Bays Mountain Park

Bays Mountain services as a combination nature center and state park. Costs $ 3 per car to enter. My wife and I went several times to hike on one of the many trails. The trails are well-​maintained. The trails are shorter (I think the longest trail runs 6 miles) and meant for a ½ day hike. Serious hikers will want to go elsewhere, but for people looking for a ½ day hike, Bays is a great option.
My wife and I took our adopted nephews to the visitor center and animal habitats. The visitor center has several decent displays and has a planetarium which does hourly shows. There are animal habitats which are set up well for viewing and education. Our adopted nephews really enjoyed themselves when we took them.

Bays Mountain is one of my favorite small parks in the country. You’ll just have to take my word for it long enough to get here for yourself.
The park is a fantastic one-​stop destination for a full day of outdoor recreation, entertainment, and fun for an entire family. It’s also a great place for solo travelers, couples on a date, and groups. The paths around the habitats are mostly paved with a few natural ones, easy to walk, and close to the visitor center. You’ll enjoy the shade under the canopy of towering trees and the silence of nature.
The park is famous for the Wolf Habitat, just one of many animal habitats at the park (they also have deer, turtles, bobcats, birds, and otters). You can take an ecotourism adventure on the lake during a 45 minute guided tour on a pontoon boat.
The park is also great for getting a workout. The kids will love the adventure area with ziplines and climbing courses. You can hike one of the dozens of trails in the park, or bring your mountain bike for a rigorous adventure on the trail. The Lakeside Trail is flat, easy to walk, and takes about an hour or two to complete.
This park also features two observatories with events scheduled throughout the year for stargazing. The digital planetarium is state of the art and features a few different shows playing throughout each day. Sometimes the park rangers will break out telescopes during the day to show sun spots to visitors.
All around this is a great park, and one of my favorites because of the diversity of activities. Be sure to check their schedule on the website to see what’s happening the day you want to visit. Check out the Wolf Habitat during a feeding day, take a ride on the pontoon boat, ask about Lily Pad Cove, and have a great time!
TIP: They have several picnic tables and encourage people to bring food for a picnic, you just can’t take the food into the animal habitats. There are a few benches on the shore of the lake for a great lunch time view.

I have been coming here since I was a child on school field trips but still a favorite of mine even though the exhibits haven’t changed at all in 30 years. Great place for kids to explore and learn. I love the hiking trails especially the lakeside loop. Even on a busy day, you won’t feel crowded on the trails. Love the wolf and otter exhibits! Great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday in the spring, summer, and fall!

As the previous Unilocaler stated the view from the firetower was amazing. I was on a solo trip to East Tennessee in 2008 and made the hike around the reservoir as well as up to the top of the firetower. Their was a bees nest, however the view was worth the possible stings. The entrance fee was minimal and the wolves were beautiful. Their was quite a few visitors for a Tuesday in October which surprised me. But who couldn’t love the beauty here.

Great place to get out and enjoy the area. This place gets pretty busy on weekends and holidays but once you get out on one of the trails you shouldn’t be crowded. The animal exhibits are interesting although I have never seen any of the wolves in the exhibit. The howling of all the visitors to the parks usually drives me crazy as I’m sure it does the wolves and they won’t come out. I recommend taking the hikinh trek out to the Fire tower it is a moderately challenging hike for the last mile or so but copmletely doable and worth the view from the top of the tower if you have the nerve to climb it.