Under An Hour From Knoxville, Tennessee Is A Scenic Park With Bird-Watching And Idyllic Trails

Travelers looking for a peaceful spot to let loose on a mountain bike or watch for birds without disturbances will find a gem within close reach of Knoxville, Tennessee. About 45 minutes by car from the city, Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement (BORCE) covers over 3,000 acres of Eastern Tennessee wilderness, per Tennessee Landforms. The park encompasses Black Oak Ridge and McKinney Ridge, two summits around the town of Oak Ridge, a unique Tennessee destination steeped in history. The park has pretty walking and cycling trails that wind up and down the hills of these ridges, where you'll likely share them with more birds than fellow humans.

"I hiked in almost two and a half miles ... I never saw anyone the whole way," one Google reviewer shared. Another reviewer said, "Typically, you will have this place all to yourself." There are about 2.6 miles of single-track trails and 11 miles of old gravel service roads to hike and savor the solitude of BORCE, according to Visit Knoxville. The trails wind through woods with a wide variety of trees: Hemlock, beech, maple, and cedar are some of the species listed by Tennessee Landforms, while you might see spider lilies or trilliums blooming along the paths. Reviewers on AllTrails rate hiking around the area as moderate in difficulty, mainly owing to some steep sections.

You can also take a mountain bike into the park, following the same trails. The gravel road trails are steeper, according to Visit Knoxville, and can send you riding at heart-pounding speeds. If you want to avoid the worst of the inclines, stick to the single-track trails, which branch out along Dyllis Orchard Road.

Given its seclusion and abundance of trees, BORCE provides a prime spot for birding. The easement was partially created to protect habitat for endangered songbirds, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which helped establish it. Among the bird species listed by Visit Knoxville that inhabit the park, one that's of conservation concern is the wood thrush, which you might spot here in the summer. 

Some other summer birds known to frequent BORCE include the yellow-billed cuckoo, Kentucky warbler, and chuck-will's-widow, while brown-headed and white-breasted nuthatches flit about in the easement year-round. If you don't have much luck birdwatching in BORCE, you could try driving just over an hour further west to Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, Tennessee's large wooded area with scenic drives and more birds.

With that said, BORCE is quicker to get to from Knoxville, which is also a convenient base if you're flying into McGhee Tyson Airport, around 45 minutes from the park. There's a parking lot located off of Blair Road. BORCE is open to the public from dawn to dusk, though it's a good idea to check the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's hunting season dates before your visit, since hunting is permitted here. After a day of hiking, you could cool off at Melton Hill Lake, which offers more outdoor fun and trails, about a 20-minute drive away.