prison tours tn

This Tour Of An Abandoned Tennessee Prison Is An Experience Unlike Any Other

Meghan Kraft

Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.

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Tennessee is rife with history, both beautiful and dark. It’s the kind of state that helps you learn to accept the good with the bad, recognize the necessity of studying what once was in order to keep it from happening again. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary has a spotted past in Tennessee. It has a dark story that’s riddled with fascinating tales of escape and historical significance. Nowadays, you can visit and hear the stories from within the prison walls itself – without having to commit a crime, of course.

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You can learn more about local tours and experiences by way of the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary official website and Facebook page .

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Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

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Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

1 Day Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary 

Price for this Tour

Per Person: $155 

1 Meals Included

Additional information.

Tour# 23028

October 26, 2023

Tour Highlights

Guided private tour of the maximum security prison and grounds, visit museum within the prison, see the jail cell of infamous prisoners like james earl ray, included lunch at the warden’s table restaurant at the prison , if you would like to make a reservation for this tour, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you., important information, *if your tour travels outside the u.s. and/or involves cruise or air, we must have your full name as it appears on birth certificate, passport and/or driver license with photo..

*Please do not change boarding point without notifying ahead of time.

*See  General   Info  page for required deposit amounts.

*If you wish to use a credit card, after submitting your reservation, we will contact you by phone regarding credit card information. ​

Historic Brushy Mtn State Pen

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was the last place you wanted to be sent to. Most commonly known as the “End of the Line,” Brushy was a maximum-security prison that held murderers, robbers, rapists, and evil men who committed heartless crimes.

Tours are self-guided and former prison guards will be nearby to answer any questions or share a brief story. There are more than 30 stations, each containing the story of what happened in that particular spot. Some will talk of violent acts, killings. Others about the moments family members came to visit. And still others will give you a glimpse inside the troubled minds of the hardened criminals that served time at Brushy.

9182 State Hwy 116, Petros, TN 37845, USA

(423) 324-8687

Operating Hours

November Tours: 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST | Last Ticket Sold: 4 p.m. EST

The Warden’s Table & Gift Shop: 10:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. EST

Final Day of the Season: Sunday, November 29th

• Family Friendly
• Large Groups
• Group Rates
• Senior Discount Available
• Private Rentals Available

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We’ll pull together a list of great events, some ideas for beautiful scenic views, add a dash of insider tips, and deliver it right to your mailbox monthly.

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Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary tours: Historic 'hell on Earth' prison surprisingly fascinating

Being imprisoned with violent criminals in a remote, hard-knocks prison like the infamous Brushy Mountain Tennessee State Penitentiary is not something I would ever want to experience. 

But it was fascinating to get a glimpse of incarceration at the castle-like Brushy Mountain that has come back to life as a tourist attraction, complete with a restaurant, distillery and outdoor venue for concerts and events — and it was one of the best tours I've ever taken.

The prison tour allows visitors to talk with a former guard, explore the cell blocks and walk the prison yard as we tried to imagine this "hell on Earth" slammer that operated from 1896 until 2009 in Petros, Tenn.

Thousands of murderers

Brushy Mountain housed thousands of murderers and other life-sentence criminals, like  James Earl Ray , the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Byron "Low Tax" Looper, who was convicted of killing his Tennessee Senate opponent, Tommy Burks.

Brushy Mountain was known as the "'end of the line" for prisoners like Ray, and the tour gives you an insider look at this maximum security facility.  

What you will see

The tour starts with an 18-minute documentary screening in the former prison chapel. The film features former guards telling graphic stories of inmates, the violence and what it was like spending years behind the 18-foot-tall walls.

The guided tours, led by former guards and inmates, take visitors through the cell blocks where they can see Ray's final cell assignment, #28, and dozens of other prison cells.

The bare bones 8-by-10-foot lockups included a metal bunk bed, a toilet and a sink. They were sometimes shared by four men — two sleeping in the cell, while the other two worked in the coal mines, except on Sundays, when all four men would be confined to the Spartan cell.  

You will also see the exercise yard, laundry room, showers, gymnasium, cafeteria and  "The Hole" — one of the most powerful stops —where the most troublesome inmates were sent to endure scant food and cramped conditions for as long as 30 days in complete darkness.

Our guide, Bill Harvey, who worked at the prison as a guard from 1981-2002, ushered us into some of "The Hole's" five 6-by-8-by-3-foot solitary confinement cells and turned off the lights to help us imagine what a prisoner would have experienced.

Harvey said "The Hole" inmates were provided two pots, one with water and one to use as a toilet. Brushy officials said "The Hole" inmates' daily food ration was a bowl of "pureed nastiness." 

The chow hall was home to several stories of "stickin's" and "stabbings," Harvey said, including one of an inmate killing that involved a meat cleaver. There was another story of an inmate who was beaten to death in the cafeteria with a boat paddle.

Don't miss the murals throughout the cafeteria, many of which were created by inmate Tim Cross, who Brushy officials said is out on parole and selling his artwork on Facebook.

The museum has display cases filled with confiscated knives inmates crafted from parts of their bunks — and even one carved from a toothbrush. It also showcases innovative methods used by visitors to smuggle in drugs for inmates, including a secret compartment in the bottom of a flip flop and a hiding place within the pages of a Bible. You will also see leg irons, handcuffs, ledgers of prisoner activities and several pieces of art created by inmates.   

How Brushy became a tourist attraction

In 2012, Chattanooga entrepreneur Pete Waddington saw the prison on a charity motorcycle ride through Morgan County and immediately called his business partner, Brian May, saying, "You have to see this place," and that they "had" to do something with it.

May and Waddington's research found two of the fastest growing segments of the national tourism industry were prison tours and distillery tours.    

The prison, which reopened as a tourist attraction in 2018 , was originally on 286 acres in Morgan County. Two hundred acres were added to the adjoining Frozen Head State Park through an easement. Now, the 86 acres of the Brushy Mountain prison tract is owned by the Morgan County Economic Development Board and leased to May and Waddington. 

They created a restaurant, gift shop and tasting room out of a storage building and built a distillery in an old boiler building, leaving most of the prison itself in its existing condition. 

In Morgan County, where jobs are scarce, Brushy is a boon, with 48-60 employees and as many as 115 during special events.

"It has been a win-win for Morgan County," said Lisa Collett, executive director of the Morgan County Economic Development Board. "We are a distressed county, and the (prison) tourism is wonderful." 

"People who come don't expect it to be all of this," May said.

The first year's attendance was 40,000 visitors, and May expects 100,000 this year.

"People are surprised for this prison to be 100 years old and to be in as good a shape as this," he said.

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Brushy Mountain facts

The penitentiary was built by prisoners in the 1930s after the original wooden building burned. The stone prison, built in the shape of a cross, was designed to house 450-600 inmates, but at times, it held almost 1,200.

The exterior and the 18-foot-tall walls surrounding the prison are built out of  stone quarried on the prison property. Some of the walls are three feet thick. 

The prisoners were all serving life sentences, until 1984, when Brushy became a general population inmate prison. 

Until the late 1960s, Brushy inmates provided free labor to   coal mines   in the area. There was also a 60-acre working farm that supplied food for the prison.

