A great Knox County, Tennessee park

Knox County has several great parks but my new favorite which I visited for the first time today is the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in east Knox County along the French Broad River.

Located just about 15 minutes from downtown Knoxville, this 360 acres of unspoiled landscapes is a great respite from the regular world.

In addition to the six miles or so of great hiking trails and about two miles of paved road that's closed to traffic; there are 4 miles of river frontage along the French Broad River.

Lots of Canoests and kayakers put in here at the boat launch ramp and go downriver to Knoxville about 19 miles by water. The French Broad and Holston Rivers meet in east Knox County to form the Tennessee River which flows through downtown Knoxville.

The nice wide trails are cut through the fields and there's plenty of room to walk 2 abreast with a hiking companion.

This spectacular view is overlooking the pastoral river bottom land, the River, and the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance.

My wife Charlotte is an avid birdwatcher; she's on the lookout for some feathered friends here.

Below is another view from the Overlook Trail with some of the pastoral river bottom along the river. This bottom land used to grow hay and tobacco. In recent years about 280 acres have been sown with native warm weather grasses to encourage wildlife to use it as a habitat.

On the next pretty day head on out to Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge and get away from the hustle and bustles for a few hours; it'll do you good and you'll return refreshed.

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