Best State Parks In Tennessee (Best of Tennessee)

A few years ago, we set out in our RV (as new RVers) to visit all the state parks in TN. We did that (all 58 of them at that time).

Along the way, we did a lot of RV trailer camping, tent camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, cave exploring, and learning about history. We visited great towns and ate great food (and lots of ice cream and hot fudge cakes) all along the way.

Emily and I sat down to create a top 10 list to see which ones we liked the best.

I’ve travelled all over the US, so I can compare what I saw to what I’ve seen. Tennessee is a beautiful state with tons of fun things to do. It took us 4 years to cover everything as weekend warriors. Along the way, we made 114 videos about our travels.

What did we like the best? Let’s find out! I love a good force-ranked list! So we’ll do a series of videos about everything we loved about our journey across Tennessee. Today, we’ll start off with the Best State Parks in Tennessee.

To be fair, we had a good time at almost every Tennessee State Park that we visited. There were very few that we probably would not revisit. A lot of the parks are in fairly remote areas (which is part of the allure). I felt safe and secure in almost every park we visited because of the park staff and specifically the park rangers that each park has. I felt like it made the experience safer. It might not have, but it helped us as we found ourselves in unfamiliar (and often isolated) areas of the state.

To make this list, Emily and I looked at every park we visited, and we made a list of our favorites. If the park was on both our lists, it is on this list. We were shooting for a top 10 list, and we wound up having 11 matches of the 58 state parks we visited. So we will go with a Top 11 for our Best State Parks in Tennessee list. We had such a great time at these 11 Tennessee State Parks.

Our Top 11 Picks

11) Radnor Lake State Park

We first hiked here in 2011. We dragged the kids along with us, often over the years as they grew up. It was the State Park that was closest to our house in Nashville, Tn. There are numerous trails and a beautiful 85-acre man-made lake (created by a railroad company). It is a 1,300-acre day-use park with 8 miles of hiking trails. We like it because when you are hiking in it, you’d barely know you were in one of the largest cities in the US. This was the park that got me thinking I should visit all the Tennessee State Parks.

10) Burgess Falls State Park

I think this is Tennessee’s prettiest and most impressive waterfall. There is a short hike to an overlook along a river with lots to see along the way. Then you can hike down to the top of the waterfall. The best way to see it, however, is to kayak up to it and see it from the bottom. We’ve done both, and either way is a great way to see this huge 136-foot cataract waterfall.

9) Cummins Falls State Park

I compare this hike to being Tennessee’s version of The Narrows in Zion National Park. It is a fun day to hike down into the river and walk up it towards the waterfall. The payoff at the end is one of Tennessee’s prettiest waterfalls. If you want less adventure, you can hit the overlook and/or take a short hike out to the top of the falls.

8) Roan Mountain State Park

If you like the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, go to Roan Mountain State Park. I describe it as a miniature version of it (minus the crowds). It has great hiking within the park and nearby on the Appalachian Trail (with impressive balds). It has historical buildings and sites. It has a beautiful stream running through it (the Doe River). And it is a very pretty park and campground. Did I mention rhododendron (?!?), they have one or two of those!

7) Frozen Head State Park

If you want to get out in the woods, tent camp, and go on long hikes, this is the park you want to visit. Home of the underground Barkley Marathon, it highlights just how grueling the terrain is. When we went, I attempted to do 1/5^th of the race over the weekend we were there. I was on real trails (they are not). I can’t imagine participating in that. Regardless, it was fun hiking in some of the same areas they use. Remote, rugged, and a hiker’s park!

6) Fall Creek Falls State Park

We’ve been here a few times over the years. The campground is enormous, and we’ve used it as a home base while exploring the surrounding areas. There are trails galore in this 30,000-acre park with views of gorges, streams, cascades, and magnificent waterfalls all over the place. It is one of Tennessee’s most visited parks and boasts the state’s highest waterfall at 256 feet (which you can hike to the bottom of…and you should). We’ve also ridden bikes all around this park, which is also very fun.

5) Rock Island State Park

We loved exploring around Rock Island State Park. We felt like it was our favorite campground of all the TN State Parks. There is so much to do and see in this park. The Caney Fork River, the trails up and down both sides of the river, the TVA dam/power generation station, the overlooks, and one of the wettest and wildest hikes in the state. We visited during heavy rains, and it ruined our trip, but not really. Seeing the difference in the raging river from that trip to what it looked like ‘normally’ was amazing. Plus, we got to visit one of the coolest cave tours in Tennessee (nearby Cumberland Caverns). I immediately rebooked, and we got to do the park proper. You might experience the same since sometimes some of the areas close due to the power generation cycles and/or water levels. It is worth persevering to see it all, however.

4) Savage Gulf State Park

19,000 acres…4 sections (North, South, East, and West). If you want to go waterfall hunting and enjoy some of the best hiking in Tennessee (getting there), this is the place to go. We hiked 24 miles over the course of 4 days and enjoyed it greatly. My personal favorite was North, which had great overlooks, the Stone Door, and Ranger Falls (which is a haul to get to but one of the more interesting waterfalls I’ve seen). That was also our longest section at almost 9 miles. I also really enjoyed South, which is pretty remote, but as we entered Suter Falls, I couldn’t believe we were in Tennessee. The other two areas were great too (and with much shorter hikes to get to the payoff.

