Lakeside Trail
A gentle 2.3-mile loop around Kingsport's Bays Mountain reservoir, crossing a floating bridge with beaver activity, an evergreen grove, and shoreline benches.
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- Length
- 3.4 mi
- Elevation gain
- 150 ft
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route
- loop
Trail conditions
No recent condition reports. Hiked it lately?
Report current conditions →Elevation
3.4 mi · 292 ft of climbing · high 1,898 ft · low 1,831 ft
Find the trailhead
Parking
Main lakeside lot; the park charges a per-vehicle gate fee (about $7). The natural starting point for the park's wider trail network.
Directions to parkingWeather at the trailhead
79°FMainly clear now
Sunrise 6:12 AM · Sunset 8:51 PM
- TodayThunderstorm87° / 69°F49% precip
- FriRain79° / 66°F26% precip
- SatOvercast83° / 59°F2% precip
Forecast from Open-Meteo. Mountain conditions change fast; check again before you go.
This is the park's signature walk, circling the reservoir on a well-kept path with several footbridges, including a floating bridge over an arm of the lake. Expect rolling but modest climbs and frequent wildlife, beaver dams and lodges, waterfowl, and a lily-pad pond. It stays busy on weekends and connects to the larger Bays Mountain trail system.