Whether it’s the breathtaking view or simply a desire to enjoy the great outdoors, each year an estimated 30,000 people visit the four miles of hiking trails on House Mountain, a 500-acre natural area located just eight miles outside Knoxville in northeast Knox County.

But those tens-of-thousands of visitors take their toll on the trails, and that’s why volunteers from Mast General Store and the Smoky Mountain Hiking and Adventure Club recently spent time working to repair the damage from erosion and shortcuts taken by trail runners between the switchbacks.

General trail maintenance during a typical work day includes clearing trails of vegetation, removing shoulders, relocating trails and preparing for bigger projects such as step building and wall construction. All trail maintenance follows sustainable trail building guidelines. 

"The hard work these volunteers - and all of our park volunteers – put into restoring and maintaining our public lands is quite remarkable, and I want to thank them for their work," said Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett.

So far, volunteers and crew leaders have covered just a little over one mile on House Mountain and continue to work their way through the trail system making improvements

For more information on how you can get involved with the trail restoration on House Mountain contact Rebekah Jane Montgomery by email at rebekahjane.montgomery@knoxcounty.org or phone at 215-6610.

To get more details on House Mountain and its hiking trails visit
http://www.knoxcounty.org/parks/pdfs/housemtn.pdf