Parks & Recreation Information
Department Information
Department Head:
Doug Bataille
Mission
Provide and preserve quality parks with recreation
opportunities for all
News
NEW PLAYGROUND FOR CARL COWAN
A new playground will soon be build at Carl Cowan Park in west Knox County. The playground will replace several old pieces of equipment that date back to the 1980s.
"The playground at Carl Cowan was the oldest in our system," said Doug Bataille, Senior Director. "With the number of visitors the park gets, especially during the summer months when the splashpad is open, an upgrade was needed for safety reasons."
The new, accessible playground is designed for children up to 12 years old and features two slides, a climbing wall and climbing web, agility stations and several individual activity panels. It will be set on a solid rubber surface...more>>
Walk for your Health!
If your New Year's resolution is to improve your health, find a park or greenway and get walking! According to the Mayo Clinic, walking is a great low-impact exercise with numerous benefits including trimming your waistline and improving your physical fitness. Increased levels of fitness may also significantly boost mental and physical health and can prevent certain diseases. Walking can also help you lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol, raise your HDL (good) cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and reduce your risk of or help manage type 2 diabetes.
All it takes to reap these benefits is a routine of brisk walking for just 30 minutes a day. It doesn't get much simpler than that. And with parks and greenways in all areas of the county, you will find safe, inexpensive avenues for regular exercise. To find a greenway or park near you, click on the Find a Park tab on the left. Then, get out and take a walk!
It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas at The Cove
The Cove at Concord Park will sparkle and entertain at this year's Holiday Festival of Lights presented by Knox County Parks and Recreation beginning Thursday, December 22 at 6 p.m. The park will be open through December 30 (excluding Christmas) from 6 until 9 p.m.
The Holiday Festival of Lights has grown over the past few years with new displays and now a series of lights coordinated to music. The park staff at The Cove does all the decorating – placing displays, adding several hundred thousand lights to trees, and building bonfires for roasting marshmallows along the way. Visitors walk the three-quarter mile greenway trail to view the lights.
Santa will visit on December 22 and 23, and vendors will be on site with hot chocolate, kettle corn, hotdogs, and even the ingredients for s'mores. Pets on leashes are welcome.
The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. The Love Kitchen provides meals, clothing, and emergency food packages to the homebound, homeless, and unemployed.
It's Holiday Time at New Harvest Park
Knox County's New Harvest Park Farmers Market will transform into a Holiday Market beginning this week, moving inside the community building and adding new gift and craft items to the fresh produce and local gourmet foods. Hours for the Holiday Market have been extended; it will be open from 2 until 6 p.m. each Thursday through December 15, excluding Thanksgiving Day.
Several new vendors feature holiday gift and craft items including candles, bird feeders, jewelry, needlecrafts, wind chimes, pottery, and Christmas candies. These, in addition to the fresh produce provided by traditional vendors make the Holiday Market a great place for all your festive meals and gift needs.
In addition, the Holiday Market will be a drop off location for Blankets for the Homeless, a project for Water Angel Ministries. No-sew, fleece blankets will be accepted through December 1 and distributed throughout our community on December 4. The pattern for the tied blankets is available on the New Harvest website, www.knoxcounty.org/farmersmarket.
Local fall produce available this week includes sweet potatoes, several different varieties of squash, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, turnips, and eggplant. Always available are sweet treats and freshly baked breads, all natural beef products, salsa, and jams and jellies.
New Harvest Farmers Market vendors accept SNAP benefit cards. New Harvest Park is located at 4775 New Harvest Lane, just past the Target shopping center on Washington Pike.
Scarecrows in the Park
They're back! Twenty creative scarecrows line the walking trail at New Harvest Park for some fall fun in the fresh air. The scarecrows were made by Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H groups, high schools, community organizations, and individuals. You may vote for your favorites through Monday, October 24, and the winners in both youth and adult categories will be announced on Thursday, October 27, about 5 p.m. at the Farmers Market.