When Ray escaped in 1977 , he was gone for 54 hours before being captured in a manhunt led by the FBI.

One of the best stories was of inmate James Slagle, in for kidnapping and murder, who practiced yoga and packed himself in a box labeled "153 pounds of roast beef" that went out of the prison on a flatbed truck. He was captured shortly after his clever escape. 

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Going to Brushy Mountain State Prison

Where : Brushy Mountain State Prison is located in the mountains of Petros, Tenn., about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Nashville and 50 minutes from Knoxville.

Admission : Self-guided tours are $15 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under. Guided tours are $25 for adults and $15 for childen and there are senior and military discounts. On weekdays, at least one former guard is on hand during the tour to provide commentary and answer questions. On weekends, two former guards and two former prisoners are stationed along the tour. 

You can also arrange for group tour for 15 or more people by making online reservations. Most of the the guided tours are at 9:30 a.m. and are led by former inmates or former prisoners.

There are paranormal tours from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. for six people for $480. A paranormal tour from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for 12 people is $1,500. The paranormal tours are 4-to-7 hours long. The customer can choose how long they want to stay in the prison. 

There is a 10 percent discount for military and seniors.

Hours : 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday in April and seven days a week starting in May. Allow at least an hour for a tour. The last ticket is sold at 5 p.m.

Distillery : The onsite distillery makes End of the Line Moonshine and will soon be making Frozen Head vodka. There are distillery tours and $5 tastings any time Brushy is open. If you buy a bottle, your $5 tasting fee is applied to the price of the bottle.

Restaurant : The Warden's Table serves barbecue, burgers and salads at affordable prices. Most items are $12 or less.

Concerts : A 2018 Jamey Johnson concert, which drew 4,000 fans, set the stage for what the owners hope is a monthly concert series this year on the prison grounds. There are other events too includingn a rodeo and car show and the owners hope to add an RV park and campgrounds. 

Contact : 423-324-8687

Where: 9182 Hwy 116, Petros, TN 37845

Details :  https://tourbrushy.com/

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or [email protected] . Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap , and at Tennessean.com/mscheap , and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”

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Brushy Mountain: A Prison for a Century, Now East Tennessee Tourist Attraction

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The first thing you notice about Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary is the bone-chilling cold of the place. 

The proprietors of the century-old prison, in recent years a tourist attraction in a beautiful valley in East Tennessee, warn visitors taking the tour they should expect temperatures inside the prison buildings to be 10 degrees colder than outside.

It’s almost certainly on account of the thick stone walls and only intermittent shafts of sunlight that reach the cells and cellblocks along the route of the tour. It is also, perhaps, the lasting echoes of the menace and violence that played out inside for a hundred years. 

It’s an unlikely place, as well as an ingenious place, for a tourist attraction. The day that I walked through Brushy – that’s the fond nickname for the prison and tourist spot – there was very little light-hearted banter and laughter from others on the tour. The weight of the place seems to tamp down spirits.

And then there are the spirits in the gift shop. Brushy features not only the tour but a restaurant called the Warden’s Table and the End of the Line Distillery, which makes and sells a variety of liquors with names like Scared Straight Tennessee Moonshine. Also in the gift shop are Brushy caps, coffee mugs, and soap on a rope.

This is a very different Brushy than the prison from which James Earl Ray, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s convicted assassin, escaped in June 1977. 

But even though it’s a different Brushy, it’s still a part of the small town of Petros – pronounced, I’m told, Pete Ross – home to about 500 residents whose households were once largely those of the men who worked as guards in the prison. In the past five years, the people of Petros have been living with an attraction that brings visitors to town, curious to see first-hand the place where hard time was truly hard time.

Petros Public Library Director Carol Smith Beene said in an interview that there’s been an adjustment for those in the town who, like her, have a long family history with Brushy. Her husband and “his whole family” worked at the prison. “For many people in the town, that’s true. Generations have worked there.”

Now the town is learning to live life with a very different function in the prison and a different economic model: tourism instead of incarceration.

‘How Things Have Changed’

On this sunny October Saturday, swarms of all-terrain vehicles roar into the gravel parking lot just down the hill from the prison. The gift shop, where Brushy visitors can buy $20 tickets for the self-guided tour, is just off the parking lot, and so is the Warden’s Table, which, the brochure notes, “Offers up the kind of classic Southern comfort food prisoners only dreamed about: generous portions of slow-cooked BBQ, massive baked potatoes loaded with toppings, nachos, burgers. Oh, how things have changed.”

The modern-day Brushy walks this fine line – for the most part successfully – between being a kitschy tourist stop and a grim reminder of the history of Tennessee incarceration.

Established by the state in 1896, born out of a dispute over unpaid convict labor in coal mines and a lockout, Brushy was in its early days a wooden structure built by convicts, who also mined coal and built a railroad spur so that coal could be shipped out. By the end of the century, the convict miners were producing 1,000 tons of coal a day. 

The original prison was replaced by an imposing, castle-like stone structure finished in 1935. Built to hold 600 inmates, the prison often swelled from twice that many convicts crammed into its cells.

Life at the prison over the next 70 years was harsh. In an introductory film played for visitors taking the tour, former guards recall brutal attacks, usually of inmates upon inmates, that left floors, prisoners and guards covered in blood. We’re left to assume the threat of violence went both ways: one guard who was interviewed on film was nicknamed “Ballbat.” 

In the modest museum inside the prison, displays include not only weapons and contraband taken from prisoners but a pair of brass knuckles that belonged to a former warden and a wooden-handled strap used to whip prisoners. 

It’s that history of violence that intrigues many of those who visit Brushy. No doubt many of us can try to imagine ourselves in the place of prisoners and the dread they would feel, particularly those in the Hole, a cellblock isolated from the rest of the prison and consisting of a handful of small cells, where “troublesome” prisoners would be sent to live in isolation and darkness for days or weeks or even months. 

Besides the metal bunks, the cells in the Hole included two buckets, one for water and the other the toilet. Even with the doors to the four-foot-by-eight-foot-by-10-foot cells open, the Hole feels oppressive. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like after the door slammed shut. The Hole was in use until the 1960s.

Outside the walls and in the kind of daylight prisoners in the Hole once yearned for, the keen rumble of the ATVs subsides as visitors file in to eat lunch and buy tour tickets. People stand in a long line to order and eat at the Warden’s Table. One woman approaches the gift shop checkout with a double armload of bottles of vodka and whisky. 

The ATV riders – who later congregated at a little bar and grill along the road leading into Petros – are visitors from Morgan County’s other major tourist attraction, the Windrock Park Campground. 

“Thousands of people come to Windrock,” Beene said. “The back side of Petros to the West connects to Windrock. The ATVs are due to Windrock.”

Pam Gunter of the Morgan County Tourism Alliance agreed. “Brushy is a destination as they’re out on the trails, for lunch or dinner, and a destination is what everybody is after. Those ATVs just pour in from the hills.”

Gunter said that the wilderness of Morgan County makes it easy to promote.

“What we brag about is that we have the beauty of the Smokies but none of the crowds,” she said.

The beauty of the heavily wooded hillsides around Brushy are visible through some of the windows in the prison, including one just outside the Hole.

