0
Pull-thru
NPSBig South Fork National River & Recreation Area · Tennessee
Blue Heron Campground
Overview Blue Heron Campground is a rustic and spacious campground, situated on the Kentucky side of The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area--a vast and scenic expanse of land that offer
Sites4544 reservable
Elev.1,286ft
Comf.Mar-Dec10 months
Max rig61 ft
Electric459×50-amp
From Knoxville1h59real road time
The honest read
Synthesized from
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
At 1,286 ft, Blue Heron Campground has a 10-month comfortable window (Mar-Dec). Winter nights average around 31°F, so the shoulder seasons turn cold fast. 45 sites total: 44 reservable and 1 first-come, first-served. Of the sites, 9 with 50-amp, and the longest takes a 61-ft rig. This is bear country, and food-storage lockers are provided. Within about 4 miles: 4 named hiking routes, 4 peaks, lake or river access.
The campground at a glance
01 · CHARACTER
Reads strongest on shade and reservability. Softest on roomy sites.
Six axes, each scored relative to every other federal campground in the region: quiet (miles to a major road), cool (elevation), roomy (average site spacing), shade, RV-fit (longest rig), and how reservable it is. All six come from data, nothing hand-tuned.
When to go
02 · CLIMATE
avg highavg lowfrost-freedriest · Sep
Mar-Dec
Comfortable window: nights stay above 35°F, days below 90°F.
67%
Of summer weekend-days are dry.
Apr 12
Last spring frost; first fall frost Nov 4.
68°F
Average July low.
Getting there
03 · ACCESS
01
Knoxville
83 mi
1h59
02
Chattanooga
153 mi
3h22
03
Nashville
181 mi
3h56
04
Memphis
393 mi
7h47
By drive time
Routed road time (OSRM). Nearest major highway 3.7 mi away.
Picking your site
04 · 45 SITES
Color byShow only
43 mapped sites · dot color = seclusion · click a dot for details. Basemap © OpenStreetMap.
0
Walk-in
9
50-amp
1
Accessible
0
Prime
45
Sites
★ The standout
Site 019
good location · shaded.
To neighbor
72 ft
Location
Good
Max rig
43 ft
Type
Standard
What's within four miles
05 · TRAILS · PEAKS · WATER
Trails & Peaks
Named hiking routes
4
Trail segments
86
Peaks
4
Viewpoints
2
Water & Access
Lake / river access
yes
To nearest major road
3.7 mi
Method
We synthesize public data layers: RIDB and Recreation.gov facility and site records, Open-Meteo climate normals, OpenStreetMap roads, trails, and water, OSRM drive times, and USGS elevation. We take no bookings, no ads, and no paid placements. Independence is the entire point.