Harrison Bay State Park Campground

Harrison Bay is a huge park, with four camping loops (3 for RVs, 1 for tents), and a large marina, located on the Chickamauga Reservoir of the Tennessee River. It is about thirty minutes from downtown Chattanooga, making it a great place to stay for awhile if you want to check out the area's numerous hiking opportunities, or if you are here to see the various downtown attractions. This would be a good park to stay at long-term as a base-camp, thanks to the numerous in park amenities and to enjoy the Chattanooga area.

Situated again the bay, the majority of the park is surrounded by water, and as such many campsites have views of the lake. Loop A is an RV loop with very little shade, and is closest to the playgrounds and picnic pavilions. Sites 7-11 and 13-14 in this loop have the most shade, with most other sites in full sun. Loop B is an RV loop with more shade on the sites on the northern end and more sun on the southern. Sites 9, 18, 22, and 25 are next to an area with poor drainage so bugs may be an issue here in the summer, and sites 29 &amp; 30 have great views of the lake. Loop C is the last RV loop, also with a lot of shade, and sites 23-25 and 35-36 are right on the water, almost with their own private beaches. Loop D is the tent-only loop; this loop is very shaded, and the sites are fairly large and can accommodate most size tents. The northern end of the loop has clear waterfront views. Sites 13 &amp; 14 are close to the restrooms with view of the water, and sites 15-19 have mostly unobstructed water views. These sites are very close together, but if you go on weekdays or early in the season it's unlikely there will be many other campers there.

In addition to camping, the park offers fishing, boating, hiking, a playground, a restaurant, swimming pool, interpretive center, nature viewing platform, and several picnic pavilions. In warmer months this is a popular spot for locals to come swim in the lake as well, so bring bathing suits and expect a lot of company. Most of the trails are short, however there is a 4 mile trail that goes around an "island" near the marina, and two smaller islands past the campground loops that can be combined for a 1 mile loop. These islands make excellent places to watch the sunset; the large island closest to the marina even has a bench facing southwest for this purpose.

Firewood is available for purchase at a camp store just outside the park, and residents often sell firewood roadside on the way to the park entrance.

This is not a place for solitude; it can get quite crowded during the summer between campers and locals, and there are residential areas on most sides of the lake, visible from the park. Don't come here looking for a wilderness experience. However for an outdoor vacation that has plenty of activities and is close to urban conveniences, Harrison Bay is an excellent choice!

Good For Long-Term Camping, With Lots of Amenities

I live in downtown Chattanooga, so this campground is about a 20 minute drive and a great option for getting friends together for a one-night camping trip. They've recently refurbished most areas of the campground, including bath houses. I haven't been in them since those were refurbished, but I hear they're nice. The marina in the park has a nice, new restaurant overlooking the lake, and there are bathrooms and changing rooms in that building too. The beach area at the park is a fun place for a dip while you're camping. I use the 4.5-mile mountain bike trail in the park often - it's beginner friendly without much elevation change. A great weekend for families wanting a lot of outdoor activities!

Great getaway outside Chattanooga with beginner mountain bike trail

It is great to have so many great beautiful state parks in my back yard to be able to go camping we we get the itching. Harrison Bay State Park is a wonderful relaxing getaway for us. Just a short 45 minute drive and we are in heaven. It is one of the smaller campgrounds we use and that is why we like it so much, makes it more peaceful. There is a complete marina and welcomes all water crafts from fishing boats, pontoons, jet skis, to your kayaks. What ever you enjoy on the water you will be able to use at Harrison Bay. Now if you do not have a water craft just pulling out your fishing poles and casting through out the entire park will guarantee you a catch. 
 Now if water sports are not for you that have an amazing 4.5 mile loop bike trail that will give you a workout if you want one, Or if biking is not for you just put on your tennis shoes and take a nice stroll and enjoy the beautiful scenery around you. Another of the great features at the park is The Bear Trace Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus designed course. Now golf is not for me but talking to others that golf, apparently this coarse is loved because it surrounded by water and heavily-wooded land around the coarse. And finally one of the best amenities for our kids is the Olympic size swimming pool. After the kids have enjoyed fishing and biking they spend the rest of the day playing & splashing in the huge pool. We really enjoy the pool because a lot of campgrounds do not offer a pool & we take full advantage of it. 
 All in all I have to say for the price, the amenities, and the wooded camp sites Harrison Bay State Park is one of our favorite places to camp. I think anyone would enjoy a relaxing time during your stay.. 