‘We Will Be Your Best Neighbor’

Pete Waddington, one of the owners of the Brushy Mountain tourist attraction, already had a background in restaurants in Chattanooga when, upon catering an event for fellow motorcycle enthusiasts, he and some friends rode up to the former prison, which had been closed since 2009.

“It was closed but the warden at the time allowed us access because our event was for a good cause,” he said. “It was just sitting there empty and I looked at my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and said, ‘I’m gonna buy this place.’”

After Waddington, who is partners with Brian May in the venture, was able to convince state and local authorities, including the Morgan County Economic Development Board, to let him lease the former prison for a dollar a year, the work began. Although the electrical system was modernized and buildings including the gift shop, restaurant, distillery and a band shell were built, the prison’s atmosphere – peeling paint, rusting cell doors and dusty windows – was preserved. 

Brushy looks like the last prisoner got on the bus for transport to another prison an hour ago.

Adding the distillery was a challenge: Morgan County, like some others in Tennessee, was a dry county. To this day, Brushy distills and sells bottles of liquor but can’t serve it to guests at the Warden’s Table. The closest visitors can come is by buying for $5 a selection of five samples of liquor to buy in bottles to take home.

Waddington said Brushy has tried to be a good neighbor to Petros, donating $10,000 to the local animal shelter. Brushy is not only home to wedding ceremonies and concerts but events that benefit local causes. He said a dollar from every concert ticket sold is donated to the local fire department.

Gunter of the economic alliance group said Waddington and May “jumped into the middle of the community and said, ‘We will be your best neighbor,’ and that has been true. They’ll offer up their property for any kind of event we bring to them.”

Brushy the tourist attraction opened in August 2018, and one gets the feeling the government was happy to find new owners for the prison, outbuildings and 280 acres of rough, steep terrain. Waddington noted that the $15,000 monthly electric bill was only one expense the state was covering. 

The town was likely happy to find new owners too, he said. 

“There’s a ton of history in that town,” Waddington added. “Nobody in that town didn’t have family that worked there. They were happy it didn’t fall down.”

History and Family Tradition

The Hole and nearby D Block, the maximum-security section, held some of the most hardened inmates at Brushy. Among them was Ray, “arguably the prison’s most infamous inmate,” as Brushy says on a sign outside Cell 28, Ray’s customary cell located in the general population. Arrested and convicted of assassinating King in Memphis on April 4, 1968, Ray pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Ray later recanted his confession and escaped from Brushy on June 10, 1977, as part of a group of seven who got over the wall and escaped into the unforgiving, tree-covered hills surrounding the prison. He was recaptured three days later and, as Brushy’s signage notes, sent to D Block.

During his time at Brushy, Ray was targeted by other inmates. Four Black inmates fell upon him one day and stabbed him 22 times, but he survived, only to die from kidney disease and liver failure in a Nashville prison hospital in 1998.

Newspaper accounts from the time noted that Petros residents joined in the search for Ray.

Beene said Brushy was “a family tradition” for Petros. The family of her husband, who passed away three years ago, worked at Brushy, dating back to his great-grandfather, who came to the area with the engineer who designed the coal mine. “Every generation has had multiple Beenes who worked at the prison.”

The closing of the prison and redevelopment as tourist attraction left some Petros residents saddened, Beene noted. “Some people in the town said, ‘We’re losing our small-town community.’ Especially in a little town where everybody knows everybody, the change is startling. I do grieve it. I grieve that I used to know everybody’s name.” Beene will leave her post as the Petros library director at the end of the year, but after six years at the library and 30 years as a teacher before that, she said it was time for a change. 

The relationship between the town and the new Brushy “seems to be going well,” she said. “It has brought a lot of outsiders to the community, In terms of money, it’s really good for the community. Once the prison closed, there was no one else to bring money into the community.”

Waddington said the ideal circumstance is for people to tout Brushy in word of mouth and the numbers of visitors will build.

“Somebody can come and take the tour and get a good lunch and buy a bottle of ’shine and a T-shirt and … go back and tell their neighbors in a cul-de-sac in Ohio, ‘You gotta visit this place on your way to Florida.’”

The precedent for a prison-turned-tourist-attraction is, of course, Alcatraz, off the coast of California. The comparison is apt, Waddington said.

“After all they used to call Brushy the Alcatraz of the South.”

Keith Roysdon is a Tennessee writer of news and pop culture articles. His first crime novel, “Seven Angels,” is set in Tennessee and won the 2021 Hugh Holton Award for Best Unpublished Novel from Mystery Writers of America Midwest. His third co-authored true crime book, “The Westside Park Murders,” was named Best Nonfiction Book of 2021 by Indiana Society of Professional Journalists. 

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Knoxville Backyard & Beyond

Why You Should Tour Historic Brushy Mountain Prison

Famous escapes, forced labor, coal mining, riots, and a pet deer make a tour of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary a fascinating look at some of Tennessee’s more obscure history

Tucked away into a small corner of the Cumberland Mountains, Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary is a former maximum security prison turned tourist attraction, whiskey distillery, and concert venue. It is well worth a visit to learn about the notorious prison’s compelling history, told first hand from former guards and inmates.

The official name is Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary but that’s quite the long name so you will often see it called Brushy Mountain Prison. Or, if you are local, just Brushy.

I first visited Brushy Mountain as a veterinary student working on the dairy cows at the prison farm, back when it was still a working prison. Minimum security prisoners could work on the farm, which they enjoyed, as it gave them something to do outside of their cells.

The place fascinated me then as a student and, after it closed in 2009 and was leased by some entrepreneurs to begin its second life as a tourist attraction/ historical site, I was eager to see behind the walls of Brushy. It did not disappoint.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about visiting Brushy Mountain Prison – where it is, when to go, what to see, ticket prices, whether the tour is appropriate for kids, and the loads of other things you should see in the area, like Frozen Head State Park and the Obed River.

Where Is Brushy Mountain Prison?

Located in tiny Petros, TN (population 502), Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary is 30 minutes northwest of Oak Ridge, an hour northwest of Knoxville, and 2.5 hours east of Nashville. It is surrounded by the Cumberland Mountains, one of the many ranges that make up the Appalachian Mountains.

The prison backs up to Frozen Head State Park, an excellent tourist destination in its own right, with a great campground and hiking trails.

Find out why I think Frozen Head State Park is so great (hint- it’s the waterfalls and uncrowded nature) and why I love camping in its terrific campground .

Brief History Of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

I’ll go into a much more detailed description of the history of the prison at the end of the blog for those who are interested (it includes the side story about the pet deer). You will also learn quite a bit of history if you take the tour too. But for now, this is a brief history to get you started.

A prison was first built here in 1896, adjacent to a coal mine owned by the state of Tennessee, and the inmates were used as unpaid miners. Quite a profitable setup for the state.

It was dangerous in the mine, cave-ins were frequent, disease was rampant, and the prison was soon severely overcrowded. Sounds fantastic right? There is a reason the paranormal tour is so popular – there is a lot of violence, tragedy, and death in Brushy’s history.

The building you see now was built in the 1930s to replace the previous wooden building that was severely overcrowded. It is built in the shape of a cross to inspire “redemption” of its residents.

