National Parks: Point Park on Lookout Mountain

Did you get the chance to take advantage of free admission to a National Park over the weekend?

We did.

We happen to live about 15 minutes from Point Park – a National Military Park located on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga.

Point Park is a ten-acre memorial park that overlooks the Lookout Mountain Battlefield and the city of Chattanooga.

Once inside, a paved path circles the park with views of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River below.

In the center of the park is the New York Peace Memorial, which was erected by the state of New York as a tribute to peace and reconciliation between Union and Confederate veterans after the war.

At the actual point of the mountain, you can explore the Ochs Memorial Observatory.

We were able to pick out our mountain from the several vantage points on Point Park, which is fun to point out to Jack.

Also, from the point you can also choose to access several of the trails located on Lookout Mountain.

We had planned to do the hike from Lookout Point to Sunset Rock back in January, but the park was closed the day we visited. So we did the eighth of a mile hike to Sunset Rock from a parking area instead.

Thankfully the day we visited Point Park, it wasn't very crowded – which was nice. We were able to walk the grounds at our leisure and snap the photos we wanted.

Jack's favorite things were the cannons. He had to look at every single one.

I carried Isaac for this trip. I think he would have preferred to walk around, but sometimes it's just easier to hang on to little ones at this stage. 

We also had several talks with Jack about the importance of staying away from the edge and listening to us at all times.

It was really hot and humid on our afternoon visit, so we were excited to stop at Clumpies Ice Cream before making our way back to our car.

Jack informed us that his ice cream was Batman Good which means extra, super good. It's no secret that Isaac loves food and he was very demanding that we share our ice cream with him!

It was good to get outside and spend some time together as a family – we were couped up last week due to illness, so it was a much needed change of pace!

Normally admission to the park is $5/adult and children under the age of 15 are free. Parking can be found outside of the gate (I saw one free lot and the rest were metered parking). You can also ride the Incline Railway from St. Elmo to the top of the mountain and take a 5-minute walk to Point Park.

National Parks Centennial Celebration

Did you know that the National Parks are celebrating their 100th birthday this year? If you follow along on my blog you know that my family loves spending time in the outdoors and I am so grateful that 100 years ago politicians had the foresight to set aside areas of our country for our enjoyment and preservation for future generations.

I wrote more extensively about my love of National Parks back in May, and that love has not diminished. With each passing moment that I spend outside with my kids, my love for creation and the natural world grows.

This summer we have had the chance to swim, paddle, hike and bike in places both new and old. And some days, my kids just dig in the dirt, climb trees or swing as high as they can in an effort to touch the clouds. Big or small, we are immersing ourselves in the great outdoors every chance we get.

I just finished reading the book, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (I will write a review soon), and I am determined to make sure that my kids do not miss out on opportunities to connect with nature.

The book got my wheels turning, thinking about the future, not just for my own children, but for all children and for generations to come.

If you have a chance, you should get outside this weekend. If you are close to a National Park, GO VISIT because all of the National Parks have FREE ADMISSION now through August 28th. There are 412 National Parks in the US, I bet you live close to one!

The last National Park I visited was Niagara Falls (a National Heritage Area as of 2008), and prior to that was a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains (the most visited National Park in the United States). I have a whole bucket list I could devote to the National Parks, I hope they are around for a long time!

Cotopaxi is celebrating the centennial by encouraging people to explore a park near their home. Check out the interesting park stats on their graphic below!

National Parks

National parks, wilderness areas, forests, oceans, the wild places within our world, they all hold a special place in my heart. When I stand on the pinnacle of a high place or find myself in the bowels of the darkest cave, whether paddling down a wild river or feeling the thunderous motion of a waterfall, I feel most at peace. I feel closest to the God of creation. When I hear the gentle whisper of the wind through the trees, gaze at the endless night sky, or hear the lapping of waves on a shore, I am in awe. I think of the verses in the Bible that state that the rocks will cry out, and these wild places make me believe those words.

