Hidden Gem: Outdoor Enthusiasts Flock To Region's Parks, More

Concession workers sold about 22,000 cans of soft drinks at Bristol’s Whitetop Creek Park last year. It’s just one of the many ways municipally owned parks and recreation facilities in the Twin City are having an economic impact.
“We have a lot of people at the park,” said Sandra Cole, an athletics coordinator with Bristol Tennessee Leisure Services Department. “It’s kind of like a hidden jewel. You just drive down there and poof.”
Just east on state Route 394 from the Bristol Motor Speedway, Whitetop Creek Park features four softball fields, four soccer fields, a multi-purpose field, a walking trail, and an 800-car parking lot, all on 52 acres of land.
Cole said these facilities drew 95,050 visitors last year, excluding those who rent park shelters for events.
A good chunk of them came from out of state to participate in the park’s youth soccer, softball and baseball tournaments.
“It brings in money and a lot of people,” Leisure Services Director Terry Napier said, adding the park’s staff often directly works with Kingsport and Johnson City to attract the tournaments to the region and host them.
The average United States Specialty Sports Association tournament brings 25 to 40 teams of 9- to 18-year-olds to the Tri-Cities area for a weekend. Napier estimates that each player is accompanied by 1½ to 2½ friends or family members, which shows up in Whitetop’s attendance figures.
Though it was not the primary host for the USSA’s June and May tournaments, Whitetop Creek Park hosted 3,000 to 4,000 players, spectators and officials for each event. The April tournament brought in 1,400 visitors, many of whom came from outside the immediate region and spent the night in a hotel.
“We could seriously expand this if there was a hotel near the facility,” Napier said, adding Bristol actually loses out on revenue because the closest major hotels to Whitetop are in Johnson City, Tenn., or at Exit 7 on Bristol’s Virginia side.
Whitetop also directly benefits the community by hosting King College and Tennessee High School home games, while giving the region’s youth football, men’s softball and church league players a place to play.
Between 100 and 1,000 walkers and bikers visit the park each month to use the track.
Here’s a look at how some other municipally owned parks in the Tri-Cities Region pack in the crowds.

Sugar Hollow Park, Bristol VIRGINIA
City Parks and Recreation Director Bob Childress said the 400-acre Sugar Hollow Park gives visitors a chance for both passive and active recreation by providing them with a place to camp and play sports.
“We’re drawing people from all over the area for passive activities,” Childress said, adding a large number of people stop by the park’s 100 picnic sites and use the 75 campsites.
The park’s location near Exit 7 also carries an economic impact. Childress said it gives parents a chance to go shopping while their kids are playing sports at one of the park’s five soccer fields and three softball fields.

Virginia Creeper Trail, Washington County, Va.
The Virginia Creeper Trail stretches 35 miles from Abingdon, Va., to the North Carolina border and is managed jointly by the towns of Damascus, Va., and Abingdon.
“It is certainly [the park] with the greatest impact on the area,” Abingdon Director of Parks and Recreation Chris Johnson said, adding the park has about 200,000 visitors each year.

Observation Knob, Sullivan County, Tenn.
The Observation Knob Campground has 175 campsites on the shore of South Holston Lake, but most of its visitors only stay for a day. “We’ve always gotten a really good draw out there as far as the day use,” said Krisna Goodwin, county tourism director, adding the campground had 2,000 day-use visitors per month in 2007.
Goodwin said it only had 400 to 500 campground visitors stay each month last year. The campground charges $125 per week for a site and has a 14-day maximum stay.