West Campground — Norris Dam State Park

Some tight turns coming in on a steep grade. Mostly smaller spots. Some private and some not. Given rating only camp sites. Bad weather kept from the rest of park.

Beautiful corps spot. Easy water access. Large spots. Lots of wildlife. Boat to your spot.

We stopped in and stayed in the off season. It was a great place to make camp. High up so you get that real camping feel. Very windy roads to get to the campground. Will stay again!

Stayed in the West campground with a large group of women campers. We met up, camped and learned to fly fish in the river, so didn't have much opportunity to hike trails or do much anything else offered in the campground or in the local area (although we did eat locally and enjoyed the local brews!) Camp sites are level, but most on our end had pretty steep drop offs from the side of the blacktop, and while each site has a picnic table and fire ring, most of us on the outside edge of the loop had to go up or down well crafted railroad tie style steps to access the table and fire ring. There really wasn't enough room outside the door of my RV to set up a table, and even less space for my Jeep to park, but the friends on the inside of the loop had none of these issues. Would recommend staying on inside of loop if you plan on using your "yard" area. Fortunately most of my time was spent on the river learning to fly fish. If your intent is to fish the river, be sure to check the generator schedule for the dam before you tote all your stuff to the river, as there are restrictions on fishing when the generators are running.

This is a sizeable state park with a few different sections and many miles of forested trails to hike. We only stayed one night so didn't hit many trails, but the Dam itself is stunning with a beautiful overlook, and the small trail across from the Dam has a story for kids and nice lake views. We also found a soot there to put in our paddleboard and swim for a bit. There is no beach here, but a couple of dedicated fishing spots and trails from which you can access the lake. The water was clean and cool. The sites on the west loop are nicely spaced on the outside, and all back up to nice forest. Inside loop sites are less private, but still spaced well. The outer sites are very short in length, so you'll need a 25' camper or less. Ours is 21 ft and we had to disconnect and park next to it, which seems to be the intent. Picnic table, grill, and fire ring with grate. Bathrooms and playground are very nice. All of the sites on the outside are very well spaced out. The road coming in is a true mountain road, just gotta take it slow.

Passed through for one night, stayed in West loop. Sites are big, playground closely is very new. Bath houses clean. No sewer hook up for our site but has dump station closeby. We have a 44ft pull behind so the roads getting here were a bit nerve racking but doable. Just be prepared to go slow and hit steep grades.

We stayed at the west camprgound and really enjoyed it. It was extremely clean with a nice playground and bath/shower facilities. The outer loops of the sites are very small and sloped, not appropriate for larger RVs. Site 47 was fairly spaced from neighbors and relatively level. I would've given them 5 stars had all of the sites been great, but some just aren't. Close the the bath house and playground 8, 10, and 12 were nice. On the other side 43, 45, and 47 were nice. Tent campers or smaller pop ups would enjoy 27 or 28 right by the trail head. All in all, a beautiful park with plenty to keep a family entertained. The grates over the fire pits were a plus, we didn't use the grills at all.

East campground 1. Tight with neighbors but decent for small state park. Level gravel pad. Quiet campground but park has many things to offer from biking, birding, fishing, boating, hiking etc. East is a big field. 1,2, and 3 offer some shade and back up to woods. 1 is the shorter of the 3.

We stayed at the east campsite, on one of the primitive sites. The site was level, and the picnic bench and fire ring were useful. There is plenty of room for your tent and parking. The restrooms were not the greatest, but they were nice to have (only a short walk from the site).

If you’re interested in stargazing, the sky over the sites is dark enough to get some good views!

Great campground. Small and well spaced sites. Outer circle sites are small for campers under 20 ft. Inside circle will accommodate under 30ft.

We stayed at the main area but not much space or privacy so we put up a tent out side our door, but then moved to the tent camping site area the second night which was more secluded and private, but still close to the showers/bath house. So much hiking and a cool view of the dam is all within walking distance. Nice bath rooms and showers too.

This is for the eastern campgrounds. I had spot 4 and 20. Decent campground. Bathroom/shower needs work. No sewer. Decent att LTE coverage. Check pictures for wooden picnic tables. The concrete ones suck. Giant power lines through campground so need to head to dam for scenery.

We stayed in East campground mid week only 5 sites taken so nice and quiet. Rangers very nice. Bathhouse clean. Beautiful night sky views. Be sure to watch the YouTube video of the building of the dam in the 30's makes you appreciate everything even more. Narrow road to campground.

We stayed just one night while driving our new camper home. It was a beautiful park and our site (27 in the west campground) was in a great spot. Keep in mind, a trailer much longer that 16' will have trouble getting in.

