Bays Mountain Park

 
 
 


Bays Mountain Park is a city owned 3500 acre nature preserve located in Kingsport, just 25 minutes from our campground. I took a photo from the Lowe's parking lot so you can see it is in the city. After driving partway up the mountain, we hiked up a steep trail to the top of the ridge. There are 25 miles of trails. It was hard to get a photo because of all the trees, but we had a terrific view of the valley and part of the Appalachain Mountains in the distance.

During the Civil War, many people took refuge on top of the ridge and there was a secret trail from Kingsport to Knoxville.
From 1915 to 1944, the lake served as the water supply for Kingsport. Moonshine stills were found and confiscated as late as the 1960's.
The city wisely preserved the property and it now serves to help with environmental education.

On the way down, we saw a flock of wild turkeys who were camera shy. We didn't see any other people on this day. What a great area to escape civilization for a while and enjoy nature.