Relaxing and Family Friendly

This campground is fairly large but it's split into smaller loops to cut down on traffic. There are picnic tables and fire rings at every site but they recently removed the trash cans due to a racoon problem. There is a large central dumpster available though. There are hiking trails, swimming options and nearby kayak/paddle board rentles. You will absolutely see deer, ducks, squirrel and racoons! These animals are abundant and used to campers so they will graze and wander near the tent sites. Because of the deer herd there is a thriving tick community. I know, ick. Just check yourself after every walk, or every 30 minutes. Yes, that frequently. The majority are small, what I've always heard called "seed" ticks. The ticks and the bath house are the only reason I'm giving 4 stars and not 5\. Overall though, it's a great place to stay and I will continue to go back.

Family friendly campground with lots of wildlife!

We had a good time with our friends at Harrison Bay, but I was not very impressed with the park. To be fair, we reserved the very last two available sites for Memorial Day weekend and they may have been the worst. There was no view and both were quit tight, in fact ours even had the hookups on the wrong side, so our camper had to face in to the woods in order for us to be able to hook up. Also, a toilet and a shower were broken in the bathhouse, which is the last thing you want to deal with when you choose to escape the confines of your camper for a nice long shower and a real potty. The pool felt old and not super clean, and there were no chairs or anything to sit on, and you were not allowed to bring food or drink in, so that makes it a little hard to enjoy, also combined with the large number of staff there, most of which were standing around, but still required a 10 min break every hour where everyone, even adults, had to exit the pool. The last complaint was that we wanted to rent canoes, got there right at opening time, and still had to wait a bit and were only able to finally go when we did because we had exact change to pay. Otherwise we would have had to wait on a manager or something. All in all, it was not terrible but since it was a 2 hour drive from home, I probably will try somewhere different next time.

Okay but not great

We live only 5 Miles from Harrison Bay State Park. We stayed in the Tent camping area recently. Lots of shade and one bath house with four separate shower / rest room combos, air conditioned as well. the tent spaces are large enough for one to two vehicles + your tent / gear. this was the tent area so there are no electric or water in site as to be expected. $ was very reasonable. there is also lots of trails and a great little camp store. playgrounds, swimming pool and SUP rentals just outside the park Entrance. The Raccoons are relentless don’t leave any food out and be sure you have good strong storage containers. they are fun to watch though. also there is a great restaurant, Dockside cafe in the park by the boat ramp. excellent food every time we eat there. lots of boat trailer parking just above the boat ramp. staff always very friendly and helpful.

Great place beautiful park on the TN River / Chickamauga Lake

Pretty nice but there are a lot of sites in the B loop that aren't even close to being level. If you go across the lake, there's a better campground called Chester Frost Park.

Good facilities but be ready to do a lot to level up.

great place to camp or juat go hang out or hike for thw day. gerat photo opts in jan.

beautiful

Amazing park and camp ground! Easy access to Lake Chickamauga. Plenty of fun to be had by all here at this park.

Great camp ground and park!

Harrison Bay State Park is a nice park, in a great location, with lots to do. I don’t give this a 5 star rating only because it’s a little cramped in there. The campground was fully booked when we stayed in June, so might not be as bad if you don’t go in the peak season. 

The park is right on Lake Chickamauga, so you can fish, kayak, swim, paddle board, etc. There’s a marina with a good restaurant. There’s an aviary, and walking trail. A pool, kayak and paddle board rentals, playground, lots of picnic tables, etc. lots to do! And it’s just a short drive to Chattanooga! 

Every loop of the campground has some waterfront sites, we were in B13, and were not waterfront, I believe in the B loop they were around site 29. D loop is only tent sites, A loop has the best waterfront sites in my opinion. The restrooms were large and private in A loop also. Most of the sites appeared to be pull through in all the loops (except D, tent sites) 

There’s deer roaming everywhere, so don’t speed! Also, the park closes at 10 so be aware of that. The gate was only half closed the night we were out late, but I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. I would return to Harrison Bay, but possibly will try to go out of peak season! 

Crowded but nice

My wife and I stayed at this campground while coaching a softball tournament in Chattanooga. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to fish as much as I would like due to our tourney schedule. I did have an opportunity to explore the campground and state park and can’t wait to get back down there. We had to pull our pop-up camper so we stayed in an electric site. The site was an extremely level pull through site. It was a little closer to some other campers than I would typically like but the layout allowed for plenty of privacy. I was a bit frustrated when we had to move from one site to another from Fri-Sat because they supposedly only had our site open for 1 night. We looked on the website and it showed our site open Sat night as well but when we asked at the desk they said it was booked and we had to move. Outside of this inconvenience I have no complaints as far as customer service. The bathrooms were clean and well kept, amenities abundant and plenty to do in this state park. The tent sites were far more private with easy access to the lake. I would recommend this campground but if you would like a waterfront site make sure you book well in advance. They also have an extremely nice, giant swimming pool. This is also a great campground for group camping and be sure to check out renting the Patton Hill sites! 