 

The other night, after our kids were in bed, Daniel and I were debating between putting our own exhausted selves to bed or watching mindless television. As I flipped the channels, I stumbled across an episode of a PBS documentary entitled "National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Grand Canyon

Within five minutes we were hooked. I have always been drawn to the National Parks, not only for their grandeur, but also for the stories that are tied to them. These experiences in the wilderness are the ones that stick with you for a lifetime.

Grand Canyon

The episode we watched reinforced this belief, as countless supporters of National Parks (biologists, writers, park rangers, etc.) shared personal accounts of visiting these parks as children. Each person had been profoundly impacted by their time in the parks. The people in the documentary all had similar experiences in childhood (around age 10 or so) when their parents loaded up a car and drove across the country, visiting as many of the parks as possible. These indelible memories were tied not only to the magnificence of the land, but also to their parents who took the time to take their children on an epic adventure.

Niagra Falls

I have only been to a handful of National Parks (though many of them are on my bucket list), but as a small girl I did get to visit the Grand Canyon with my parents. I don't remember the trip, but I have pictures to prove I was there. I hope to go back with my own children some day.

Lake Huron

I want to share a family adventure that my family embarked on about the time that I was entering adolescence. In my mind this was a catalyst for my love of the outdoors. I believe that I was about 12, and my family had recently transplanted from Ontario, Canada to Arkansas, when my great grandmother passed away. My parents made the decision to attend her funeral in Canada, and since it was summer time, they decided we should visit all five Great Lakes.

Lake Ontario

The Great Lakes are not National Parks but they have their own vastness and majesty just the same. I remember driving over the Mackinac Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, as we crossed into Canada, high above the waterway that connected Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Lake Michigan

On this trip we swam, or dipped our toes, in all five Great Lakes – with Lake Superior being the coldest by far. I believe my mom was the only one to actually get into Lake Superior. There is something magical about watching your mother throwing caution to the wind as she runs into a freezing lake.

Lake Erie

In addition to visiting the Great Lakes, we camped as we drove through the province. The campground that stands out the most is Grundy Lake Provincial Park – you can read my full account of our experience here. To this day, any mention of this park conjures up memories of ridiculous amounts of mosquitoes. It was early summer and we were drowning in mosquitoes. My mom took my siblings and I down to the lake to swim while my dad set up camp. This translated into us holding our breaths and staying under water as long as humanly possible to escape the swarms.

Algonquin Provincial Park

As soon as our tent was up, we hurried inside and spent the next 30+ minutes killing everything that buzzed. We were all miserable, but in the end the story is among our fondest memories, and we all still love to camp. 

Rocky Mountains

After Grundy Lake we visited Algonquin Provincial Park. Obviously this was a park in Canada and not the United States, but I'm sure it had the same profound impact on me as a National Park would. I was young and impressionable as I decided that some day I would come back and take a multi-day canoe trip in that park. Twenty+ years later, I still hope that dream comes to fruition.

Rocky Mountains

In junior high and high school I had several opportunities to attend Wilderness Trek (a Christian camp in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado). On the four different trips I made, we hiked into back country to spend five days, and if the weather allowed, we would summit a mountain. My very first year I found myself on top of Mt. Elbert, the highest mountain in Colorado, and I was never the same again. I was convinced I would eventually make my way to the top of all 50 states. I no longer believe that will happen, but I continue to try (I have made it to 9 out of 50 high points).

Anthony Creek Trail (GSMNP)

Daniel grew up taking yearly trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, and has many personal stories that he relives whenever we visit the park today – including hitch hiking with his dad from the Chimney Tops.

Gabes Mountain Trail (GSMNP)

As adults, Daniel and I have formed many new memories in this park as well. We also had the opportunity to visit Crater Lake several years ago and those experiences have shaped, and continue to shape who we are. I just hope we have the chance to share these types of experiences with our boys as they grow up.

Crater Lake

As for the PBS documentary, I hope to watch the rest of the series, and some day, in the not-so-distant future, I hope to take our boys to stand on the edges of huge canyons and endless shores, and to the tops of tall mountains where their breath will be taken away. And just maybe, they will begin to dream their own dreams, as the beauty and majesty that God has put all around us begins to shape their lives.

Laurel Falls Trail (GSMNP)