Tennessee - Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

I rolled into Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area for the last night of my COVID campervan Wisconsin to Atlanta road trip around noon on a beautiful fall day. The Bandy Creek campground is in the south end of this NRRA area, in northeastern Tennessee. The NRRA extends north into Kentucky as well. The campground I stayed at is set up to allow for horses. There is a stable there, and you can rent a stall, like renting a campsite.

Since I had several hours of daylight before an early 5:30pm sunset, I was determined to get the most out of the time. I took my bike out and started to explore some of the many miles of bike trails that are in this area of the park. I headed down a gravel road deep into the Tennessee back woods. I was happy I was on my bike, since black bears are abundant in this area. I didn’t see any, and my bike was making noise, so they all probably ran away anyway.

After the bike ride, I took a hike to the East Rim Overlook – which really wasn’t much of a hike, its about 100 yards from the parking area, then a short hike along the river at the Leatherwood Ford. Everything was pretty, the trees were a bit past the prime for fall color, but the day was warm, and it was a great place to spend the last night of my trip.