Great Campground for Kayaking and Fishing

We were in the first week of November absolutely lovely park loved the staff in the office they were so accommodating 
We had a nice level site plenty of space to spread out and kick our shoes off for a few nights sunsets were incredible cool autumn nights 
Trails galore and nice wildlife scenery for photography 

Stunning place 

We camped from 6-13-20 to 6-20-20 in area B. The bad: The sites are a little tight for the bigger campers requiring a lot of maneuvering to get in the site. Ours was very un-level, the tongue of our camping was ~4.5' off the ground. The good: the restroom/bath-house was always very clean. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The campground is located on a huge beautiful lake for boating, kayaking, fishing, and swimming. We will be going back at some point for sure.

Nice campground, tight un-level sites

Me and my brothers had an amazing time at this campground. We rented paddle boards nearby and drove to waterfalls. It’s a great central location for multiple activities. 

Perfect weekend

Campground was full, so we parked our pop up camper in the primitive area, was so nice &amp; quiet. Bathhouse was small, only 4 bathrooms in the unit. Shower &amp; toilet in each bathroom, meant long lines to use the bathroom even if not showering. 

Much to do in area

Harrison Bay SP near Harrison, Tn is obviously a popular park. I arrived on Sunday and the crowds were leaving. And yet the park was still crowded. 
Nice lake , good fishing. There are several sites on the water and plenty up in the woods too. 
These are nice sites. Paved and for the most part level. Depending on where your site is there is a lot of room to set up. 
Well maintained park. A lot of activities to keep you occupied. 

BUSY!

We stayed in site A37 on a Wednesday night in early December. The premium/waterfront sites were mostly empty. It was a little confusing finding the site after dark - luckily I had printed a map of the campground. It was a very relaxing site with a beautiful view. The neighbor site was close, but empty the night we stayed. Unfortunately, my final impression of the campground is staff using a leaf blower to blow leaves off of the surrounding sites and the entire road area in front of our site. Though I appreciate their efforts to keep the campground looking nice, they saw we were trying to enjoy the view before leaving. They could have waited 30 minutes to do that area after we checked out. 

Nice waterfront site

Great place to camp

In the area to pickup new 5th wheel. Got here late in day and park was surprisingly full. Our site C30 was not level, making our first experience of auto-leveling a fun experience. Actually so uneven that our previous 22foot TT would have been a challenge. Overall, a nice park. Visible streamed tv just fine and cell coverage for Cricket (do not stream on this) Pretty close to neighbors on one side so we can hear kids playing, but that’s a pleasant sound anyway. Would repeat if in area. $28 plus tax plus booking fee

Pleasant experience, would repeat

We booked our first few nights in our new travel trailer at spot A7. Being new RV owners, we were super excited to get out and learn the ropes.  We have been tent camping at TN state parks for years and absolutely love the amenities that the state parks provide. 

Harrison Bay is nice, but we probably won’t be back. There are four different loops (A-D), but most, if not all, sites are tightly packed.  Luckily, we didn’t have neighbors directly next to us, but it would not have provided much space for our canopy and leashed dogs to walk if we did. 

The waterfront sites seem to be nice, but you have to drive up a large hill and around a tight curve to get to them. Honestly, I’m not sure how anything over 25-ish foot would easily and comfortably park. We actually witnessed someone put the front of their 5th wheel into the back cab of their truck while trying to take a tight turn. 🤢

All in all, it’s nice for a quick getaway, and the park staff is very friendly. We didn’t use any of the amenities (restroom facilities, playgrounds, etc) so I cannot comment on them. 

We will probably stick with other parks. 

Nice but NOT spacey

Harrison Bay State Park had plenty of signage so finding the campground(CG) just needed to read the signs as you got in the state park area. We stopped at the office area and checked in then proceeded to C loop back-in site C23 with water and 50/30 AMP. We had read the reviews and were prepared for the tight turns and close sites on C loop. When we got to site C23 there were cars and a truck parked across the street making the turn even tighter. We backed in to this very unlevel site that was just long enough for our 39’ 5th wheel. When we booked on line the site was advertised as 51’. Fortunately, there was a parking spot across the road for our truck. We used most of our levelers on the door side to level. Water pressure was good and we got 3 bars on Verizon and 1 bar on AT&amp;T. The CG has WiFi but it didn’t work very well. We got quite a few OTA channels but only one prime. As this loop has a lot of mature trees, satellite would be iffy. We had a nice water view and direct access to the water. We would not recommend anything over 35’ in this loop especial when the CG is full. B loop is for smaller trailers/rigs and D loop is for tents. We checked out A loop and immediately saw the difference as A is set up for larger rigs and looks newer. Area A also has premium sites with a patio. There’s a large grass area and ball field as you enter and we liked site A15, which is on the water enough you could park your kayak below you site plus plenty of area to walk the dogs. In the premium area we liked A38 that’s off a loop at the end where we could swing a 39’ rig around to back-in. Other good sites all in A loop for larger rigs with water view/access would be 30&amp; 31. If your RV is more than 35 feet go to A Loop, especially if you are a beginner. Also recommend you call the park to verify if your rig size can fit in a site, as the dimensions online seem to be inaccurate. This state park has a lot to offer and overall we enjoyed the experience.

