The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area spans about 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and Kentucky, and Bandy Creek, off TN-297 west of Oneida, is its main Tennessee gateway. The river forms where the New River meets the Clear Fork and runs north for about 49 miles, free-flowing for roughly 37 of them, through a gorge some 600 feet deep. The park was established in 1974. The visitor center at 151 Stable Road offers exhibits on recreation, ranger help and permits.
People have lived here for more than ten thousand years, and the park has yielded about 350,000 artifacts. The Shawnee and Cherokee are historically associated with the area, and by the late 1700s Cherokee people were known to be on the plateau. Fur hunters reputedly camped at Station Camp Creek, where Charit Creek Lodge stands today, and settlers had farms by 1810. The Beatty Saltworks ran at Salt Town from 1817 to 1840, and saltpeter mines operated from about 1813 to 1860.
On the Tennessee side you can reach Twin Arches, the East Rim Overlook off TN-297, and Leatherwood Ford, with its old low-water bridge and river trails. The community at No Business Creek, first settled in 1796, is gone. The Blue Heron coal town and the Stearns depot lie across the line in Kentucky.
The closest stops worth working into your route
Roadside plaques and monuments within a short detour