Surprise! My Favorite Dogwood Trails Aren’t in West Knoxville

It’s almost the end of April and while you can follow the pink arrows to visit the dogwood trails at any time of the year, the Open Gardens are only open through the end of April. With only one weekend left, I wanted to give you my favorite dogwood trails. And surprise! My favorite Dogwood Trails aren’t in West Knoxville.

I knew that would surprise you. After all, Sequoyah Hills is one of the Knoxville Dogwood Trails and everyone knows how beautiful it is. But while Sequoyah Hills is beautiful, it’s not my favorite one, partly because of the lack of any Open Gardens. And, this is purely subjective, but a lot of the trails in West Knoxville have yards that all look the same. I want variety and that’s what my favorite trails provide.

If you only have an hour or two this weekend to visit a Dogwood Trail, here are my favorite ones. They are located in the North and South part of town.  And since you may be going out of your way to visit them, I’ve also included all the trails in those areas in case you have more time. Also, make sure you check out my previous blog post for the trails on the East side of town.

The Fountain City Trail, the Halls/Timberline trail, and the North Hills trail are all located in North Knoxville. While I drove all 90 miles of Dogwood Trails last year, this year I haven’t finished driving them….yet. An out-of-town family funeral, yucky weather, and a packed schedule have kept me from completing all 90 miles. But hey, there are still a few days left in April.

All of that to say that while I have not driven the entirety of the Halls/Timberline trail this year, I’ve driven sections of it simply because it is close to me. The Timberline trail was the first trail outside of Knoxville’s city limits.

The trail begins off Emory Road in the Meadowcrest neighborhood and continues through Halls to Timberline Estates. While the entire trail offers gardens with abundant dogwoods and other flowering trees, one section of the trail also provides impressive mountain views. And those views move this trail closer to the top of my favorites list.

The North side of town is also the home of the Fountain City trail which is divided into two parts. The East side is also called the Garden Side and begins at historic Gibbs Drive. Sidewalks line both sides of the street and there are some big front porches that seem to invite you to linger and enjoy the fragrance and delightful medley of colorful flowers. If you decide to visit this trail, I’d suggest parking somewhere and walking down the broad sidewalks to get a close look at some of the enchanting gardens.

You’ll follow this trail to Harrill Hills, which has very narrow streets but has an abundance of beautiful gardens. There’s very little traffic so you can slowly drive by eye-catching gardens, white picket fences, graceful homes, and towering trees.

This trail continues along Garden Drive and eventually makes its way to Beverly Acres. Take a deep breath and relax as you enter this neighborhood which features homes set back off the road with large lots and beautiful landscaping.

Make sure you take a moment to stop at the Open Garden at Central Baptist Church. Two large trees stand sentinel over a cross surrounded by Lenten roses, azaleas, and dogwoods. This peaceful garden remains open year-round and can be accessed from Lynnwood Drive.

The West Side of the Fountain City Trail is also called the Panoramic Side. You’ll be passing by Fountain City Park and then making your way up Black Oak Ridge. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the Smoky Mountains from this trail. These are homes with expansive lots and an abundance of trees.

One of my favorite trails of all the Dogwood Trails is the North Hills Trail. This trail begins at 1999 North Hills Boulevard. While there are five camera sites listed on the website for this trail, there are an abundance of homes that would qualify for this designation.

One of the things I enjoy about the Dogwood Trails is the pride that the owners take in their gardens. In fact, if they see you taking an interest in their gardens, many of these homeowners are more than happy to give you tips on how they’ve achieved these masterpieces.

J- is one such owner. She and I talked for well over thirty minutes about her garden. As she weeded, I asked questions, and she willingly answered. She told me which plants were good shade plants, which were good in the sun, and where she got a lot of her plants.

She even introduced me to three of her neighbors. As I said, this is what I love about the Dogwood Arts trails….sometimes if you play your cards right, you get to meet the most fascinating people.

And I’m going to keep J-‘s contact information. She’s a great resource. After all, her yard won the coveted Beautification Award from the North Hills Garden Club, so this lady knows what she is talking about. Unfortunately, my pictures just don’t do her yard justice. You’ll have to drive by to get the full impact.

In addition, the North Hills neighborhood has an Open Garden at 3033 Fountain Park Boulevard. As I’ve said before those people who agree to host an open garden are ok with you getting out of your car and walking through their garden. And this is a garden you’re going to want to see complete with a bed of azaleas, a small pond, and agarden shed with the coolest cobalt blue door. Is it any wonder that this trail is one of my favorite trails in all of Knoxville?