Nice State Park with a Lot to Offer

We love this campground. Beautiful scenery. Facilities are almost always clean. The sites are nice and pretty good sized. 

Beautiful 

This is a popular campground, especially the campsite we booked 10 months ago.  There are deer all over and the Bay Side 4.3 mile trail is really nice. The kayaking is great. There are lots of small islands to kayak to with small beaches so you can hang out for a while. One of the beaches had a picnic table.  The bathhouse has individual "rooms" with toilet and shower which is nice. Unfortunately we booked for 1 week but had to leave after 3 nights because our trailer was infested with ants from the nearby trees. We weren't the only ones affected. Our neighbors also had problems and changed sites. We were not able to. We will go back but either to another site or be prepared with the right products to  prevent an infestation. 

Beautiful Lake 

We just purchased a camper and wanted somewhere close by but still a very beautiful view. I’ve been here a million times as a kid to fish but never to camp. We absolutely loved how easy and clean the area was! Super quite and an absolute amazing experience by the water. If you go pay extra for a waterfront lot. You will thank me later 


Exactly what we needed 

We had site 30 A and it was easy to back into with the trailer and we was within walking distance to the water. Definitely would recommend and plan on going back!

Amazing time

We stayed in the B section on B43. It was a decent campground but all the camper sites are very uneven! The bath house was outdated but function fine. The 4 mile hiking trail was nice we enjoyed a picnic at one of the rest areas along the trail. No sewer hook ups but Warren pressure was good. 

Very unlevel

A nice park tucked away on lake Chickamauga on Tennessee River.  We had three days and nights at the campground.  It is a busy campground but still offers a relaxing time.  We saw wildlife everyday.  We kayaked two days- weekdays are better for kayaking as there are not as many boats on the water.  First time in a camper and we had a wonderful experience. 

Good state park 

Tent camping and we had s beautiful spot. But big problem, the aggregate for the tent pad was so compressed we could not set a stake. Had to move tent off pad!
Bathrooms very clean in tent loop.
Shame on government for not putting funds into pool maintenance. It was shut down.
Deer wandering all around!!!

Beautiful views!!!

Booked site A36 in January to see Chattanooga in the Fall. Glad we did because your level of satisfaction with this State Park campground is all about what site you get. We were right on the lake at the end of a loop that provided lots of privacy. 
Would not have been as pleased if we were on any of the interior sites. Very crowded and little trees/vegetation between this sites. Verizon was strong 5G. 
Visited Lookout Mountain and downtown Chattanooga. 

All Depends on Your Site

Enjoyed 5 nights here.  Campsites by the water are close together in loop A.  Bathhouse was clean.  There was only one hiking trail of note, but you had drive to the marina to get to it. Golf course was nearby.  Marina nearby.  

Great Campground 

TN needs to pick up there RV park game. Good sites are rare (space and views) #research. Campgrounds A, B and C are tight, limited space. Campground D is tent only - preferred for a camping experience. TN must like creating partying and group camping - that’s the only reason one should camp in A B or C. Lake is beautiful, shoreline around campsites is cluttered and needs maintenance. Pool is closed (Covid?) - it looks abandoned b/c of financial issues. We booked our site a year in advance - highly recommend. A 15 is a good site. (Book it). 

Too high expectations 

It was great, very nice and peaceful. I recommend it for everyone 

If you like peaceful hikes, beautiful sunsets and a very comfortable campground surrounded by water Harrison bay state park is perfect. We stayed in d10 because it was what was available on our short notice trip and my only complaint was the bright flood lights that shine from the bathroom at night makes it less then desirable to sleep But, The website is easy to use to make reservations, and has an event page so you can attend events happening during your stay which is great, the bathrooms and showers get cleaned every afternoon and in campground D there isn’t many people using the bath houses so you have a clean bathroom with a hot shower every night or morning of your stay. Theres also a Restaurant at the docks close to the campsite but we didn’t try because theres a Mexican restaurant just down the road towards Harrison that was amazing. There is also a “beach” you can hangout and swim at which is beautiful and is great for kids. We had good cell service and there is  great guest wifi as-well so we was able to stay in touch with everyone and watch movies on our phones. All in all great place to take the family for a weekend get away id recommend staying for 3 days because there is plenty to do and see. 

Great place to go primitive glamping.

Stayed the weekend, alot of halloween stuff up to see and everywhere you looked had amazing fall colors and views. 