Mining with prison labor continued until the 1960s and the prison itself remained in operation until 2009. It was a maximum security prison, known as the “End Of The Line” because there was nowhere else to go from here.

James Earl Ray (the man who killed Dr. King) was Brushy’s most famous inmate. He and 6 other inmates escaped over the wall in 1977, but Ray was recaptured in just 2.5 days, beaten by the formidable terrain of the surrounding Cumberland Mountains.

His brief escape has inspired one of the most difficult ultra-marathons in the world, the famous Barkley Marathons , which are held every spring in adjacent Frozen Head State Park. Part of the course for the race goes through the prison grounds.

After Brushy was closed in 2009, it was leased to a group of entrepreneurs and turned into the distillery, restaurant, and concert venue it is today. They also organized tours of the prison, employing former guards and inmates to give the most authentic picture of what life was like “behind the walls.”

Again, if you want a more detailed history, involving a miner war with the state, inmates taking guards hostage, and a pet deer named Geronimo, then keep reading to the end of the blog or click here to skip ahead .

What You Can Do On A Visit To Brushy Mountain Prison

There are 3 main things to see on a visit to Brushy Mountain Prison:

• the Distillery
• the Warden’s Table – the restaurant by the distillery

When you first pull into the gates for Brushy, you will come up the drive and see a couple of one story buildings clustered together – this is the distillery, the gift shop, ticket office, and the restaurant.

The prison is set farther back into the holler, looking ominous in the distance. (At least I always thought so. These one story buildings were as far as I got when I was a vet student visiting Brushy when it was a working prison. This is where the prison dairy barn was located.)

1. Visiting The Distillery At Brushy Mountain

The distillery is the large building on the left across from the restaurant and gift shop in the photo above. The doors are usually open and you can peek in to see the large tanks fermenting the good stuff.

In the gift shop, you can do a tasting of the products from Brushy Mountain Distillery – I think it was $5 for 5 small samples last time I was there. Their signature product is their “End Of The Line” Moonshine and it comes in a bunch of flavors, like blackberry and honey. Also, they have whiskey, vodka, a bloody Mary mix, and a schnapps.

2. The Warden’s Table

The Warden’s Table is the restaurant onsite at Brushy Mountain. It serves southern food counter-style. Lots of BBQ choices, but also hamburgers, sandwiches, and loaded baked potatoes. There is also a kids menu, which I always appreciate.

The restuarant definitely buys into the prison schtick, with makeshift prison cells around some tables and memorabilia on the walls. And while not prison related, but I also like that there is a screened-in porch for eating outside.

3. Touring The Prison

You can walk around the outside of the prison free of charge but to enter the gates, you will need a ticket for one of the tours. Buy these online or at the ticket office located back down by the gift shop.

If you don’t want to pay for a tour, then you can see a little through the gates but you can’t see over the walls into the yard. You can however see the drainage tunnel running under the prison that you will recognize immediately if you have ever followed the Barkley Marathons. (Runners have to navigate this tunnel as part of the race.)

3 Different Tours Are Available Of The Prison

• Self-Guided Tour
• Guided Tours (public and private)
• Paranormal Overnight Tours

*To arrange a private guided tour, you will need to contact Brushy to arrange those. Click on “Private Guided Group Tours” on the website to book those.

What To Expect On A Tour Of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

The self-guided tour.

Time Needed: 1-2 or more hours, depending on how into it you get

Ticket Prices: $22 adults/ $17 kids 7-12/ $19.80 seniors and military

There are 30+ stops on the self- guided tour and you can take as long or as little as you want. There are signs at each stop and you follow the map around the buildings to each stop. There are also arrows pointing the way as well.

The signs are pretty good, with lots of pictures and information. There is also a small museum at the end, that shows an 18 minute movie as well as has display cases with memorabilia and more artifacts from the prison’s history.

Pros And Cons Of The Self- Guided Tour Of Brushy

You will easily get a good sense of the place and its history on the self-guided tour and I think it is well worth it. If you are coming here with kids or people who don’t want to hear some of the more gruesome stories, I would do the self- guided versus the guided tour.

Tour Times For The Self- Guided Tour:

• Online tickets must be purchased by 3 pm before but tickets can be purchased at any time before 5 pm at the ticket office onsite.
• Last entrance for the self- guided tour is at 5 pm (4pm in Nov).
• Tickets are never sold out for the self- guided tour.
• Spring (April & May): Thur- Sun, 1030am- 5pm (prison closes at 7pm)
• Summer (June, July, Aug): everyday, 1030am – 5pm (prison closes at 7pm)
• Fall (Sept & Oct): Thur- Sun, 1030 am – 5pm (prison closes at 7pm)
• November: Sat & Sun, 1030am- 4pm, (prison closes at 530pm)

The Guided Tour

Time Needed: 2.5- 3 hours

Ticket Prices: $32 adults/ $22 kids 7-12/ $28.80 seniors and military

This is the tour led by former guards and inmates and it is well worth the time and money to hear about life in Brushy from someone who actually lived it. They will walk you through all the buildings and cover the information you can find on the signs but will also stop at certain points and add in personal stories.

The website says the tour lasts 60-90 minutes and then you are free to walk around to explore the museum on site or go back through the buildings after it is over. But in my experience, the tours last more like 90-120 minutes as the tour leaders like to talk.

The guided tour can be very dependent on which tour leader you have. I have had a former guard who was laconic but well- spoken and very thorough. And I have also had a former inmate whose stories were a bit more offsides and had a super thick East TN accent. (I felt sorry for people visiting from other states who were clearly left clueless with some of the expressions he used. They were charmed by him nonetheless.)

You don’t get to choose your tour guide, you are assigned one when you show up for the tour.

Pros And Cons Of The Guided Tour Of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

This is not a tour I would take kids on nor anyone who is a bit squeamish with violence. Some of the stories involve murder; like shivs in the cafeteria or the time there was a riot and several white inmates shot black inmates in their cells. These stories are also covered by the information signs but there is something about hearing it reenacted for you step by step that makes it more real.

The guides do a wonderful job conveying what life in a prison is like and the overall sense of constantly simmering violence in a way that I don’t think you get with the self- guided tour. But it is a long tour, with a lot of standing and walking, it can be a little too real at times, and occasionally feel a bit voyeuristic for me. So I don’t think the guided tour is for everyone.

But if you are fascinated by the history of Brushy Mountain Prison, James Earl Ray, or this part of East Tennessee, the guided tour is a must-do. Also, getting a first-hand account of life “behind the walls” is not something you will have a chance to do forever as it has already been 15 years since Brushy closed.

The other big plus of doing the guided tour, is that you get a chance to go in the prison before it opens to the public. The guided tours start at 930am while admission for the self- guided tour doesn’t start until 1030am.

*They also offer private guided tours for groups of at least 15 people. Contact Brushy Mountain if you are interested in that.

