With a little bit of time off work, we had the opportunity to take a long weekend trip this weekend and opted to go to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. This park lies in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, and we have previously visited the area on the Kentucky side, so we decided to see something new and made reservations at Bandy Creek Campground near Oneida, TN. Many of the sites here have electric and water hookups, the bathroom facilities are really nice, and most of the sites are huge and well laid out! We love that it is right across the road from the visitor center and that there are trails that leave right from the campground or within walking distance. Our only complaint would be that the sites are close together, so there is not much privacy from your neighbors. All in all, though, we really like it and will definitely return!
There are a number of things to do in the park including hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, etc. You know us, though…we love to hike, so that was the focus of our stay. We were in the park for three full days, so we completed three hikes – one per day.
The Oscar Blevins Loop is an easy 3.7 mile loop that took us to the Oscar Blevins Farm. The trailhead for this hike was just across the road from the campground, so we liked that we didn’t have to drive anywhere that day. Sometimes it is nice to just leave the truck parked! On the way to the farm were some interesting rock formations and the trail was, in general, a nice walk in the woods. We also really enjoyed wandering around the farm site. Unfortunately, the buildings are not open to the public, but we reveled in the serenity of meandering around the homestead area. And surprisingly, we had the place entirely to ourselves, even though it was a gorgeous Saturday.
We were on the fence about hiking to the Angel Falls Rapid since the water levels are pretty low in the river right now. We didn’t think there would be much to see, but we gave it a shot anyway, and we are so glad we did! The rapid itself was pretty, but as expected, nothing spectacular at this time of year. At the end of the trail, however, was a rocky area and some huge boulders along the river that are gorgeous! We spent almost an hour rock scrambling and taking in the views from various vantage points. It is an amazing place! This hike is an easy out-and-back that is four miles round-trip. The trail is flat and wide, and follows the Big South Fork River, with views of the river almost the entire way. If you are ever in the area and are looking for a nice, easy hike, this one is worth every step!
Finally, the Twin Arches upper and lower loops can be combined to make a moderate/difficult 5.4 mile hike that travels to the large and spectacular Twin Arches, past some great cliffs and rock overhangs, through Jake’s Place (a small primitive camping area), and past Charit Creek Lodge. It is a good hike, but if we ever do it again, we probably won’t do the entire lower loop. In our opinion, Jake’s Place and Charit Creek Lodge are really nothing to see (the lodge is only for overnight guests) and doing the portion of the loop that takes you past them adds some significant elevation change and mileage. We would be perfectly happy hiking to the arches (some of the largest east of the Mississippi), and then along the first portion of the lower loop (going counter-clockwise) that passes all the rock cliffs and overhangs. We enjoyed ourselves on this hike, but we both agree that it felt like further than 5.4 miles and was more difficult than we expected. Maybe we are just out of shape, though! Someone tell our bosses that we need more hiking time in our lives! 😄
All in all, we have had a great trip to Big South Fork. We got some much needed outside time, moved our bodies a bit more than usual, had phenomenal weather (sunny and low 70s for most of our visit), got a little time to relax, and even had a rare campfire! We have each said several times that we really like it here and need to plan a return trip soon! If you have been to Big South Fork, let us know in the comments what some of your favorite trails are so we can start our list for the next visit!
Until next time!
