Description: Summer In The Park, Week of July 27 - August 2
Location: Warriors Path State Park
Come enjoy a week full of natural fun! You and your family can hike day and night, explore on land and in water, meet native wildlife and native trees, try nature play and nature projects, volunteer to protect woodlands, and much more. And it's (almost) all free!
Here is the detailed schedule for the week:
MONDAY, JULY 27
7:30 PM EVENING HIKE - Let’s wake up our senses to evening in the forest. Meet at the main bath house for a short, refreshing hike.
9:00 PM JACK TALES - Evening is a perfect time to share a story! And these Jack Tales have been shared all across our region for generations. Come to the campfire circle, and be a part of the story-telling legacy of East Tennessee. (In case of rain, meet at the main bath house.)
TUESDAY JULY 28
11:00 AM PREDATOR/PREY - Explore the competition between hunter and hunted. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if is raining.
2:00 PM OWL PELLETS - What could be more gross, but also more exciting, than checking out owl vomit! Don’t worry, these pellets are germ free. But they sure are full of bones. Use your detective skills to find out what owls have for supper! Meet at the Open Air Chapel (main bath house if it is raining.)
4:00 PM TREE TOOLS - How big is that tree? How old is it? What wildlife could be hiding in it? Try some tools that foresters use to study and protect our native trees. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, main bath house if it’s raining.
5:00 PM BACKPACKING 101 - Have you ever wanted to spend more than just a day in the back country? Here’s your chance to gain advice on how to begin your overnight expeditions. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it is raining.
6:00 PM JUNIOR RANGERS: CAMPGROUND CLEANUP - Make our park a cleaner, healthier environment! You’ll make a big difference for our earth, and begin to earn your Junior Ranger badge. Meet at the main bath house. Be prepared to get dirty!
7:30 PM MOONRISE & MOONPIES - Watch the full moon rise above the forested ridges! Enjoy a fine 2 mile hike through the gathering dusk, and then "toast" the rising moon with a Moon Pie. We'll supply the snacks, you supply the moonlit enthusiasm! Be sure to come dressed for the weather, bring a flashlight, and wear good hiking boots.
NOTE - You MUST preregister to participate in this special program. Sign up at:
https://reserve.tnstateparks.com/register/moonrise-and-moonpies-WPSP-Jul26
Be sure to sign up soon - space is limited.
9:00 PM AWESOME OPOSSUM - Enjoy this slide-illustrated talk on Tennessee’s only marsupial and discover all about their amazing role in our environment. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if raining, to immerse yourself in the world of the Virginia Opossum.
WEDNESDAY JULY 29
9:00 AM NATURE JOURNAL - Come create your own little “nature diary.” Your homemade book will be a perfect way to remember all your nature fun in the park! Meet at the Main Bathhouse.
10:00 AM NOSING FOR NATURE - Nature is full of amazing aromas - some things smell great, and some smell terrible! Let’s use our noses to “sniff out” some new discoveries. Meet at the Main Bath House.
11:30 AM WOOD COOKIES - Peek inside a tree and you’ll find nature and history. Come decorate a wood “cookie” and take home a natural memory from Warriors Path. Bring your artistic skills to the main bathhouse.
2:00 PM TREE FRISBEE - Come have a flying good time, and find out more about park trees at the same time! Meet at the Open Air Chapel. We have plenty of extra frisbees!
3:30 PM INVASIVE PLANTS BOOKMARKS - Mark your place in your favorite summer reading while helping tame some invasive plants. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it is raining.
5:00 PM NATURE ART - You’ll be amazed at how creative you can be with nature’s own “crayons”. Meet at the Open Air Chapel to create your own natural masterpiece. If it is raining, meet at the main bath house.
6:00 PM OWL GAMES - Test your skills as an owl (or a mouse!) with some lively games! Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it is raining.
7:00 PM ANIMAL HOMES - Meet some small LIVING “guest speakers” and discover more about who is “at home” here at the park. Come to the Open Air Chapel to find out about wildlife habitats, and ours. In case of rain, meet at the main bath house.
9:00 PM LAMP-LIT NIGHT HIKE - Take a "de-light-full" hike through the creekside forest. We'll light up the trail with old-timey kerosene lanterns, and discover a "new world" of life after dark. We’ll supply the lanterns, but children should bring flashlights instead for safety. Drive to the camp store, and we’ll carpool
THURSDAY JULY 30
9:00 AM CREEK WALK - Get on your old clothes and tennis shoes. It’s time to explore the cool, clear creek waters. We’ll discover a world of amazing life. Drive to the camp store, and we’ll carpool. Be prepared to get wet!
10:00 AM BUILD A BUTTERFLY - Create your very own paper butterfly, and discover more about these winged wonders! Meet at the main bath house.
11:30 AM BUTTERFLY WATCHING - Summer days are bright with these fantastic flyers! Come share exciting discoveries as we watch these lovely bugs. Meet at the camp store, and we’ll carpool.
