Fire Tower Trail

Fire Tower Trail (log in to submit report)
Park	Bays Mountain Park
Land Owner	City of Kingsport
Located	Kingsport, Tennessee
Trail Marking	Signs
Trail UseThings allowed to do on or near the trail
FeaturesThings to see on or near the trail
Difficulty Rating	Medium
Hiking TimeTime from car and back. Includes any time hiking to access this trail.	1 hr0.0625 Days <br />60 Min <br /> round trip
Distance:	3.205 mi5.158 km <br /> trailStrict non-repeating trail length / 6.64 mi10.686 km <br /> round tripTypical or shortest length from the car, hike the trail, and return to car
Trail Type	Segment
Low / High Point	1,910 ft636.667 Yards <br />582.168 Meters <br /> / 2,387 Ft795.667 Yards <br />727.558 Meters <br />
Elev. Gain/LossSee link for details of calculation. Gain/Loss is direction dependent.	286 Ft87.173 Meters <br /> / (609 Ft185.623 Meters <br />) – East-to-West
Trip ReportsFrom user "hiked it" submissions<br />Recent is within last 90 days	3 logged hikes (0 recent)
NearbyWithin 5 mi<br />Click link to view list	30 trails / 35.3 mi of trail
Parking	36° 30' 31.75" N, 82° 36' 34.38" W Map
Trailhead	36° 30' 59.80" N, 82° 36' 33.62" W Map
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Ridge Road\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/File:BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG\" class=\"image\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"BMP LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd sign.JPG\" src=\"/clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG/50px-BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"50\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"/clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG/75px-BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG 1.5x, /clubwiki/images/thumb/BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG/100px-BMP_LakeRd-BaysRidgeRd_sign.JPG 2x\" data-file-width=\"125\" data-file-height=\"448\" /\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Lake Road (Bays Mountain Park)","link":"","lat":36.50761299999999920373738859780132770538330078125,"lon":-82.6126579999999961501089273951947689056396484375,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerT.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/River_Mountain_Road\" title=\"River Mountain Road\"\u003ERiver Mountain Road\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E3.21\u0026#160;Mi (5.16\u0026#160;km)\u003Cbr /\u003EDifficulty: Medium\u003Cbr /\u003EMarking: Signs\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.5166100000000000136424205265939235687255859375,"lon":-82.609340000000003101376933045685291290283203125,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerT.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1937 CCC Built Fire Tower\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E1937 CCC Built Fire Tower\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.51547000000000053887561080045998096466064453125,"lon":-82.6241639999999932797436485998332500457763671875,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerE.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComm Tower\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003EComm Tower\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.52386200000000116006049211136996746063232421875,"lon":-82.59611599999999498322722502052783966064453125,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerM.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Indian_Pipes_Trail\" title=\"Indian Pipes Trail\"\u003EIndian Pipes Trail\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Indian_Pipes_Trail\" title=\"Indian Pipes Trail\"\u003EIndian Pipes Trail\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.51359000000000065710992203094065189361572265625,"lon":-82.6276270000000039317455957643687725067138671875,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerT.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Azalea\" title=\"Azalea\"\u003EAzalea Trail\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Azalea\" title=\"Azalea\"\u003EAzalea Trail\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.52616299999999682768248021602630615234375,"lon":-82.58778200000000424552126787602901458740234375,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerG.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComm Tower\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003EComm Tower\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.5249179999999995516191120259463787078857421875,"lon":-82.592412999999993417077348567545413970947265625,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerM.png"},{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECrossroads\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr /\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Back_Hollow_Road\" title=\"Back Hollow Road\"\u003EBack Hollow Road\u003C/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"/clubwiki/index.php?title=Lake_Road(Bays_Mountain_Park)\u0026amp;action=edit\u0026amp;redlink=1\" class=\"new\" title=\"Lake Road(Bays Mountain Park) (page does not exist)\"\u003ELake Road\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003EAt Feagin's Gap\u003C/p\u003E","title":"River Mountain Road","link":"","lat":36.50654800000000221871232497505843639373779296875,"lon":-82.6312779999999946767275105230510234832763671875,"icon":"/clubwiki/images/MarkerG.png"}]}

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Trail Overview

Located in Bays Mountain Park. Second most popular trail (after Lakeside Trail) up to the Garden Mountain/Kingsport firetower for view across Holston Defense, west end of Kingsport, and into Virginia.

How to get there

Take Lakeside Trail clockwise around the reservoir to the Hemlock Trail or Lake Road counterclockwise. The lower trailhead in on Lake Road.

Alternatively, the upper trailhead at the firetower is reached on River Mountain Road from either the antennas or Fegins Gap.

Route Description

The trail heads up Holston River Mountain side of the park to reach the firetower. Although no blazes, the path is well worn, thus apparent.

This trail has connections to River Mountain Road, Chinquapin Trail, and Lake Road

Miles Up	Fire Tower Trail	Miles Down	Elevation (ft)
0.0	Trailhead at Lake Road	0.7	1894
0.1	Junction with Chinquapin Trail	0.6
0.7	Trailhead at River Mountain Road at firetower	0.0	2382

For those starting from the parking lot, it is roughly 2 miles taking 60 minutes to reach firetower. Return trip down is faster.

Typical Conditions

Well worn dirt trail with few blowdowns. Please do not cut through the switchbacks.

Regulations

NO BIKES!

Misc. Information

The 60' firetower was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1937.

Photos

• 

  View of the firetower

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