In August 2026, Tennessee State Parks staff went through Harrison Bay State Park and rated every facility excellent, good, fair or poor. They covered all 198 boat slips, all 24 group camp cabins and each campground bathhouse. The results are now public in a draft Strategic Management Plan for Harrison Bay, and they show which parts of the park are worn down.
The golf course got an excellent rating, and so did the Dockside Café, Campground A and the Recreation Hall. The marina slips and walkways were rated poor. So were both playgrounds, the tennis and volleyball courts, the ballfields, the group camp cabins and the group camp lodge.
The poor grades fall mostly on the places Harrison residents use every week: the docks where they keep boats, the playground where kids burn off a Saturday morning, the fields and courts. Only one of those items has funding so far, and it took a local group six years of fundraising to get it. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is taking public comment on the draft through December 31, 2026. That comment period is the formal channel for residents to tell the state which of the other items matter most to them.
How the Grades Break Down
This table lists selected facilities. All ratings come from the August 2026 assessment in the draft plan.
| Facility | Quantity | August 2026 rating |
|---|---|---|
| Golf course | 1 | Excellent |
| Dockside Café | 1 | Excellent |
| Recreation hall | 1 | Excellent |
| Campground A | 47 sites | Excellent |
| Campground C | 40 sites | Good |
| Boat ramps | 2 | Good |
| Marina gas dock | 1 | Good |
| Trails | 6 | Good |
| Campground B | 47 sites | Fair |
| Campground D | 28 sites | Fair |
| Kayak rental | 1 | Fair |
| Campground B bathhouse | 2 | Poor |
| Marina slips and walkways | 198 | Poor |
| Group camp cabins | 24 | Poor |
| Group camp lodge | 1 | Poor |
| Playgrounds | 2 | Poor |
| Ballfields | 2 | Poor |
| Tennis courts | 3 | Poor |
| Volleyball courts | 3 | Poor |
The park's grading guide sets a high bar for "poor." It describes facilities with significant, ongoing maintenance problems "that ultimately may result in suspended use for repair/replacement," often made worse by repairs that kept being put off.
The marina numbers show an odd split. The gas dock, the marina office and the restrooms all rated good, and the two public boat ramps rated good as well. The poor rating falls on the 198 slips and the walkways that connect them, which is where boat owners actually tie up.
What the Plan Puts First
The draft turns those grades into a ranked list. These items are marked high priority:
- Marina mooring structures, walkways, and the fuel tank and supply system
- Replumbing and renovating the Campground B bathhouse
- Ranger residence interiors, roofs, appliances and electrical
- Group camp lodge and cabin renovations
- Playground replacement
- Accessibility upgrades throughout the park
Trail improvements, golf course pump station work and golf irrigation are marked medium. Golf tree work, cart paths, bunkers and fairway re-grassing are marked low, which fits a course that already rates excellent.
The plan's two-to-five-year recommendations name the same group of facilities: the marina, the B bathhouse, the ranger houses, group camp and Campground D. They also call for repairing, replacing or removing all day-use recreation equipment, from the playground to the tennis and basketball courts, and for finishing a shore stabilization project to protect the shoreline. The long-term list, five years and beyond, repeats the same facility updates, which suggests park staff expect some of this work to take a while.
The Playground Had Local Backing
Of everything rated poor, only the playground has publicly announced funding. In a March 28, 2026 report, Chattanoogan.com covered a $250,000 state investment to expand the small playground near the ballfield into a larger footprint. Members of the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park joined park staff, State Rep. Greg Vital, TDEC Deputy Commissioner Brian Clifford and Tennessee State Parks Director Chris Padgett at the park for the announcement.
According to the same Chattanoogan.com story, the Friends group had spent six years raising money and gathering donations for a new playground. Clifford's comment at the event, as reported by the outlet: "We've got good advocates here locally that make things happen." Park Manager Matthew Vawter told the outlet he was glad "the state is remembering our park and not just worried about the new ones."
The park's own website describes construction underway on a nature-based learning playscape. Its marina page carries the same notice.
The marina, group camp and B bathhouse have not had a six-year local campaign behind them. Each is on the same high-priority list where the playground used to sit.
The New Things the Plan Asks For
The draft also lists new facilities park staff consider necessary. These are needs, without prices or dates attached:
- A central park office and visitor center
- An accessible kayak and canoe launch
- Rental pontoon boats, which the plan says would get more families on the water and add revenue
- New cabins on the peninsula behind the current group camp cabins
- Short-term housing for seasonal interpretive staff, so the park can offer more programs
- An accessible hayride wagon for land-based tours and events
- A horse barn and pasture in the group camp field, so mounted patrol can return to Harrison Bay
Waterfront cabins appear on the long-term list. The plan also calls for better wayfinding and interpretive signs throughout the park.
The office comes with a knock-on change. Once a new office is built, the plan would expand use of the marina office, so the move would free space at the water's edge.
The Trails Rate Good Overall, With a Muddy Exception
The park's six trails add up to 6.48 miles. As a system they rate good, but every individual trail in the draft's table rates fair. The 4.31-mile Bay Point Loop is the largest, and the plan says it runs through a low area of the park that regularly turns muddy. It needs more boardwalk and turnpike construction. The shorter trails, including the Island Loop, Nature Loop, Point Trail and Starwalk Trail, have erosion where they follow the fall line, and some need small bridges.
Trail improvements are marked medium priority. A wet stretch of the Bay Point Loop after a winter rain is the kind of firsthand detail a park comment form can use.
How to Weigh In Before December 31
Harrison Bay is one of 12 state parks whose plans are open for public comment this fall. TDEC's October 13, 2026 announcement says the department will take spoken comments at each park's meeting and written comments through December 31, 2026.
- Read the draft. The full Harrison Bay plan is posted on TDEC's website, including the facility table and the priority list.
- Submit written comments online. TDEC's comment form lets you pick Harrison Bay, type a comment or upload a file, and request the Response to Comment Document. That document is sent to anyone who provides an email address.
- Attend the meeting in person. The meeting runs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Eastern at the Harrison Bay Recreation Hall, 5489 Campground Drive. TDEC's event listing gives the date as Monday, December 7, while the October announcement listed Saturday, December 12, so check with the contacts on the event listing before you go. Park leadership will present both the statewide plan and the Harrison Bay plan.
Written comments are accepted through December 31, 2026.
Harrison Bay State Park is part of daily life in Harrison, and the slip you rent, the campsite you book and the playground down the road are all part of what makes this corner of Chickamauga Lake home. If you have questions about life near the park or along the Highway 58 corridor, The Robinson Team is glad to talk it through. Contact Us.