The South side of the city has three separate trails with three very different vibes. The Chapman Highway trail features Colonial Village on the West side and Lake Forest on the East. The Lake Forest community features homes with Tennessee Pink Marble in their architecture.

While there are some good garden areas on this trail, it definitely is my least favorite South Knoxville trail. If you do decide to drive it, be aware that the trail ends abruptly with a turn on to Chapman Highway that I considered rather dangerous because of limited sight.

According to the Dogwood arts website, the Island Home Trail is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s no wonder because many of the original houses built in the 20^th century still remain. The divided road along Island Home Boulevard features homes with large front porches and classic bungalows with their cottage gardens.

Like most of the trails, there are some areas that are overgrown and not well kept but if you stay on the boulevard, you’ll find yourself amazed by some of the intricate gardens. I’d suggest parking on the side of the road and walking down the sidewalks, which give you more time to enjoy the gardens.

Perhaps my favorite trail of all is the Lakemoor Hills Trail. It’s located on “the quiet side of the river”, off Alcoa Highway. This trail leads you past forest-like areas and scenic river views. Most homeowners here enjoy large lots with plentiful, mature trees.

This is a 7.8-mile trail that begins at 3113 Montlake Drive. It’s hard to believe that this preserve-like area is so close to Downtown Knoxville. Spend a couple of hours driving this trail and you’ll feel like you’ve been on vacation. But make sure you visit before the end of the month because you don’t want to miss out on the Open Gardens. That’s part of what makes this trail so enjoyable.

This trail meanders through the neighborhood, up and down hills, so keep a close eye out for those Pepto Bismo pink arrows. As you drive the trail, make sure that you take a moment to stretch your legs and walk around Lakemoor Legacy Park and Garden on Circle Lane. This small park was established in 2017 and is a certified wildlife habitat.

I met one of the homeowners whose property is across the road from the park. She was a wealth of information about this beautiful park. According to her, the park actually began as a pond and still floods when there is an abundance of rain. It’s maintained by the Lakemoor Hills Garden Club (the daytime one) and is a very important part of the neighborhood, hosting Happy Hour once a month on Fridays.

She also told me that this trail is actually on a peninsula (you probably know that but I didn’t) and used to be called the Fort Loudon Lake Trail. As I said earlier, part of the joy of driving the trails is getting to meet the people who live there.

While this Dogwood Trail is beautiful by itself, again, it is the open gardens that make this trail shine and the Lakemoor Trail has two of my favorite private open gardens.

The Open Garden at 3505 Bluff Point is perched high atop a bluff overlooking the water. Make sure you check out the camera site. It gives you stunning views of the river and downtown Knoxville.

I can just imagine myself grabbing my cup of coffee in the morning and wandering down to sit in my yellow Adirondack chair, propping my feet up on the stone wall,  and looking out over the water at the city of Knoxville. Ohh…one can only dream. But you have got to see this view.

If you can tear yourself away from this garden, and believe me, I know how hard it will be to do that, continue further along the trail to 4000 Maloney Road.

Here you’ll find a charming riverside property with a special place for kids to hang out.

Last year, I was so excited to meet the owner of this property. She welcomed hubby and I and graciously removed any discomfort we felt by showing up literally on her doorstep. She probably spent over fifteen minutes introducing us to her beautiful property.

I love this property. It is one of my favorite open gardens and I am so thankful that the owners were kind enough to open their gardens to the public. This homeowner especially welcomed us so warmly last year and insisted we feel free to look around.

Unfortunately, this year I didn’t get to talk to the property owner, but I still enjoyed touring her beautiful garden.

As you drive the trail, if you’re lucky, you might get to talk to other homeowners. As I stopped on the side of the road to take a picture, I met another homeowner who graciously invited me to tour his gardens. He and his wife were so friendly and answered more of my questions about how long it took to get their gardens in such great shape and where to start on my garden.

As I drove home, I was so thankful for the opportunity to visit these neighborhoods. I’m sure it’s not always convenient to have people driving through your neighborhoods, “rubbernecking” and tying up traffic. But these homeowners provide each of us with such a gift of seeing their property and dreaming of what ours could eventually look like.

Remember you only have until the end of the month to enjoy the Open Gardens. You can access maps and more information at the Dogwood Arts website.