Tour Times For The Guided Tour

• All guided tours start at 930am year- round
• Space is limited and tickets must be purchased online at least 12 hours before
• Spring (April & May): Fri, Sat, Sun
• Summer (June, July, Aug): Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun
• Fall (Sept & Oct): Fri, Sat, Sun
• November: Sat & Sun

The Overnight Paranormal Tour Of Brushy

Time Needed: 9pm- 4am

Ticket Price: $150 per person, must be 18 (16+ with parent)

This is the only tour I haven’t taken of the prison so I don’t have first- hand knowledge of what to expect. I am not a superstitious person normally but the extreme amount of violence and tragedy that have happened within these walls is enough for me to say nope. If there was ever a place that would be haunted, it would be Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

If you do decide to do the tour (and I have heard good things about it if that is your cup of tea), then you start with a short guided tour at 9pm. Then you are left to wander about most of the buildings until 4am or you can stay with the guide. The guide is a local woman who grew up in Petros and has lots of experience investigating the paranormal.

Tour Information And Booking

• Tours must be booked at least 24 hours ahead of time.
• If at least 8 people haven’t signed up then the tour is canceled and they will reschedule. They will give you advance notice of the rescheduled date.
• Paranormal tours can be scheduled 7 days a week throughout the year.
• You must sign a waiver to book this tour.

Tips For Touring Brushy Mountain Prison

There is a modern restroom building in the middle of the yard inside the prison walls as well as in the gift shop/ restaurant. I would recommend using the restroom before taking the guided tour as there wasn’t really a moment to stop and use it before the tour was over and it was a long tour.

Food/ Drink

I don’t know if food or drink is officially allowed inside the prison but I have had my coffee cup and a water bottle on my tours (as did many people) and no one said anything.

You can get lunch or dinner at the Warden’s Table restaurant down by the distillery. It is open 1030am- 7pm (630 pm in Nov) on the days that Brushy is open.

What To Wear

The prison has no heat and air conditioning so keep that in mind.

In winter, Brushy can be much cooler than say, Knoxville. Wear warm clothes.

In the summer, the thick stone buildings keep the buildings cooler than you might think but it still gets warm by late afternoon. I would definitely go early and wear light clothing.

The Cumberland Mountains have notoriously fickle weather too so bring a rain jacket if it looks at all like rain. There isn’t a ton to see outside but there is some and you need to walk between buildings.

There is a lot of walking on the tour, and lots of stairs, so I would wear comfortable shoes too. They prefer if you don’t wear flip-flops.

Only service animals are allowed inside Brushy and there is no onsite doggie daycare.

You could try a local dog groomers or vet clinic in nearby Wartburg that offers dog grooming to see if you could drop them off for a bath while you tour Brushy. You will need to organize this ahead of time though.

Cell Service

Like so many places tucked up into hollers in the mountains, cell service is iffy at Brushy. You can get decent service at the distillery and the parking lots, but once you enter the prison walls, I had spotty connection. Enough to send a text from the yard but nothing inside the buildings.

Directions To Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

Brushy is located in Petros,TN which is a tiny town just outside of Wartburg. It is a couple of miles off of Hwy 62, which is a main highway in the area. You can put “Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary” or “Brushy Mountain Distillery” into Google Maps and it will take you there.

Hwy 62 extends from Oak Ridge west to Monterey, which is an exit on Interstate 40 between Cookeville and Crossville. So it isn’t terribly hard to get to Brushy Mountain from either the east or the west. While Hwy 62 is a curvy mountain road in places, because it is a highway, it isn’t the worst.

If you are coming from Chattanooga, then I would take Hwy 27 the whole way. It goes right through Wartburg where you would take a right onto Hwy 62 and go for a few miles until you see the turnoff for Petros.

From Hwy 62, you will see the turnoff for Petros and Hwy 116 North. There is a sign for Historic Brushy Mountain State Pen and a big gas station across from the intersection. Stay on the road through downtown Petros (very small, just some churches and a post office) and then you will come to the entrance to Brushy on your left, 3 miles after you turned off of Hwy 62.

Download Google Maps for offline use in case you lose cell service in the mountains.

Where To Stay Near Brushy Mountain

Frozen Head State Park

Frozen Head State Park has a great front-country campground and several nice primitive campsites as well. The campground is pretty small and the sites are not set up for large RVs though, so you might want to look elsewhere if you are pulling a huge 5th wheel.

Read more about camping in Frozen Head State Park .

Big South Fork

Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area is one of my favorite parks in the Cumberland Mountains. It is about 2 hours away from Brushy but it could make a fantastic day trip if you were staying in Big South Fork for a couple of days. There are 5 campgrounds in Big South Fork to choose from.

Read more about camping in Big South Fork and all the things you can do in this fantastic national recreation area.

Cabin Rentals

Heads up- There are potential affiliate links below. See our  full disclosure policy  to find out why we don’t accept freebies or sponsored visits and what our affiliate links mean for you cost-wise (hint- nothing).

With Brushy Mountain, Windrock Park, Frozen Head and the Obed River all right in the area, there are tons of cabins rentals in this area.

You can click the link above to see a complete listing of available cabin rentals in Petros or check out some of these below that I think are the best.

Main Street Farmhouse close to Windrock. A 4 BR/ 2 BA cute farmhouse in the middle of Petros (address 307 Main St if you want to find it on Google Maps). A fully remodeled house that can sleep up to 15 people, this is a great location for exploring the area. Averages $400 a night.

Modern Farmhouse Near Windrock . A beautiful 4 BR/ 2 BA farmhouse on 62 acres with a nice outdoor firepit. Can sleep 10 and averages $134 a night. Located close to the entrance of Frozen Head State Park as it is not far off the main highway near the Marathon Station in Petros.

Private – Secluded Cabin, close to Windrock.  This small 1 BR/ 1 BA cabin has an outside firepit to die for and is in quiet surroundings. Can sleep 4 and averages $200 a night. Close to Frozen Head State Park but nearer Petros and Windrock Park.

Hotels Near Brushy Mountain Prison

You will not find many options for hotels in this neck of the woods. Your best bet would be to look in Oak Ridge, about 30 min from Brushy.

The Holiday Inn Express Oak Ridge is one of my top choices for a hotel in Oak Ridge. I always like a Holiday Inn Express when I travel just because it has such a reliable level of service and amenities. Especially when traveling with kids, I appreciate the included breakfast.

Check prices for this hotel:

• IHG Website
• Booking.com

A More Detailed History Of Brushy Mountain Prison

This is going to get a little long but bear with me because even from its beginning, Brushy is so interwined with the history of Tennessee and this area specifically. And knowing a bit about its history will make your visit way more interesting, promise.

*Some of this history is tidbits picked up from our tour guide – a former guard at the prison.

Using Convicts To Dig For Coal

With the explosion of the railroad and the Industrial Revolution, America’s appetite for coal was massive by the late 1800s. But the work was hard and dangerous and when miners began striking for better pay and conditions, the mine owners would often lease convicts from the state instead.

The Coal Creek War Of 1892

The miners were obviously unhappy with competition from the prisoners and the widespread conflict came to a head in 1891 in the town of Coal Creek (now called Rocky Top), just north of Brushy. Local miners raided the prisoner work camp and sent them packing.

The governor sent in state troops to protect the prisoners and the work camps, thus beginning the Coal Creek War of 1892 between the state and the miners, leaving multiple people dead on both sides. The state won the war but lost the public opinion battle in the state, as well as nationally.

