Kingsport

Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium brings together nature, hiking trails and a planetarium; the Kingsport Greenbelt offers paved paths and waterways. There are also historic sites and the Kingsport Carousel. Whether you want to spend time outdoors, explore history or plan around a particular attraction, the different focuses can help you organize your trip around your interests.

Nature and trails in Kingsport

Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium is a 3,788-acre nature preserve in Kingsport. With around 44 miles of hiking trails, the trail system is a major part of the nature experience. If you’re planning to spend most of your stay outdoors, you can take this into account when planning your trip. The park is also home to the Fire Tower, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937. This historic tower adds a tangible connection to the park’s history to its natural setting.

The park’s animal habitats are home to native Appalachian wildlife in human care. These include wolves, bobcats and red foxes, as well as birds of prey, reptiles and amphibians. The planetarium offers a different focus: its dome is 40 feet in diameter and has 93 seats. This makes the park a single destination in Kingsport that combines extensive hiking trails, animal habitats and a planetarium.

The Kingsport Greenbelt offers a different kind of trail experience. It has 10 miles of paved paths for walking and cycling and follows waterways from one side of the city to the other. Compared with the trails at Bays Mountain Park, both the paved surface and the route along the waterways are defining features here. For your planning, it’s therefore not just the distance that matters, but also the kind of trail you’d like to focus on.

History and culture

The restored Netherland Inn is on Old Stage Road in Boat Yard Park in downtown Kingsport. It is listed on the National Register of Historical Sites. Its downtown location and designated historic status give it a distinct place in Kingsport’s cultural history. If you’d like to include historic sites in your travel plans, this offers a specific connection to a restored place, rather than focusing solely on nature and trails when planning your stay.

The Exchange Place Living History Farm depicts a working farm in northeastern Tennessee in the pre-Civil War era, specifically from the 1830s to the 1850s. This time frame brings the setting for daily life and work to life. Festivals and special events feature demonstrations of historic skills, including open-hearth cooking, blacksmithing, spinning and weaving. These demonstrations take place as part of the events, so check the event dates before your trip.

The Kingsport Carousel offers a different cultural focus. Its features include hand-carved wooden animals, chariots and original paintings. The renovated frame dates to 1956 and was made by Allen Herschell. The combination of carved figures, paintings and the historic frame sets this attraction apart from places that primarily present history through a building or depictions of work in the past. This also lets you consider smaller, distinctive cultural topics as you plan your time in Kingsport.

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