Appalachia Ridge owners: RV park will open Aug. 30


Appalachia Ridge, next to the Museum of Appalachia off of Andersonville Highway in Norris, will open Aug. 30 with 107 back-in RV sites that have full hookups, including power, water and sewer. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Appalachia Ridge, the RV park being built next to the Museum of Appalachia, now says it will open beginning Friday, Aug. 30, just in time for the Labor Day weekend.

The park posted its site map on its Facebook page last week, and on its website (appalachiaridge.com), booking reservations are now being accepted, with 24 back-in RV sites showing available on Monday for stays beginning Aug. 30.

The standard rate for each site is listed at $60 per night. Each site can accommodate a travel trailer, fifth-wheel trailer, motorhome, pop- up camper, truck camper, or a camper van, the website notes.

Also, according to the website, these are full hook-up sites offering electricity, water, sewer, Wi-Fi, wood-burning fire pits, and picnic tables, and are pet-friendly.

“Enjoy top-notch campground amenities including a modern bathhouse, guest laundry facilities, a dog park, and an on-site registration office,” the website says, adding that Appalachia Ridge is “Located just moments from the stunning Norris Lake and within walking distance to the world famous Museum of Appalachia.”

Plans are to open initially with 107 RV sites, and to add the planned four glamping tents, three tiny homes and two tree houses later, said Mandy Conner, one of the park’s owners.

“We will be constructing them this winter,” she said earlier.

“The concrete platforms that can be seen through the trees up on the hill will be for the glamping tents, which will be built first,” she added. “The treehouses and tiny homes would be next.”

Conner also noted that Appalachia Ridge will not allow long-term RV space rentals. The city’s zoning allows only for rentals of up to 30 days.

Appalachia Ridge will not have tent sites for rent, either, she said. “We don’t allow tents.”

The park, just west of the museum, originally had planned to open by spring 2023, but faced several delays, Conner said.

Most recently, the developers had to widen the entrance and exit roads a bit. Work is still underway to finish spreading gravel on the park roads and complete other details.

Construction of the main entrance building and the separate bathhouse have been completed, she said. The bathhouse has restrooms, showers and a laundry facility for the customers.