Also, all the money the state made from leasing convicts to the mine had to go towards maintaining the troops protecting them so it wasn’t economically feasible to keep the convict lease program going.

Brushy Mountain Prison Was Built In 1896

So, instead of leasing their prisoners to others, the state of Tennessee decided to go into business for themselves and open their own coal mine, using prisoners as free labor. A wooden prison building called Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was built in 1896 in Petros, railroad tracks were laid to the adjacent Frozen Head Mine, and the state was in business.

The Early Years At Brushy: 1896- 1930s

Brushy Mountain was a horrible place to be incarcerated and men frequently died either in mining accidents, from disease, or were murdered by other inmates. Prisoners ranged from murderers to petty theft convicts but everyone worked in the mine, regardless of their crime.

The Brushy cemetery has hundreds of graves, many unmarked, as record keeping was poor and many of the inmate’s families were either not notified or were too poor to come and pick up the body. (This fact, and the terrible conditions that existed inside the prison, make the paranormal tour extremely popular at Brushy. And why that tour is a hard no for me. If anywhere was going to be haunted, it would have to be here.)

Black men made up most of the prison population, reflecting the racial biases of the era. By the 1930s, the prison housed 3 times the population it was built for and day and night shift workers had to split the same bed. It attracted state and national attention for the dire conditions of its inmates.

The Modern Era At Brushy: 1930s- 2000s

A new and larger structure (the one you see today) was built in the 1930s to begin to rectify the horrific reputation of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It was built in the shape of a cross when seen from above, in order to inspire the convicts to redemption. (I feel like closing the hellish mine might have had a better effect but that’s me.)

Work at the mine, however, continued until 1966, when coal was no longer as profitable for the state and a new warden wanted the forced labor to stop.

The prison was classified as a maximum security prison in 1969 but the new, minimum security section allowed prisoners to work on the dairy farm (where I once worked) and man the volunteer fire department in Petros. Some of Tennessee’s most dangerous criminals continued to be housed “behind the walls” though. (More on who these guys were below.)

A union strike by the guards for better pay and conditions was mounted in 1972 and the prison was closed down for 4 years. Even after it opened back up, the guards complained that they still did not have enough staff to maintain watch over everything. Which is perhaps why James Earl Ray’s escape in 1977 was successful.

In 1982, seven white inmates used a pistol smuggled inside the prison to hold a guard hostage and attack a group of 4 black inmates. They killed two but the other two survived by hiding behind their mattresses. Many people thought the incident was in retaliation for the stabbing of James Earl Ray by some black prisoners the year before, but others thought it was just more of the gang violence typical of Brushy.

What About The Deer You Mentioned?

In the 1970s, a fawn appeared on the grounds of Brushy Mountain. Some say he fell from the bluff into the prison yard, others say a guard brought him to the prison as a pet. And a pet he was, adopted by the inmates and named Geronimo. Apparently he liked to eat cigarette butts (uhh okay – surprising that the prisoners would give up such a valuable thing to feed a deer).

When the prison was briefly closed 1972- 1976 because of the guard strike, Geronimo was left behind as the prisoners were moved to a jail in Nashville. The deer and the inmates were so all so sad about this separation that the state paid to move Geronimo to the jail in Nashville to rejoin his friends.

This is my favorite part of this story, picturing hardened criminals missing their pet deer and the state of Tennessee caring enough about their mental well- being to move said deer.

Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending though. Geronimo did not enjoy life in Nashville, kicking up a fuss and eventually breaking his leg, which veterinarians then had to amputate. No one knows what happened to him after that.

Brushy’s Second Life As A Tourist Attraction: 2009 – now

In 2001, Tennessee expanded the nearby Morgan County Correctional Institute (just 15 minutes away, located by the entrance to Frozen Head State Park) into a massive and modern facility, housing around 2100 inmates. The decision to close Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was made in 2009 as it was too small and too expensive to run, especially with the more modern prison right there.

Generations of Morgan County residents have made their living associated with Brushy and the TN Department of Corrections so they were pleased to be able to keep jobs in the area with the new prison.

A group of entrepreneurs from Chattanooga then leased Brushy Mountain from the county in 2013 and turned into the distillery, restaurant, and concert venue it is today. They also organized the tours of the prison buildings, employing former guards and inmates.

James Earl Ray – Brushy Mountain Prison’s Most Famous Inmate

If you aren’t familiar with the name, James Earl Ray was the man convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968. He was on the run afterwards but eventually arrested in the UK in June 1968 and extradited back to TN.

After his conviction and sentencing, Ray ended up in Brushy to serve out his 99 years in 1970. He had several escape attempts before his successful one, including removing bars from his cell and trying to climb a tunnel out through the steam plant. Eventually, he and 6 other inmates managed to construct a ladder and climb up a wall in the back of the yard while other inmates provided a distraction.

The FBI, TBI, and all of the alphabet of law enforcement agencies descended upon the area to hunt James Earl Ray. He was eventually found by some bloodhounds in the woods just a few miles from the prison 2.5 days later. He was wet and cold and unable to make his way to freedom through the harsh Cumberland Mountains. All of the other escapees were also found by the next day.

In 1981, Ray was stabbed 22 times by 3 black inmates in the prison library, some say in retaliation for the murder of Dr. King. Remarkably, he survived but he contracted hepatitis from one of the blood transfusions during the surgery and died of liver failure in 1998. As our tour guide put it, Brushy killed him after all.

More information about Brushy’s history:

I found these websites to be a great source of information when reading up on the history of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

• Brushy’s History – the official website of Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
• Back to Brushy Mountain: the historic prison’s past and future – WBIR news story
• Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary – Discover America blog
• Manhunt in the mountains: James Earl Ray and the Brushy Mountain Prison breakout of 1977 – Knoxville News- Sentinel article

Other Places To Check Out Near Brushy Mountain Prison

In the Cumberland Mountains and on the Cumberland Plateau

This area has almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to things to do, especially outdoor activities.

Frozen Head State Park I have already mentioned but you should absolutely check it out while you are in the area, even if just for the afternoon. Lots of cool hikes, pretty waterfalls, and nice playgrounds in this small state park make it one of my favorites in East Tennessee.

Windrock Park is the place to go if you are into off- roading, whether on ATV or mountain bike. It is routinely named one of the best off-road parks in the US.

Obed Wild And Scenic River is a mecca for kayakers and rock climbers but is also fun for hikers, campers, and those who are just here for the scenic overlooks. Check out the visitor center in Wartburg to get more info from the park rangers there on where to go.

Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area is another national park entity in the area, albeit an hour and 45 minutes away. But it is well worth the journey, with some of the most spectacular hiking trails in the state.

Elsewhere in East Tennessee

The American Museum Of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge is an excellent place to learn about the cutting edge science Oak Ridge was built to do in WW2 and is still doing today. Interactive science exhibits for kids to play with.

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge was hands down my kids favorite place to spend the day when they were in elementary and pre- school. Built in a former elementary school , the museum has a different exhibit in each of the former classrooms. So the kids can go from space to a wildlife habitat to playing with toy boats in a system of locks to the rainforest all in one building. So fun!

The Museum of Appalachia is just an hour away from Brushy Mountain and is a wonderful place to spend the day with the family. An interactive, living- history kind of museum where you can walk around and explore all kinds of historic structures from around Appalachia, this place is fun for all ages.

