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!