KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL)- There are a lot of changes happening at Bays Mountain Park to help preserve the area for years to come.

The first phase of a multi-year renovation plan is nearing completion.

“We want to make sure that we keep upgrading and updating to make sure that there are new opportunities for those special experiences,” said Park Manager Megan Krager. “We were able to actually say ‘Okay, this is what we really want to do.’ We wanna emphasize the nature center. We wanna make the necessary improvements. We don’t want to just make an improvement that will last for five years. We want to make improvements that are going to last 50 years.”

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The park improvement plan was unveiled earlier in 2024. Renovations will come in multiple stages to modernize the facility, starting with the nature center.

“People who have been there in the past will come back to see the changes, and then it will probably attract new people that have not been there already to see what’s going on at Bays Mountain, check out a planetarium show,” said Frank Lett, the President of Visit Kingsport. “Eleven counties from around the region visit there for sure, a lot of folks from Kentucky, Virginia. It’s just the amount of license plates that don’t say Tennessee is pretty amazing.”

Renovations are happening on both levels of the nature center and include lighting and furniture changes to a new planetarium entrance.

“It looked like you were going into a broom closet, so behind me here, we have definitely modified the entrance,” Krager said. “We want people to say ‘Hey, I want to go behind those doors. What is on the other side?'”

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The nature center’s exhibits are being upgraded too with a focus on technology.

“Kids have a very short attention span, and so do adults,” Krager said. “And we want to make sure that the exhibits are number one interactive so that everyone can learn when they’re part of an exhibit. Whether you learn through touching, whether you learn through reading, we want to make sure that everyone is understanding our exhibits.”

Krager said construction crews are taking advantage of the renovation phase to put in more outlets and ethernet cables.

“Who knows where that’s going to be in the future? And so, we wanted to be sure that we had those opportunities in place while we were in the construction phase,” said Krager. “We really don’t know where technology is going to lead us, but at the same time, we’re going to try to make it easier for those that will be following in our footsteps.”

Eventually, a gallery will be added to the nature center.

“You are going to see our exhibits be a little bit more bold in color, have more interactive opportunities to them, and then also too, we’re going to be utilizing the glass that’s around the gallery,” Krager said. “The murals that you see actually are from individuals that have taken pictures within the park itself so we are using volunteer photography in order to show different locations within the park.”

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Outdoors Appalachia

There’s also a focus on making sure everyone can enjoy the park.

“Over the next three years, we’re hoping that we can make improvements to the walkway coming into the nature center. We would like for it to be more ADA accessible, and also a walkway that leads you around the animal habitats. We want to make sure that it’s more ADA accessible,” Krager said. “They may not be able to get to all of our trails, but at the same time, we want to try and do our best to do what we can around the animal habitat area so that if grandparents are coming in with their grandchildren, everyone can share in that fun experience.”

Guests will also see changes outside of the nature center, especially with the highly anticipated return of the otter habitat in 2026.

“The otter habitat will be a state-of-the-art habitat that will provide viewing for everyone of every ability, and it will have underwater viewing as well as looking at the habitat from the balcony and also up through the habitat as well,” Krager said.

The terrace is being improved, and more animals are in the works as well.

“It’s going to be a multi-use area, whether you can use it for birthday parties or family gatherings or school groups. It’s going to be a really nice meeting location.”

You can view the park improvement plan and follow along with it here.

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