NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?Over 125,000 acres of Cumberland Plateau coal country. The Park is largely a reclamation of lands completely stripped by large-scale mining that are now blossoming with new trees, recovering waters and oodles of outdoor recreational opportunities.
BEAUTY (4/10)
We were disappointed by our drive to the East Rim Overlook. We expected sweeping vistas, a deep gorge, stunning colors and a raging river confluence. Instead, it looked a lot like what we had been driving next to the entire day. Perhaps the Site gets prettier once you make your way into the interior or maybe we just hit the wrong overlook.
The Coal mining Railroad Depot of Stearns looks rather decrepit in the evening light of an early winter’s night. The NPS Visitor Center’s mustard yellow siding does not work as well for it as it did for Michelle Williams’ 2006 Oscar dress, especially when contrasted with the lime green siding of the building it faces.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (3/10)
The area’s transformation from wilderness to ravaged landscape and back to protected National Park land is interesting enough. The outdoor Blue Heron Coal Mining Community is located near the Blue Heron campground in Kentucky and is at the end of the line for the Big South Fork Scenic Railway.
CROWDS (5/10)
We were here in the off-season but it certainly feels like a place that could get crowded. Campsites number in the hundreds, on-site horse stables teem with pack animals, and there is a scenic railway and a public pool. NPS visitation stats quote about 800,000 people here per year. That number is higher than it sounds because a) Big South Fork has no casual (passerby visitors) and b) there so few places in it to go to and congregate.
The Park was nearly empty during our visit. That did not prevent us from being stuck behind a 25mph driver on the Park’s only road. Normally, we would have been patient, but this time it was nearing 5:00pm and we needed to get to the VC before it closed to get our National Parks Passport Stamp... and we succeeded.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (1/5)The Park is not located far from the U.S. Interstate system. I-75, Exit 11 passes by 26 miles to the east of the Stearns, Kent. Visitor Center and Oneida, Tenn. is about 25 miles northwest of I-75, Exit 144. Nevertheless, only one paved road travels through the Park, the Leatherwood Ford Road in Tennessee, making a majority of the Site accessible to only the most adventurous.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
Whoa, nelly! Located next to the horse stables is the Bandy Creek Bookstore. It is so large that it could probably house a few equines itself. Just when you think you have seen everything, you enter another room. Here are a few of the things it sells that we never expected to see in a National Parks Bookstore: votive candles, formal floral greeting cards, old-fashioned lye soap and a Tennessee Volunteers quilt. How come the Wildcats can’t get any love?
COSTS (3/5)
Park entry is free. Camping runs between $15 and $20 per night, advance reservation can be made. There are many campsites at Big South Fork. Standard charges apply for a few of the Park’s activities, including $2 for use of the Bandy Creek Pool, $5 for backcountry camping, and $15 for a ride on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
There were a few milling about the Bandy Creek buildings. None seemed that eager to engage us in conversation.
TOURS/CLASSES (3/10)
The small Bandy Creek Museum took a back seat to the bookstore space it shared. The Blue Heron Coal Mining Community Museum might be worth a trip. It is a coal mining ghost town. We did not go so we have no recommendation either way.
FUN (4/10)
We were a little overwhelmed by the Park’s size and unclear as to what we could do. The day was ending and there were no viable hotel choices within a 50 mile radius. We were rushed, the air was nippy and the Site just was not that exciting. If we had come in summer, the situation might have been different. However, we might be a little leery of the 100 Bandy Creek campsite pre-hooked up with electric and water. This place could be a motor home Mecca.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (4/10)Our planned excursion from Knoxville was a trip to the Obed NSR, then to Big South Fork NRRA and then a night at the Cumberland Gap. We expected two identical parks with limited things to do. Well, we were right about the limited things to do in the off-season part, but wrong about the Park’s being similar.
The Obed NSR has few facilitates, even fewer visitors and feels constricted by the surrounding private lands. The Big South Fork NRRA is a monster destination with campgrounds, horses, bookstores, museums, trains and untold acres of sprawling space. We would only travel again to both River Parks if we lived nearby. The opportunities offered here are just not spectacular enough to warrant a vacation to this remote location.
TOTAL 35/80
www.usa-c2c.com
© 2004-06