Kingsport park to see disc golf course improvements

KINGSPORT — Soon visitors to Warriors' Path State Park will see new turf tee boxes and signage for the disc golf course.These improvements were announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon, where Tennessee State Parks revealed Friends of Warriors' Path State Park received a $10,000 grant for improvements to the course.The Warriors' Path Disc Golf Course was the first of its kind for northeast Tennessee, a recent release states. It was constructed by the Lakefront Disc Golf Association volunteers and disc golf enthusiasts, and remains one of the oldest disc golf courses in the state.The course currently features two 18-hole courses, making it one of the only state parks in Tennessee with 36 holes of disc golf."This is a great boost for the park," Chris Cole, manager of WPSP, said in the release. "Disc Golf serves many individuals and families who enjoy this feature, and we are deeply grateful to Visit Kingsport for its tremendous support."Cole credited the work of Friends of Warriors' Path State Park for many of the recent improvements at the park. He also thanked Visit Kingsport for making the project possible."I would just like to say it's fortunate to have such an active Friends group who supports our park maintenance and improvement efforts," Cole said. "I know that many of y'all have seen the new marina and the new campground. A lot of that is due to the efforts of the Warriors Path State Park Friends group, it's such an important part of the park. Without them, we just couldn't have those things."Reba Barber, president of Friends of Warriors' Path State Park, expressed her thanks for the community and city showing their support for the park through the grant. She said that for much of the funding for the park, the Friends group has to come up with it themselves."There are a lot of people who are under the perception that the state funds everything at the state parks and sadly, that is not true," Barber said. "We have a lot of state parks, and we're very fortunate in Tennessee that our entry into those state parks is free. But what we get from the budget from the state is more for necessities like utilities and things like that. So a Friends group comes in and tries to fund the extras, the improvements, the new things at the park."Boosting tourismThe grant money will help the park become eligible for hosting regional, state and national tournaments, the release states.Tim Barr, president of the Lakefront Disc Golf Club, said that this year's planned disc golf events at the park will draw over 700 players. The club recently hosted the River Valley Masters, which Barr said brought in more than 200 players last weekend."This addition to Warrior's Path is going to greatly enhance the player's time when they come here," said Barr. "They're not going to have to worry about slipping on slick concrete, they're going to be able to play with confidence, and play better because of that."He said that the course has seen an influx in players during its rise in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic."These things were initially installed back in the '80s and over the years have just fallen into disrepair," Barr said. "And with the renewal of disc golf since COVID, we've had a lot of people start playing because they were looking for things to do outdoors that were cheap and free."Barr said that the park has partnered with MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center and Comfort Suites to offer special room rates for disc golf players who visit from out of town."It was our pleasure to be part of this project and enhance the disc golf experience here for locals and visitors alike," said Frank Lett, president and chief tourism officer for Visit Kingsport. "To have all those folks come into town and stay in our hotels. Our main drive is to get people here and spend their money in our great community and help us to benefit from that."The park is located at 490 Hemlock Road.For more information about Warriors' Path State Park, visit https://tnstateparks.com/parks/warriors-path. For more information about Visit Kingsport, go to https://visitkingsport.com/.