1:00 PM PLANKTON - For us, the lake is a place to go boating or fishing. But for the micro-world of plankton, it’s a home. Come help us sample this incredible world of tiny lives floating in lake water. Meet at the main bath house, and we’ll stroll on down to the shore.
2:00 PM FROG CALLS - Our slippery, hopping friends have some amazing voices! Come to the main bath house to “listen in” to our amphibian neighbors.
4:00 PM PAW PAW PATROL - Have you heard of Paw Paw trees? Let’s go “way down yonder to the Paw Paw patch!” We’ll discover more about this amazing native fruit tree. Join the “Paw Paw Patrol” at the camp store.
5:00 PM NOISY TOYS - How did the pioneer children make music or noise? Make your very own “musical” instrument with a few simple things from nature. Meet at the Open Air Chapel to create some “beautiful music.” In case of rain, meet at the main bath house.
6:00 PM HIKE THE “DARWIN’S REVENGE” TRAIL - It may have a very strange name, but it is an awesome trail! Come spend a few hours in one of the most beautiful and wildest parts of the park. Be sure to wear good walking shoes, comfortable clothes, and bring drinking water. Meet at the park's Mountain Bike Trail parking lot (at the end of Freeman Road, Blountville, TN).
9:00 PM NIGHT SOUNDS - Nature is full of sounds when the sun goes down! Some seem eerie, but there’s no need to be nervous. Come find out whose noise is whose. Meet at the Open Air Chapel for a short slide show of the creatures who “talk” in the night! (At the main bath house if it is raining.) NOTE - there will be a special NIGHT SOUNDS contest for children after the show.
FRIDAY, JULY 31
9:00 AM SPECIAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: FIGHT THE INVASIVES! - Help us fight some nasty invasive exotic plants that are threatening the health of our oldest woodlands. Learn while you work - so you can continue to protect our region's native species. Meet at the park's Mountain Bike Trail parking area - at the end of Freeman Road, Blountville TN. Find all the details, and register, at the park events website:
https://tnstateparks.com/parks/warriors-path#happenings
9:30 AM SINKING WATERS RIDGE HIKE - Explore succession - the changing face of nature - on the first loop of the Sinking Waters Trail. We’ll discover the woodlands changing all around us! Drive to the camp store, and we’ll carpool to the start of the trail.
12 NOON WATERSCOPES - Make your own “window” into the world of water. Bring along an old milk carton if you have one, and meet at the Boundless Playground entrance. We’ll build a little tool to help us see life in the creek.
2:30 PM 100 INCH HIKE - One hundred inches isn’t very far, unless you are as small as a bug! Discover life on the tiny side with some VERY SHORT hikes. Meet at the main bath house.
5:00 PM SKULLS - NATURE’S TOOL BOX - Every animal carries along all the tools it needs for survival! Come investigate some natural “tool boxes,” and find out more about each animal’s job! Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it is raining.
6:00 PM CORN HUSK CRAFTS - The early settlers along the Warriors' Path couldn't afford to waste anything! Even old corn husks could become a doll or toy. Meet at the Open Air Chapel to try this old-timey craft. If it's raining, meet at the main bath house.
7:00 PM BIRDS OF PREY - Meet a real live feathered hunter. One of our “Wildlife Ambassadors” is waiting to meet you at the Open Air Chapel. (At the main bath house if it’s raining).
9:00 PM NIGHT HIKE TO FALL CREEK - It's a whole different world out there at night! Tonight is our chance to discover the peace and the excitement of a night in the open fields near Fall Creek. Bring a dim flashlight and drive to the camp store. We'll carpool out to the park back country.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1
9:00 AM HIKE THE BONEYARD - Come explore a remote corner of Warriors’ Path, full of nature discovery. This will be a challenging 2-3 mile hike, so be sure to wear comfortable clothes, good hiking shoes, and bring some drinking water. Meet at the Mountain Bike Trail parking area, at the end of Freeman Road, Blountville TN.
10:00 AM GEOLOGY HIKE - Enjoy a hike across the rocky landscape, and learn to read the stories in stones. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, and we’ll walk on over to the trail.
1:30 PM WEAR IT AWAY - Did you know that some of our park land is disappearing? Come help us search for the amazing vanishing landscape. Meet at the camp store.
3:30 PM TENNESSEE TRIVIA - Come test out your skills and see how well you REALLY know our state. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it is raining.
4:30 PM FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND - Lets walk along a little beach to read stories in the sand. It's a perfect place for animal tracks! Meet at the main bath house for a short walk
9:00 PM TENNESSEE TALES - Enjoy new insights into Tennessee Folklife as we share some good-old traditional tall tales. Meet at the Open Air Chapel, or main bath house if it rains.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
9:00 AM WORSHIP SERVICE - Enjoy a peaceful morning worship service at the Open Air Chapel, or at the pool entrance if it is raining. Sponsored by Fall Creek Baptist Church.
Program Host: Marty Silver
Contact Email: marty.silver@tn.gov
Contact Phone: 423-239-6786