each time. I used to be a great hiker but time and weight has taken its toll on me. I could once climb Mt LeConte and back via Alum Cave 11mi in 5hrs or go to Gregory Bald from the Cades Cove and back 13mi in a day. The most I'm hoping for this year are a couple 5mi roundtrips, one to Alum Cave, one to Abrams Falls and another to Rainbow Falls.