If you missed the Third Thursday kickoff event, you missed some yummy fall food prepared by Pellissippi State Culinary Institute! However, we've asked for the recipes and have them here for you. All the fresh produce needed can be found at the Farmers Market. The market is open each Thursday from 3 until 6 p.m. Beginning November 10, the Holiday Market will move inside the community building and feature specialty foods and hand made gift items for you or your holiday gift giving. And remember, Third Thursday on November 17 will find the Pellissippi chefs back at work with some wonderful holiday recipes.
For October's recipes, click here.
Scarecrows in the Park
If you think scarecrows are dull and dated, you haven’t been to Scarecrows
in the Park! Instead of flannel shirts and overalls, we’re talking black capes and sequins!
Applications are now available for Knox County Parks and Recreation’s favorite fall tradition of
eerie entertainment and easy exercise. Individuals, organizations, schools, and families are
invited to join in the fun and create their own creepy or silly scarecrow to place along the
quarter-mile walking trail in New Harvest Park. The Scarecrow Trail will be open each day from
sunrise until sunset at the park located at 4775 New Harvest Lane in northeast Knox County.
The event will open at New Harvest Park Farmers Market’s Third Thursday event, from 3 until 6
p.m. on October 20. Public ballots will be available through Monday, October 24, and the
winners in both adult and student categories will be announced at the Farmers Market on
October 27. The $100 first prizes will be presented by Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union.
Second prize in each category will receive a free shelter rental at any Knox County park.
An application form with scarecrow rules and regulations may be found on the Knox County
Parks and Recreation website, knoxcounty.org/parks/pdfs/scarecrow_app.pdf. The entry fee is $10, and each
applicant will receive a coupon for a bale of straw from The Home Depot to get them started.
Application forms are due by October 17.
Fall Break Golf Camp
The Knox Area Junior Golf Association will hold a golf camp for kids 8-14 during Knox County Schools’ Fall Break on October 13 and 14 from 9 am until noon at Concord Park Par 3. Beginner students will learn golf basics, rules, and etiquette, while more accomplished players will have a chance to improve their game. Students do not need to have their own clubs.
All participants will have the opportunity to play the course. The cost is $75 per golfer.
Concord Par 3 Golf Course is located at 10909 S. Northshore Drive, between Westland Drive and Concord Road. Please call Tony Valentine, 966-9103, for more information.
Join the Tailgate Party at New Harvest Park Farmers Market
Join the Tailgate Party at New Harvest Park Farmers Market's Third Thursday event this week! Pellissippi State Culinary Institute will prepare some recipes using produce from the market vendors and then invite visitors to sample the food. A drawing will be held for a basket full of UT products, and we'll even have some Big Orange tunes to get the party started. The market is open from 3 until 6 p.m., and the tailgating will begin about 3:30.
All the regular vendors will be there with the best fresh, local produce and gourmet prepared foods. Several craft vendors, with handmade items including candles, soaps, jewelry, and wooden birdhouses will also be in attendance.
Beaver Creek Stream Restoration
It's not the beavers chopping trees at Beaver Creek, but a few are coming down to accommodate the stream restoration project along the Halls Greenway. Knox County Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the county’s Stormwater Management and The University of Tennessee, is rehabilitating about 1,000 feet of Beaver Creek behind the Halls Plaza shopping center in order to restore health to the creek and recreate conditions necessary for fish and other aquatic life to flourish.
A new technique is being used to reestablish the "pool/riffle" sequences found in a healthy stream. "We are excited to be a partner in this project," said Rebekah Jane Justice, Knox County Parks and Greenways Coordinator. "When complete, our park and greenway visitors will see and experience the creek in a new way. It will definitely be an environmental asset for Halls Community Park," she added.
With good weather, the construction should take about two weeks. A temporary alternate route for the greenway has been developed for users during construction and Knox County encourages the community to use the alternate route for their safety. The best access to the greenway will be from the Halls Library at 4815 E. Emory Road or from Halls Community Park at 6983 Recreation Lane. Access from Andersonville Pike and the shopping center will be closed until the work is completed.
Oversight of the project is provided by the Beaver Creek Task Force and the $150,000 cost is funded by a Tennessee Department of Agriculture grant.
Click here for the greenway reroute map.
Click here to read more about Beaver Creek.
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