
Bays Mountain Park
Kingsport is home to one of the largest city parks—Bays
Mountain Park and Planetarium. This 3,000-acre
nature preserve offers an array of activities
for all seasons and features 22-miles of hiking
trails and a 44-acre lake. A barge ride on the
lake is the perfect prescription for a quiet
escape to nature.
Open year-round, the park is framed on all sides
by mountain ridges with much of the park lying
in a natural basin. Since it is a protected haven,
animal life is abundant. Inside the nature center
is 40-foot, domed planetarium that offers shows
on different astronomy subjects daily through the
summer and on weekends September through May. A
freshwater aquarian allows a close-up look at native
fish and their surroundings. The nature center
also features natural history, early pioneering
and space sciences.
Native animals, including gray wolves, bobcats,
deer and otters, are housed near the nature center.
A quarter-acre waterfowl and wading bird enclosure
is located on the lake trail. The park’s newest
addition is a raptor habitat that features a screech
owl, vulture, redtail hawks and kestrel.
For more information, contact Bays Mountain Park,
853 Bays Mountain Park Rd., Kingsport, TN 37660,
or call 423-229-9447.
Location: Kingsport, TN
Phone: 423-229-9447
Toll Free Phone:
Website: www.baysmountain.com
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