4 Beautiful Tennessee State Parks Within an Hour’s Drive of Our Ocoee River Rafting Trips
If you love the great outdoors as much as we do, you’ll want to plan some extra time around your white water rafting adventure to explore some of the area’s state parks! This is a wonderful opportunity to get outside, view some spectacular scenery, take some hikes and enjoy everything that mother nature has to offer! We’re lucky enough to have several state parks nearby, so don’t miss these 4 beautiful Tennessee state parks within an hour’s drive of our Ocoee River rafting trips:
1. Hiwassee Ocoee State Park
The closest state park to our Ocoee River rafting outpost is Hiwassee Ocoee State Park, where you’ll find miles of scenic hiking trails including a portion of the John Muir State Scenic Trail! The park is also an excellent fishing destination as the Hiwassee River flows through the park, and you can catch largemouth bass, yellow perch, catfish, brown trout, and rainbow trout with a trout license! While exploring the area along the river, keep your eyes open for some of the great blue herons fishing amongst the river rocks and you may even spot a bald eagle!
2. Booker T. Washington State Park
If you head west from our Ocoee River rafting outpost towards Chattanooga you’ll find Booker T. Washington State Park on the eastern side of the city! This park is named after the famous leader who was born into slavery and freed at the age of nine, then fought throughout his life to earn a higher education. One of the highlights of the park is a single-track bike trail on a 6-mile loop, complete with long uphill climbs and fast downhill adventures! There are also several interconnected trails that are open for hiking and mountain biking, as well as some excellent fishing opportunities!
3. Red Clay State Historic Park
Another one of the beautiful Tennessee State Parks within an hour’s drive of our Ocoee River rafting trips is Red Clay State Historic Park, which is home to 263 acres of narrow valleys that were formerly used as cotton and pasture land. The park has historical significance as the site was the last capital of the Cherokee Nation in the eastern United States before the Cherokee people were forced to move west. Today, you can discover several pleasant hikes in the park, including a 1.7-mile loop trail that leads to an overlook tower!
4. Harrison Bay State Park
Harrison Bay State Park is also on the eastern side of Chattanooga and features about 40 miles of Chickamauga Lake shoreline among its 1,200 acres! The park’s name comes from a large bay at the main channel of the Tennessee River that covers the old town of Harrison, as well as the last Cherokee Campground. This gorgeous wooded park is a popular destination for campers, golfers, boaters, and fishermen, and all types of boats and water recreation vehicles are allowed at the park. Don’t miss the 4.5-mile Bay Point Loop, an amazing multi-use trail that meanders along the shoreline!
Check out all of our Ocoee River rafting trips today to plan your white water rafting adventure, then stick around for a few days to enjoy the nearby Tennessee State Parks! We look forward to seeing you this season!
