Saturday afternoon, Paul and I took a walk along the Greenbelt in Kingsport. We have walked portions of the Greenbelt before, but usually on the end starting by PetSmart and walking toward Cleek Rd.
This time, we started by Ridgefields off Netherland Inn Rd, almost directly across the street from Netherland Inn, and went all the way to the end of the Greenbelt!
If you haven’t walked this part of the Greenbeld before, I strongly suggest you do…the scenery is beautiful as you’re walking right along the South Fork of the Holston River.
We started by parking near Netherland Inn. There are plenty of parking spaces there, and wooden steps from the parking lot take you right down to the Greenbelt.
Along the way, we heard fish jumping out of the river and splashing back down. A fisherman later told us it was likely a Small Mouth Bass we heard!
Turtles were basking in the sun on a log near the riverbank. I love catching wildlife in action! When we got there, 7 turtles were on the log, but 2 jumped off right before I snapped this photo! It was cool to see them all lined up like this!
Along the way, there was a little island in the middle of the Holston. It is covered in trees, and the trees were filled with noisy birds! 
If you enjoy bird watching, the Greenbelt is a great place to catch sight of many variety of species. There are even signs along the way that point out the different birds you may see frequently along the Greenbelt. We managed to spot a blue heron among the birds up in the trees, along with many buzzards. We also happend along two different pairs of geese with their baby goslings swimming in the water!
Spring is a great time to catch young wildlife families out and about!
While you’re walking the Greenbelt in this section, you are walking parallel to the ridge of Bay’s Mountain. This made me wonder…can you see the fire tower from the Greenbelt?
Yup! You sure can…as long as your viewing angle is good.
Can you spot the fire tower in this photo?
It looks like a really tall tree.
If you’ve never hiked to the fire tower at Bay’s Mountain, that is another advenuture you should try! But I don’t recommend making the hike with small children.
The City of Kingsport has done a really great job of providing this beautiful green space with paved walkways for residents to enjoy nature in the city. The Greenbelt is well traveled and pretty safe, overall. (I don’t recommend walking alone anywhere along the path…bring a friend and have your cell phone with you).
If you’re looking for something free, yet interesting, to do in Kingsport, pick a section of the Greenbelt and go for a walk!
Have you been on this section of the Greenbelt? What is your favorite section?