We were right next to a trailhead and that gave us a lot of extra room

Great place to go on a day trip to

Very nice, clean park with lots of nice trails to walk. Enjoyed the lake and river. Only negative comment would be that for the East Campground the road going in is very tight so it is difficult for larger campers to get in and out. Overall we really enjoyed it.

From the looks of it the campings spots themselves look very close together but it is on-top of a hill which has breathing views from the campground itself and the surrounding trails.

Went on a stag tent camping trip. Decent facility for state park. Sites are small wouldn’t recommend large rigs.

This was an overnight stay but wish I’d had more time to explore! 

Norris Dam has two campgrounds in different sections. We stayed in the west campground which is a loop with playground and showerhouse in the middle. Nice showerhouse. Okay sized sites with full hookup. We were one of maybe 6 people in the whole campground so it was quiet. Then there was the creepy van down at the end that I avoided. 

Hiking and mountain bike trails, plus a huge pool. 

Town is close by with a few interesting places to eat.

Norris Dam State Park is my absolute favorite place to go camping! It is so beautiful and the views on the water are breathtaking! They do interactive classes and have a museum on site. This is the birthplace of the TVA and you can learn soooooo much!

Swimming, fishing, hiking, and mtb.

Campground had everything you need but little more. Not a bad place to stay just didn't love being right along the powerline. We drove over to the West Campground and wished we had booked a spot there. Nothing wrong and completely adequate on the East but would highly recommend booking the West Campground if spots are open. You will be more in the timber and shaded by some canopy.

I’ll start by saying the park is beautiful! Views of the lake and dam are breathtaking! Just don’t plan to swim, as there is no lake access point for swimming. You can rent kayaks, boats, paddleboards, etc at the marina, but if you were planning to bring a float and get in the lake, you’ll be disappointed. There’s lots of hiking trails, and the Clinch River Brewing Co is very close too. The east campground is pretty small, and sites are close together. The primitive sites looked better and the cabins looked great. The restrooms were very outdated, and barely any water pressure in the shower. We drove by the west campground and it looked nicer, if we return we will stay on that side.

When I think of this State Park my thoughts go to the water and how many activities there are at the park relating to those. There is a lake, so naturally that means there is boating, jet skiing, canoeing and of course fishing. But what about those who aren't looking to do those things and want to tackle the park in a different way? What is there for them to do?

Well I am one of those people who enjoys the water, but truly likes to go to a place that has hiking and other activities for me to do as well. This place had so many things all in the peaceful setting of the lake. I enjoyed the museum on location the Lenior Cultural Center, which was a great way to see the past through the items which were commonly used in the area not only to establish them dam but also in the earlier days of the development of the area. It was really interesting to see some of the items. For those looking to do something a bit more hands on they also offer interpretive programs at this facility and ranger led programs.

Then there is the hiking, lots and lots of hiking!! I personally found this to be the best aspect of this park. Located just a short distance from the Smoky Mountains, a lot of times you don't think of hiking in this area because you are wanting to go to the "bigger better" trails in the National Park, but bypassing these trails is a huge disservice to yourself if you are in Tennessee. There are 16 trails overall at this park alone with difficulty and distance ranging. All the trails are natural surface trails and while many of them seemed very flat none were truly ADA accessible.

I stayed here at one of the two campgrounds, however they do also offer backcountry camping and cabin camping at this facility. My site was shaded and slightly off from the water on higher ground. it was flat and had hard packed dirt where my tent was set up. there was a lot of grass in the area around my campground. The site itself was pretty typical with a fire ring and concrete picnic table.

The only thing I found slightly off-putting about this camp was the mosquitoes, even late into the season they seemed to still be thriving. This made preparing food at night really a battle even with bug spray.

TIPS:

• If booking online (during busy months). there will be a $5 online service charge. Despite this fee this is the best way to ensure you have a site during busy weekends and holiday weekends when it tends to be very busy.
• Bring bug spray and a candle for camp to keep the bugs away.

Love this State Park. We have been there twice in the past six weeks. Great hiking trails, fishing, waster entry for SUP, and interesting museums. It even has an AMAZING local brewery close by called Clinch River Brewery!

We have now stayed in both the east and west campgrounds, we preferred the east but both are lovely. If staying in west I would recommend staying in a middle camp site as the outer is difficult to pitch a tent with the slopes. The east has power lines running through it but has great hiking and the wildlife is more apparent. We saw dozens of deer, beautiful birds and even had a visit from an opposum during the night (forgot to bring the trash in, oops!)

We arrived late but found our site easily. Beautiful park. We will definitely be back.