Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Knox County has some great parks but only a couple of them offer real hiking opportunities. House Mountain State Natural Area is and Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is the other.

I’ve done the House Mountain trails several times but I had never been to Seven Islands until today. It was a beautiful, sunny February day with temperatures in the 60s so my wife Charlotte and I headed out to east Knox County to check it out.

It turned out to be very easy to find and get to; it’s only about 3 miles off Interstate 40 at the Midway Road Exit.

When we arrived the parking lot was completely full; not a single space in sight. Fortunately I spotted another couple getting into their vehicle so we go their spot when they pulled out.

With that many cars in the parking area I was sure there was a mob out there walking about. We headed uphill out of the parking lot toward what’s called the Overlook Loop. It’s a pretty good pull out of the parking lot to the top of a ridge the trail follows; I’m guessing we gained about a thousand feet in elevation in a half mile or so of trail.

Once we got to the top there wasn’t another person in sight in any direction; a rate occurrence in today’s world. Ask yourself when the last time was you’ve been completely alone without another person in sight .

Beautiful views from the top; you can see the French Broad River which one end of the park borders and the Great Smoky Mountains in the background.

The trails at Seven Islands are marvelous. Dirt and about 1 car width wide so it’s very easy for people to walk 2 abreast and carry on a conversation.

I think dead trees make interesting silhouttes to add some visual interest to a photo, not that this beautiful view needs any help from me.

In the background past the tree you can see some of the pastoral river bottom land that is also part of this park; 360 acres in all with about 6 miles of trail plus a couple of mile stretch of paved road closed to traffic.

The river bottom land used to grow hay and tobacco but recently about 280 acres have been planted in warm season native grasses to maintain the pastoral setting.

I thought this was an interesting find. Over in the woods and a pretty good ways off the trail I noticed some cedar branches lying at the base of a stand of hardwood trees and obviously out of place.

Upon closer inspection I found this big green box about the size of a large, styrofoam ice chest, cable locked to the tree and with a blue seal on it.

I didn’t mess with it because I believe it’s some sort of wildlife survey or sampling tool.

But, memo to guys hiding stuff in the woods.  Don’t camouflage your stuff with a kind of tree not growing nearby; it really makes it stand out especially in the winter.

This park has about 4 miles of river frontage along the French Broad River. Some canoests and kayakers like to put in here at the boat launch and paddle or drift to downtown Knoxville about 19 miles away.

The French Broad joins the Holston River in east Knoxville to become the Tennessee River which flows through downtown Knoxville.

On the next pretty day when you have the urge to get into the great outdoors and don’t want to make that 40 mile drive to the Smoky Mountains; head on out to Seven Islands and get a dose of Mother Nature at her best, I don’t believe you will be disappointed.

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