The outdoors, mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams create a landscape that looks like a postcard but feels like a playground. Where every adventure and trails in Tennessee parks dare to come back for more.

A variety of activities including tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball, picnic areas, Norris Lake, and hiking trails draw outdoor enthusiasts to Big Ridge State Park located just north of Knoxville. The parks’ location on the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Range with narrow ridges and fertile stream beds creates the parks beautiful landscaping and a beautiful lake. The more than 3,000 heavily forested acres offer hiking trails that range from easy to difficult. Trails traverse dry ridges, lake shores, old roadbeds, and lush ravines past cemeteries and remains of early settlements. Most of the trails are one-way; however they intersect with other trails making for a great loop.

The 1.6 mile lake trail climbs to the top of the ridge where the trail cuts through the forest overlooking one side of Big Ridge Lake and descends before crossing the Big Ridge Dam. The western portion of the 1.7 mile Dark Hollow trail starts here. The trail cuts across the ridge to the gap between Pinnacle Ridge and Big Ridge, where the trail cuts its way through thick forest alongside a creek bed where early settlers made their homes. At the intersection, take the difficult 1.5-mile Big Valley Trail, which ends at Norton Gristmill. The trail is the remains of an old wagon road used by the first settlers to transport corn to the mill. The first 75 miles of the trail goes through Pinnacle Ridge to where the 1.2 mile Ghost House Trail loop begins. This easy to moderate trail takes you deep into the history of the locals in the 1930s. The trail passes Norton Cemetery and the former site of Maston’s house, which legend has it is haunted. A short walk down a paved road from the end of the Big Valley Trail leads to the grinding mill, which was built in 1825 and was privately operated for just over 100 years. The 3-mile Old Mill Trail runs through Lyon’s Spring Branch to lakeside cabins, a short distance from the park’s visitor center.

Just minutes from downtown Knoxville is the Ijams Nature Center, where 300 acres provide a wildlife sanctuary with beautiful sloping forests along the Tennessee River. The 12 miles of easy to difficult walking and biking trails draw locals and visitors to explore this urban playground.

The three most popular trails that are rated as easy to moderate are the 1.3 round trip Tower Trail that cuts through gently sloping forests before descending a cliff to the riverbank where a 100-yard boardwalk travels along the cliff face that hangs over the river. The moderately rated 1.5 round-trip North Cove Trail descends through a series of curves on a wooden boardwalk before climbing up to the Serendipity Loop where Ijams’ former home was located. The 1-mile round-trip Imerys Trail leads to the Ross Marble Quarry Loop. The trail leads to an elevated walkway to a rock bridge with panoramic views of the quarry gorge. Descending down the rocks allows one to enter below the keyhole to see its shelves and uniquely carved rock walls.

South of Knoxville in Sweetwater is The Lost Sea, where a guided tour allows you to descend deep into a cave system where you will witness the fascinating development of immense caverns and rare formations as your guide explains the colorful history of the caves. Artifacts found in the caves date back to the Cherokee Indians and where the military mined in the caves to produce gunpowder to the days of the Tennessee moonshiners. A ¾ mile round trip on a sloping path leads through some of the caverns to a narrow section and ends in a lake where the visible part is 800 feet long and 250 feet wide and reaches a depth of 75 feet. The lake is the largest underground lake in the United States, which places it in the Registered National Monuments and is known as The Lost Sea. Even with today’s modern technology, teams from several have not discovered the full extent of The Lost Sea.

Just a short drive northwest of Knoxville is Frozen Head State Park, named after the 3,300-foot peak in the Cumberland Mountains, which remains frozen with ice and snow during the winter months. With more than 24,000 acres of wilderness, the park portrays some of Tennessee’s most impressive thickly forested virgin mountains, creating a natural habitat for wildlife. The primitive campgrounds, picnic areas, and fifty miles of trails allow one to really experience this beautiful forest.

Starting at the end of the park road is the 75-mile one-way Panther Branch Trail rated a bit difficult due to the small rocks along the trail and the slightly constant incline. The trail ends at Debord Falls Overlook, where a set of stairs leads to the base of the falls. Hike deeper into the woods along the 75-mile one-way Emory Gap Trail, which gets harder with steeper slopes, where nature’s tree roots and small rocks come together to form stairs natural. The trail ends at another waterfall where the base of the falls is lined with huge mountain rocks and fallen trees. Maneuvering over the rocks allows for an excellent view of the falls and a front view of the rock ledge with a cave. Adjacent to the playground is the 4-mile one-way Interpretive Trail rated for all ages. The trail winds through the woods along the bank of a stream.