Angora Frog Farm & Dog Park
A new one-of-a-kind story themed park in the heart of Powell, on 12-acres of land donated to Legacy Parks in 2020 by the Brown family. The Brown’s family folk tales about hairy frogs that only reside in this one special place in Powell, TN inspired us to create the whimsical Angora Frog Farm story. Created for little children with big imaginations, the storybook trail prompts visitors to participate in an activity with Arvin the Angora Frog while he’s visiting the one and only Angora Frog Farm. The storybook play trail is complemented by a shaded, accessible Knox County dog park at the entrance to the wooded property featuring separate areas for large and small dogs, benches and agility features.

Butterfly Lake
Legacy Parks received a donation of 5-acres, known as Butterfly Lake, in south Knoxville that will be conveyed to the City of Knoxville for future park use.

Partners: City of Knoxville

Legacy Parks raised funds to purchase an old homesite in Halls which became a county park. It is now a beautiful gathering place in north Knox County.

Partners: Knox County, Jim Clayton, private donors

Collier Preserve
Legacy Parks permanently conserved a 12-acre natural area in the heart of Powell donated by the Collier family. The land was transformed into a community park with access to scenic Beaver Creek and the opportunity to observe the wildlife in a natural setting. The county park includes a walking trail, a kayak rest stop on Beaver Creek and a storybook trail.

Partners: Tennessee Recreational Trails Program, Knox County, Merit Construction, Trey Benefield, S&ME, TVA Retirees Association/Bicentennial Volunteers, Trees Knoxville, Knox County Master Gardeners, Foothills Land Conservancy, Knox County Public Library

Dogwood Community Trails
Legacy Parks constructed an adaptive pathway and redesigned the existing Dogwood Community Trails behind the school to accommodate access for all. The new pathway leads from the school’s playground to an existing paved path that leads to the trails and outdoor classroom. The trail leading to the outdoor classroom was modified to accommodate adaptive mountain bikes and all-terrain wheelchairs – allowing all students including those with disabilities – access to the trails and outdoor classroom. Legacy Parks also donated a GRIT all-terrain wheelchair to the school for use by students on the trail.

Partners: REI, City of Knoxville, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, Knox County, Knox Education Foundation, CAC Americorp, Knox County Health Department, Lindbergh Forest Community, Sierra Club, Ijams Nature Center, Private Landowners

French Broad Veterans Memorial Park
Legacy Parks created a new veterans memorial park on 8.5-acres that was donated to Legacy Parks by Blue Water Industries in 2018. This park provides a place for reflection, commemoration and celebration, overlooking the French Broad River and the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

Partners: Blue Water Industries, Knox County, East Tennessee Community Design Center, BarberMcMurry architects, S&ME, Hedstrom Design, Hickory Construction, The Thought Bureau

French Memorial Park Expansion
Legacy Parks helped connect a south Knox County neighborhood to a library and school by securing the donation of a connecting parcel of land.

Partners: Knox County

I.C. King Park Expansion
Legacy Parks assisted Knox County with a major expansion of the existing county park by obtaining a land easement for trail expansion with grant funding from REI. The new trail connects the new parking lot to the existing trails network on the backside of the property. The expansion of these trails is important because it provides new access point into the trail systems for the neighboring communities and will tie together the currently isolated 8-miles of trails into the interconnected loop of 50+ miles of Urban Wilderness trails.

Partners: Knox County, REI, AMBC, TVA Retirees Association/Bicentennial Volunteers

Ijams Primal Playground
Legacy Parks helped Ijams Nature Center create the first of its kind, Primal Playground – an outdoor exercise and training course that utilizes natural materials to engage a full body workout by incorporating landscape features such as boulders, logs and trees with customizable plans designed by a physical fitness expert.

Partners: Siddiqi Foundation, Earthadelic Landscape and Construction, Ijams Nature Center

Imerys Marble at Ijams Quarries
The 104-acres Imerys Marble Quarry property was donated to Legacy Parks and now serves as a major trailhead for Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness South Loop Trails and is a popular addition to the Ijams Nature Center.

Partners: Ijams Nature Center, City of Knoxville

Intergenerational Playspace at Beverly Park
With funding from the a Trinity Health Foundation grant, Legacy Parks created an Intergenerational Playspace at Beverly Park featuring therapeutic, rehabilitative, and play activities for all generations and abilities. The Playspace features a central activity area surrounded by a walking track with handrail.