3) Pickett CCC Memorial State Park

We are hikers, and the ONLY reason this State Park is not number one on our list is that we think two of the best hikes in Tennessee are not within this state park. But, this state park has it all and is WAY up our list. If I were forced to pick a TN State Park that I’d visit over and over and over, this would be the one I’d pick. It has excellent dark sky ratings for stargazing. It has excellent trails to hike with a lot to see along the way (arches, caves, rock houses, streams, ladders, steps, islands, waterfalls). If you want to kayak/canoe, you can go all around the island (and through the arch). Plus, it is very close to other fantastic places to visit (Big South Fork).

2) Scott’s Gulf Wilderness State Park

This is a new Tennessee State Park it was created in 2025 and is made up of 9,500 acres. We visited the area before it became a State Park and hiked the Virgin Falls Trail. We hiked for 10.4 miles over 6.5 hours. Along the way, we saw incredible waterfalls, headed up to Martha’s Pretty Point, across a cable creek crossing, and up to a hillside cave. The hike is absolutely grueling. I think it is the hardest hike I’ve ever done. I’ve never been so glad to get back to my truck after a hike. But it was well worth it. I’d recommend breaking it in half and tent camping in the woods (but I couldn’t get anyone to do that with me…LOL). There is more for us to do in this State Park (now that it is official), and we will be back. But if the only thing to do here is the hike we did, it WOULD STILL be #2 on this list. I’m excited to see what else this park has to offer.

1) Fiery Gizzard State Park

We’ve done three great hikes here, and all are unique.

1) The Fiery Gizzard Trail To Raven’s Point is a trail I’ve done twice. The second time was the longest version (we added in the Grundy Day Loop). We did 14.65 miles over 8 hours. This is a grueling hike due to the distance, rock fields, and steep terrain. But it is well worth it because it is one of the prettiest trails around (and probably the top trail in the entire state). There is hardly a moment when you are not encountering something beautiful on this trail.

2) At the other end of the park, the Foster Falls Climbers Loop Trail offers a steep hike down to Foster Falls. Cross the bridge, take a swim at the beautiful falls, then hike on around the Climbers Loop. If you go on a day when climbers are there, watch them go (or become one yourself, I guess). If you want, you can hike from the North end (Fiery Gizzard side) all the way down to the South end (Foster Falls side). We’ve never done that…YET!

3) The Denny Cove Trail is still on our to-do list. We tried to hike it once, but Emily cut her foot on a rock about halfway through, and we had to abort before making it to the falls.

Regardless, we’ll be back! If you are a hiker and ready for a challenge, go to Fiery Gizzard State Park, our favorite Tennessee State Park.

BONUS: Honorable Mention TN State Parks

These didn’t make both of our list but they are excellent adventures. Many of them take a little more planning because they offer unique experiences. But they are worth the effort to figure out how to get there and explore them.

• Head Of The Crow State Park – One of the most awesome caves (with water flowing out of it even) in any Tennessee State Park, and one of the most awesome arches in any Tennessee State Park.

• Harpeth River State Park – Float a segment of this 40-mile river state park (or do one of the 9 segments). When you’re done, hike to the overlook for one of the prettiest and scariest pictures in any Tennessee State Park. Only go here with someone you trust! LOL

• Reelfoot Lake State Park – It is remote, but this is a very interesting lake with a very interesting history along the Mississippi River. We went during winter to watch the eagles (highly recommended), but this would be a beautiful place to relax year-round.

• Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park – Come for the history and stay for the waterfalls. Hiking/exploring around this park’s earthworks and along the banks of a couple of rivers is so fun.

• Hiwassee Scenic River State Park – We floated the Hiwassee (twice) in rented funyaks, and they lived up to the first part of their name…FUN! Also, slightly terrifying if you haven’t done it before, and the directions were ‘staying to the left, might be better, and if it gets bad, get out and walk down the railroad tracks’. LOL

• Ocoee River State Park – I can’t believe this even exists in Tennessee. It was so much fun. I’ve rafted in a few places, and this was the most fun I’ve ever had rafting.

• Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail State Park – This one isn’t done yet. It’ll cover 11 counties, and around 300 miles from the northern border (directly north of Knoxville) of Tennessee down to the southern border (near Chattanooga). The route is broken into 12 Segments and 32 sections. We did one (and saw parts of others) in our travels. Maybe this is a bucket list park for hiking Deano!

• Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park – This was my favorite ‘history’ park. Walking around the mounds and contemplating who put them there and why was fascinating. We don’t know what we don’t know!

SUPER BONUS: Not State Parks, But National Properties In Tennessee

These are not Tennessee State Parks (they are National level), but they should not be passed up. These were our favorite places we visited in the entire state. We could (and likely will) go back over and over again to keep exploring.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park – The Tennessee State Parks are nice, but National Parks are on another level. We are lucky to have a National Park nearby. The Great Smoky Mountains are full of things to do and see. We’d visited the area many times, but I never felt like I’d “done it”. So for our 15^th wedding anniversary, we visited the area and hiked…A LOT!

• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area – Big South Fork surprised us with how much we liked it. I never even knew this existed, and now it is one of my favorite areas in Tennessee. One of the best hikes in Tennessee is here. We’ll definitely do more exploration in this area.

PLAYLIST – Tennessee State Parks

I’ve made a playlist on YouTube that includes the videos we made for all the Tennessee State Parks (as well as our exploration of other areas in TN).