Final Thoughts

I hope you have the chance to explore Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. Whether you take the self- guided or guided tour, it is a unique chance to learn about some of Tennessee’s more obscure and compelling history from people that lived it.

Happy Trails ! – Amanda

Amanda co-founded Knoxville Backyard & Beyond so she could write about her hometown Knoxville and the East Tennessee area. She also runs Simply Awesome Trips, a general travel website for families, as well as freelance writing for other major travel blogs.

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Explore Petros, TN

Historic brushy mtn. state pen.

The damnation of many an evil man, the salvation of a humble few. Welcome to the End of the Line.

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was the last place you wanted to be sent to. Known as the “End of the Line,” Brushy was a maximum-security prison that held murderers, robbers, rapists, evil men who committed heartless crimes with little remorse. Once you came here there was little chance you’d leave here. Prison sentences were 200 years or more.

Today, you can tour this historic landmark, visit the museum, eat a meal at The Warden's Table and purchased End of the Line Moonshine, distilled on site.

Our 2019 season opens April 1st.

9182 Tennessee 116 Petros , TN 37845

For the most up-to-date hours and information, please contact Historic Brushy Mtn. State Pen directly.

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5 creepy prisons that you can tour, including those in Petros and Pigeon Forge

As long as the door swings both ways, visiting an historic prison can be an arresting experience. From haunted-looking Gothic castles to prisons that bear bitter testimony to man’s inhumanity to man, these five prison museums tell stories that deserve to be heard – during the Halloween season and beyond.

Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wander down Fairmount Avenue, just minutes from downtown  Philly , past pubs and eateries until you get to the the jaw-dropping sight of Eastern State Penitentiary, 11 acres of crumbling cell blocks and foreboding guard towers. Opened in 1829 as the world’s first and most famous penitentiary, Eastern State was an all-solitary confinement institution.

Designed by John Haviland, and considered quite enlightened at the time, some 300 prisons around the world copied its layout of 8-by-12-foot cells radiating out of a central rotunda. Once home to notorious criminals, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone, Eastern State closed in 1971 and was almost razed, save for preservationists' cries.

It opened for tours in 1994. "Terror Behind the Walls" serves as the historic sites’ annual fundraiser, with tours of four haunted houses, immersive interactive performances, themed bars and an audio guide narrated by actor Steve Buscemi. The place ranges from grim to terrifying – leave tots seven and under at home.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Angola Museum - St. Francisville, Louisiana

You’ve likely heard of the Angola Rodeo, even if you haven’t been to the inmate-fueled event at Louisiana’s most infamous prison. Even if the rodeo isn’t your cup of tea, the next time you’re anywhere near St. Francisville, 130-some miles northwest of  New Orleans , make time to stop into the Angola Museum.

Established by former warden Burl Cain in 1998, the museum is well worth a visit. Cain is the man credited for reducing violent incidents by 73 percent in the place once known as “The Bloodiest Prison in the South," and judging from the contents of this creepy place, he really had his work cut out for him.

Located just outside the gates, the museum features everything from terrifying homemade weapons taken from inmates over the years to a replica of an electric chair – in use in Louisiana until 1991. The museum shop is the place to buy Guts and Glory hot sauce, made from Angola-grown peppers, and T-shirts that say, "Angola: A Gated Community.”

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary - Petros, Tennessee

A brick-and-mortar testimony to the exploitation of prisoners, Brushy Mountain State Pen opened in 1896, providing free labor to the Tennessee Coal Mine in Anderson County. This dark chapter in the Tennessee coal mining industry set the stage for a bloody labor battle that turned Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary from a jail to a state coal mine, mined by prisoners who were literally worked to death in overcrowded conditions akin to a Siberian gulag.

Mining remained the sole mission of the prison until 1969 when it was reclassified as a maximum security prison. Brushy closed its doors in 2009.

Tours are self-guided, with former prison guards and inmates on hand to answer questions. There are more than 30 stops along the tour, as well as a map for traversing the prison grounds. The castle-like prison, where hardened criminals including James Earl Ray were confined, offers the Warden’s Table restaurant, an onsite distillery (End of the Line Moonshine) and the chance to take self-guided or private tours – private is really the way to go.

There’s even a campground on site, a location that might lead to troubled slumber for the faint of heart.

Alcatraz - San Francisco, California

This fortress in San Francisco Bay – called The Rock – housed Al Capone and a slew of dangerous criminals. Although there were more than a dozen escape attempts, none succeeded, all foiled by the bay's rough waters and resident sharks.

Now,  Alcatraz  is  San Francisco 's most popular attraction and part of one of the most visited national parks in the country. Offering day tours, behind-the-scenes tours and night visits, explore the windswept island accompanied by the award-winning "Doing Time: Cellhouse" audio tour, which you can download on your smartphone.

New attractions include access to the New Industries Building, with its exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the influential Occupation of Alcatraz by Indians of All Tribes.

Alcatraz East - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Located in the former Tennessee State Prison, which opened in 1898 just outside of Nashville, this museum is just one of Pigeon Forge’s many well-packaged family-geared attractions. This crime museum includes artifacts from Alcatraz, but isn’t really connected to the original prison.

Five galleries look at crime fighting, crime scene investigation (from DNA to blood splatter and beyond), history of American crime, punishment and pop culture. Billed as “a unique journey into the history of American crime,” Alcatraz East is “so much fun it’s a crime!”

Perfect for true crime fans, there are exhibits about CSI forensics and an infamous getaway cars exhibit that includes the Bronco from the O.J. Simpson chase. Although kids are welcome, that Ted Bundy exhibit might be quite a conversation starter.

Buy tickets in advance online or with a credit card – like many businesses trying to streamline during the pandemic, there is no cash accepted.

10Best  is a part of the USA TODAY Network — providing an authentically local point of view on destinations around the world — in addition to  travel and lifestyle advice .

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Tour a former hospital, asylum, or prison

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H ospitals, asylums, and prisons are not usually places people opt to visit while on vacation. But all over the country these historic, imposing structures are being repurposed as luxury hotels, apartment complexes, or academic campuses. Some have been renovated or restored, while others sit in a state of arrested decay. Guided or audio tours address the often-complicated histories and highlight the people who lived and died within the thick stone walls—and spirits of all kinds are helping to bring life back into these forgotten spaces.

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Central State Hospital opened in 1836 as the “State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum” in Milledgeville, located two hours southeast of Atlanta. Central State developed a notorious reputation, and has sat mostly abandoned for decades. Tours are available through the Milledgeville Visitor Center and held two days per month.

Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary opened in 1896, and at the time of its closing in 2008, it was the oldest operating prison in Tennessee. Brushy reopened as a tourist destination in 2018 and while it has its fair share of macabre tales, visitors will find an entirely different kind of spirit here: The Brushy Mountain Distillery produces 10 unique flavors of moonshine and offers tastings to the public.

