Big Ridge State Park

Tennessee forgot about Big Ridge State Park, you should too!

I am not a complainer, and always try to see the cup half full, but I was very disappointed with Big Ridge State Park. It appears it is stuck in the 80's with little funding from the state. We planned to camp for 3 nights over Labor Day weekend, arrived at 7 pm, saw the condition of the park and left at 9 am the next morning. Before i get to the cons, the pros are it is pretty if you have a boat and can get on the water. the park also has a nice playground for kids and hiking paths. now the cons: The bath houses are old, rusty, the saddest I have seen in my lifetime. The "beach" was filthy with goose poop and garbage and the swimming area had sludge and slim. My husband muttered "I wouldn't let my dog swim here". Our fire pit was full, not cleaned out in about 2 weeks and the grill was warped and unusable. The entire campground was overgrown and in need of TLC. I would only recommend this campground if you are a retired couple, choose a water front site, are self contained, and do not like to swim and do not need to use a bath house. For $20 you cannot expect a lot but I expected a clean and tidy campground and did not find that in Big Ridge.