Volunteer Landing is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

and riverwalk along the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. It is below the

Gay Street Bridge The Gay Street Bridge is a vehicle bridge that crosses the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1898, the bridgeMartha Carver, ''Tennessee's Survey Report for Historic Highway Bridges: Pre-1946 Masonry Arch, Timbe ...

History

The location of the park is the site of the

Treaty of Holston The Treaty of Holston (or Treaty of the Holston) was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791, and proclaimed on February 7, 1792. It was negotiated and signed by William Blount, governor of the South ...

. In 1988, a 50-member waterfront task force was created to analyze the waterfront area along the Tennessee River. Per the recommendations of this task force, a three-phase project to develop Volunteer Landing began in 1995 and continued through 1996. Volunteer Landing was completed in September 1997. Upon this completion, Volunteer Landing had a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

, a central

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

and

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

, and two new public parks. In April 1999, Gateway Regional Visitor Center which highlighted the region's nature and technology was opened. In Spring 2000, the 140-boat slip Volunteer Landing Marina, was completed. The Regas Riverfront Tavern/Restaurant, which seated about 250 people and had a banquet facility with capacity of 300, was also completed in 2000, concluding the waterfront development project. The state and local government contributed $10 million to Volunteer Landing. The marina was funded with about $3 million in private funds and a $100,000

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is an independent state agency of the state of Tennessee with the mission of managing the state's fish and wildlife and their habitats, as well as responsibility for all wildlife-related law enforcem ...

(TWRA) grant. The visitor center was received $5.6 million in federal, state, and local funds. The tavern/restaurant had about $6 million of private funding. The overall cost was $42 million and consisted of both public and private developments. In 2007, the Public Building Authority began to manage Volunteer Landing.

Description

Volunteer Landing has . Two new public parks were built as part of Volunteer Landing. One is called River Mountain Park, and it is west of the central pavilion and demonstrates the region's river and mountain heritage through the landscaping and water features. The second park is at the mouth of First Creek where the city was founded and has exhibits reflecting this history. Volunteer Landing Park is a three-acre linear park connects James White Greenway and Neyland Greenway. They are part of the downtown greenway system which is 19 miles long and runs east to west.

Activities

The one-mile walk features several

attractions Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism m ...

such as

train ride A train ride or miniature train consists of Rail transport modelling, miniature trains capable of carrying people. Some are considered amusement rides and some are located in amusement parks and municipal parks. Backyard railroads and ridable mi ...

s, riverboat cruises, restaurants, and a marina.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, biking,

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, and

paddling Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling a boat using a paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel. The paddle is not connected to the boat (unlike in r ...

are some available activities. During

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

(UT) home football games, the Vol Navy lines the river at Volunteer Landing as part of a

tailgating Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...

tradition. There is also a playground,

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typical ...

s, a shelter, picnic areas, and restrooms available.

Docks

One dock was originally built for the

1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and ele ...

. In 2017, a privately owned boat hit the dock and damaged it. It was closed afterwards, though the city had already planned improvements prior to the incident. The replacement dock cost $270,000 and 75 percent was financed by a TWRA grant. In April 2018, city-owned 360-foot-long boat dock reopened. The Vol Navy dock is near Neyland Stadium. The dock and concrete pavilion were built 1994 and was funded by a TWRA grant. In 1998, 200 feet were added. In 2019, the new dock was completed. It is nearly 600 feet long. The TWRA funded the project with a $400,000 grant and $100,000 came from the city and UT. The Public Building Authority managed the project. The city owns the dock and UT maintains it.

References

External links

*{{official website, https://knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/parks_and_recreation/parks/volunteer_landing_park Tourist attractions in Knoxville, Tennessee Parks in Tennessee 1997 establishments in Tennessee