Harrison Bay State Park

06/20/2026

Happy Juneteenth from HBSP! We hope everyone had a great day celebrating freedom! One of the first Emancipation Day celebrations in the Chattanooga area was held on January 1st (1886) instead of June 19th.

Juneteenth commemorates and celebrates the news of Emancipation to enslaved men and women at Galveston, TX- the last place the Union Army reached at the end of the Civil War. January 1st celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation, issued that day in 1863.

The news article pictured was published in the Chattanooga Commercial on December 31st, 1885. The day would be filled by political exercises at the Hamilton County courthouse, festivities at Johnson and Sewell's Skating Rink (an African American owned rink), followed by a public reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. Ada B. House was a local educator and musician. Admission fees were donated to a Chattanooga orphanage.

06/05/2026

04/23/2026

Happy Earth Week everybody!

Earth Day began in 1970 as one of the largest protests in American history (around 20 million people nationwide participated!). On college campuses and in cities, demonstrations were held as a call to action to address industrial pollution and environmental degradation that affected the air, land, and water -there was limited legal recourse or accountability (no EPA or Clean Air and Water Act-yet).

But, let's go back in time 35 years, one to the single most significant conservation movements in U.S. history- the Civilian Conservation Corps!

For 9 years (1933-1942) the CCC addressed deforestation, erosion, wildfires, and flooding by planting around 3 Billion trees, 6 million erosion control structures, and hundreds of fire lookout towers. In Tennessee, 76,000 men served in the CCC and there were around 45 camps active in the state each year.

In addition to their conservation work, the CCC built numerous local, state, and national parks for public recreation as well as preserving natural areas for future generations.

Image c/o TeVa (CCC national Forest fire crew 12 miles SW of Tellico Plains)

04/19/2026

It's 19 degrees colder today In Harrison, so we're throwing it back to warmer days past.

Prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, color, religion, s*x, or national origin illegal, women seeking employment with Tennessee State Parks did not have equal opportunity to their male counterparts.

Looking towards the upcoming summer season in 1951, then-HBSP Superintendent E.M. Brady made a request to the Director of TSP S.C. Taylor to hire women at the consession stand and as lifeguards. Taylor agreed as long as women applying for life guard positions were "properly qualified" (*insert dramatic eye roll here*).

As the pool season came to an end after Labor Day, E.M. Brady updated the TSP Director, suggesting the pay for life guards be increased and reported on the new women lifeguards. Brady stated that "the girl life guards we had to finish up the season were much more alert and did a better job in every way than the seven men and boys did through the other part of the season."

27 years later, the first female Park Ranger was hired at South Cumberland State Park in 1978. Today, 3 of 5 Harrison Bay State Park's Rangers are women.

04/18/2026

Huge THANK YOU to Collegedale Academy 8th Graders who picked up multiple bags of litter from Harrison Bay’s shoreline earlier this month. Every bag of litter made a difference!

Next week is Earth Week! The park will have another litter clean up on Tuesday, April 21st. For more info, visit our website or follow the link below to sign up!

https://tnstateparksvolunteer.galaxydigital.com/agency/detail/?agency_id=116322

04/15/2026

Attention! We have a special treat for
Where Is It? Wednesday!

For this week's Wednesday special, tell us where YOU find Eastern Hemlocks inside HBSP!

The Eastern Hemlock pictured is located near Chickamauga Lake, close to the volleyball court inside the park.

Eastern Hemlocks in Hamilton County (and much of eastern TN/Western NC) are threatened by the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that can kill Hemlocks in as little as 3 years.

For more info on Eastern Hemlocks and HWA distribution in TN, follow the link below 👇
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/tennessee/stories-in-tennessee/hemlock/ #:~:text=In%20Tennessee%2C%20Eastern%20hemlocks%20(Tsuga,Combatting%20Hemlock%20Woolly%20Adelgid

iNaturalist is an awesome tool to record where and when species are discovered in the park! It is a free app and can help us monitor and protect our natural resources!💪

04/02/2026

Come to the Camp Store for an Eggcellent deal on tank tops this Friday and Saturday!

04/01/2026

This April, give back to Harrison Bay State Park where you’ve made countless memories.

Donate to our park and watch us rise to the top as we compete in a friendly competition with our fellow Tennessee state parks. Let’s see how much support our fans can drum up this month!

Step 1: Donate $1 or more to vote for us as your favorite Tennessee state park at mytnstatepark.com. Or, if you want to spread the love, you can vote for all parks! Your donation goes directly to the park you chose and protecting their natural beauty for generations to come.

Step 2: Track our progress throughout the month, share with your friends & family, and keep voting until April 30th to skyrocket us to the top.

Step 3: Drop your favorite memories at our park in the comments. We’d love to hear how we’ve played a part in your journey to experience Tennessee’s natural beauty.

🌳 In partnership with the Tennessee State Parks Conservancy

Photo by Andrew McMurtrie

My TN State Park Fundraiser: Rally your community to protect, preserve, and support Tennessee’s beloved state parks.

03/27/2026

Happy Friday folks!

Ranger Stoess has a PSA for all of y'all working in your yards this weekend.

Enjoy!