Partners: Trinity Health Foundation, Humana, Siddiqi Foundation, Hillcrest Healthcare, Knox County Parks & Recreation, TVA Retirees Association/Bicentennial Volunteers, Ross/Fowler, Knox County Health Department

Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness
Legacy Parks pioneered the recreational, cultural, and historic preservation initiative which incorporates over 1,000 forested acres along downtown’s south waterfront. It is a spectacular outdoor adventure area where you can hike, bike, climb, paddle or just wander in the woods – all within the heart of the city.

Lippencott Trail
Legacy Parks created a new trail connecting Dogwood Elementary School to Stanley-Lippencott Park. This trail connects the school and neighborhoods to the park, and makes it easier for kids and the community to get out and play in the woods.

Partners: REI, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club

Oak Ridge Trails
Legacy Parks is working with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge trail advocates to expand the trail network on DOE land in Anderson County. Legacy Parks currently holds five new trail easements.

Partners: Department of Energy, Clinch Valley Trail Alliance, UCOR, UT-Batelle, CNS/Y-12, Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Oak Ridge Natural Asset Guidebook
Legacy Parks spearheaded the collaborative project at the request of the City of Oak Ridge and civic and business leaders from Roane and Anderson Counties to explore the city’s recreational opportunities and enhancement of the area’s natural assets.

Partners: UCOR, UT-Batelle, CNS/Y-12, Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Red Mill Dam
Legacy Parks accepted an anonymous donation for the purpose of purchasing the 6.43-acre historic Red Mill Dam property and conveyance of the land to the Town of Farragut.

Partners: Town of Farragut

River Bluff Natural Area
Legacy Parks raised $1.5 million to acquire a former civil war battle site – and the last unconserved viewshed along Knoxville’s south waterfront. Legacy Parks donated the property to the City of Knoxville in 2015 to become a City Park. The property is a key site in the proposed Battlefield Loop that will connect this battle site with the three adjacent Civil War forts and will be the west node of Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness.

Roy Arthur Stormwater Park
Legacy Parks transformed 19-acres donated to the foundation in 2008 into Knox County’s first Stormwater Demonstration Park. Two wetland ponds, a rain garden, and native plants are surrounded by a walking trail, and a kayak/canoe launch provides key access to the Beaver Creek Water Trail.

Partners: East Tennessee Community Design Center, Knox County Parks & Recreation, Knox County Stormwater Management, TDEC Watershed Management, West Knox Utility District

Scott Cleland Trail at West Hills Park
A new beautiful, wooded 1-mile trail was created at West Hills Park that provides an opportunity for people to get into the woods, in the middle of the city.

Partners: City of Knoxville, Contour Trail Design, West Hills Neighborhood Homeowners Association

Sharp’s Ridge Playspace and Adaptive Trails
With funding from the Trinity Foundation, Legacy Parks created a playground, bike skills area and two multi-use trails on the 42-acres donated to the Foundation by Allen Dick, including our region’s first all-access, adaptive trail. This new trail will allow users with disabilities to get out and play in the woods! The two miles of trail twists and winds down to the base, connecting the north side of the ridge to the existing trail system on the other side of the ridge. A new playground and bike skills area provides the community with a place to play, providing easy access to nature.

Partners: Trinity Health Foundation, Barge Design Solutions, Siddiqi Foundation, City of Knoxville, East Tennessee Community Design Center

Seven Islands State Birding Park
Legacy Parks managed Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge for the three years during its transition from a county park to a state park, secured over $98,000 in grants to fund extensive habitat restoration, and added 146 acres of parkland through property donations. A $7.7 million grant secured by Legacy Parks will create a bridge connecting the south side of the park to the existing park.

Partners: Tennessee State Parks, TVA, Knox County, Tennessee Department of Education and Conservation

South Loop Trails
Legacy Parks partnered with multiple individuals and organizations to establish the South Loop Trail system, more than 50-miles of natural surface trails connecting five parks and natural areas with public and private land creating exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities. The trails connect Ijams Nature Center, Ross Marble and Mead’s Quarries, Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, William Hastie Natural Area, and Marie Myers Park.

Partners: City of Knoxville, AMBC, Ijams Nature Center, TWRA, private land owners

Thunder Mountain
Legacy Parks received a donation of 107 acres of land from Thunder Mountain Properties in south Knox County.  The intent of the land is to be used for park and recreational opportunities.

Partners: Knox County