Joliet Prison

From 1858 to 2002, the huge complex in Joliet, Illinois—with its 24 buildings and surrounding 25-foot-tall limestone wall—housed thousands of prisoners. Today, guided tours provide a glimpse into the prison’s complicated history. There's something here for everyone, including history buffs, film enthusiasts, and fans of the paranormal. Several movies and TV shows were filmed at the prison, including The Blues Brothers , Saw II , Let’s Go to Prison , and Prison Break .

Historic Cook County Hospital

Half a century ago, Cook County Hospital was treating more than 100,000 patients each year. Its emergency room was one of the busiest in the world and its operating rooms were among the first to try risky, innovative surgical techniques. Today, visitors to Chicago can check into the sprawling old Cook County Hospital thanks to a massive rehabilitation and redevelopment that has transformed the 1914 Beaux-Arts building. The vibrant complex now includes two Hyatt hotels, a food hall featuring Chicago cuisine, and an in-hotel museum that highlights the hospital’s history.

Ohio State Reformatory

Mansfield, OH

The Ohio State Reformatory , located in Mansfield, Ohio, opened in 1896 and housed more than 155,000 inmates during its nearly hundred years in operation. In 1993, just three years after it closed, the prison welcomed inmates once again—fictional residents that populate the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption . The prison reopened as a museum in 1995 and proceeds from tours and events help fund grounds maintenance and structural improvements.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, was designed by architect Richard Andrews following the Kirkbride plan and constructed between 1858 and 1881. The largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America opened to patients in 1864. Reaching a peak of 2,400 patients in the 1950s, the facility closed in 1994, and is now open for history and ghost tours.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Richardson-olmstead campus.

The Richardson Olmsted Campus , once home to the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, comprises 13 buildings: Three have been repurposed into a luxury hotel and the remaining 10 are still in a state of suspended ruin, abandoned since 1974. Public tours take visitors through two of the vacant buildings and into a renovated corridor of Hotel Henry. But more than offering a stunning before-and-after comparison, exploring the Richardson Olmsted Campus also provides an intimate glimpse into the complicated history of mental health care in the U.S.

Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison, operational from 1829 until 1971. The prison was one of the first examples of what would become known as the "Pennsylvania System" of incarceration, a system that encouraged separate confinement of prisoners. Now open as a museum, visitors can take self-guided or guided tours.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia, PA

Burlington County Prison

The Burlington County Prison , located in Mount Holly, New Jersey, was designed not only to minimize escapes, but also to serve as a space to reform inmates “through religious instruction, education, and vocational training.” Operating from 1811 until 1965, the Burlington County Prison was the oldest continuously-used prison in the U.S. at the time it closed and it reopened as a museum in 1966.

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Le Monastère des Augustines

For nearly 400 years—long before this site was a destination wellness hotel— Le Monastère des Augustines served as a cloister and hospital for Augustinian sisters. During the first half of the 19th century, the sisters also welcomed approximately 1,400 orphaned or abandoned children into their space. In the 1990s, the sisters decided to create a wellness hotel and museum; Le Monastère des Augustines officially opened in 2015.

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

Traverse City, MI

The Northern Michigan Asylum, later called the Traverse City State Hospital, opened in 1885, six decades before psychiatric drugs were first used. It provided mental healthcare for 104 years before it closed in 1989. Over the last two decades, the former hospital has been restored and transformed into luxury apartments, restaurants, and shops. What was the largest employer in Traverse City for 75 years is once again an essential part of the community, and it’s one of the largest historic adaptive reuse developments in the U.S.

When the Old Idaho Penitentiary first opened its doors in 1872, it took in the worst criminals in the West—including women and children as young as 10, simply because female- and juvenile-specific facilities didn’t yet exist. It closed in 1973 and today operates as a museum and National Historic Site. Several buildings have weathered away over time, leaving little more than the structure’s crumbling frame.

Old Idaho Penitentiary

Hot lake springs hotel.

The Hot Lake Springs Hotel in La Grande, Oregon, was featured in a 2001 episode of The Scariest Places on Earth . The Colonial Revival hotel is near the 8-acre Hot Lake, which is endowed by underground springs bubbling up a half-million gallons of water every day. The average temperature of the lake is a toasty 200 degrees Fahrenheit and it's been thought to have healing properties.

Banner Photo Credit: Alexandra Charitan

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9182 TN-116, Petros, TN 37845

BRUSHY MOUNTAIN DISTILLERY

The world's first (legal) prison distillery

Welcome to the end of the line.

Brushy Mountain was the last place you wanted to find yourself – right in the middle of Tennessee’s first maximum-security prison holding the state’s most violent murderers, robbers, and rapists for more than a century. With some sentences for 200 years or more, most of the men who walked through its gates would never be walking out again. Tours are self-guided, and former prison guards and former inmates will be nearby to answer any questions or share their stories. You’ll be provided with a map of the prison grounds as well. There are more than 30 stations, each containing the story of what happened in that particular spot. Some detail violent acts. Others describe the times when family members came to visit. Others still offer a glimpse inside the troubled minds of the hardened criminals who served time at Brushy.   As you move from one station to another, you'll be able to imagine what life would have been like behind these walls. The men they held had committed unforgivable crimes. Somehow, somewhere, their lives took a wrong turn, but they still had souls... The distillery is free to visit and separate from the prison tour. There's also a tasting bar located in the gift shop.   * You must be 21 years of age or older and have a valid state ID to sample. We look forward to seeing you when you come visit Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It will likely be an experience you carry with you the rest of your life.

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Did you know Brushy Mountain Distillery is a stop on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail ? Developed in 2017 by the Tennessee Distillers Guild, a group of 26 whiskey-making distilleries in TN, this guide to TN distillery tours is a must-do for whiskey lovers whether they live in the Volunteer State or are just traveling through. The trail itself spans 800 miles of rolling hills and sweeping Tennessee landscapes with nearly 30 distillery stops spread out across East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Brushy is one of the many destinations that make this trek a perfect adventure for any whiskey enthusiast.

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• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)

Tennessee Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Federal Prison on Child Exploitation Charges

NASHVILLE — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville investigation has led to the sentencing of a Tennessee man to more than 17 years in federal prison for the production, transportation and distribution of child sexual assault material.

U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry C. Leventis announced that Jonathon Aaron Ladd, 30, of Mt. Juliet, was sentenced May 21 to 210 months of incarceration. That term of imprisonment will be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

In 2020, Ladd made a sexually explicit video recording of a six-year-old girl in his care. He shared that video, along with another sexually explicit video of a different child, in an online chat application with other sexual predators.

A federal grand jury indicted the defendant in 2021 on one count of production of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography. On Sept. 21, 2023, he pleaded guilty to all counts in the indictment.

“This sentencing is a prime example of the joint efforts in which HSI works with our law enforcement partners to rescue children who are being sexually exploited,” said HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud. “Let this be a warning to anyone who engages in the abhorrent behavior of producing and distributing child sexual assault material. Our investigators work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to deliver justice to those who would harm our children.”

In addition to HSI Nashville, the Metro Nashville Police Department and the FBI Memphis Field Office Nashville Resident Agency investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Daughtrey prosecuted the case.

“Protecting children will always be a top priority for the Justice Department,” said Leventis. “In this case, as a result of the excellent work done by law enforcement and members of our office, the defendant will spend the next 17 years in federal prison and far away from children.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood , a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.