The Heritage Park Trifecta: Walking, Fishing, Splashing in the Glorious Mundane
a small local park for quintessential weeknight joys
Sometimes there’s a town park that’s just an extra-special gift to the community, and Heritage Park is one of those. It’s a guaranteed Very Perfect Evening on a spontaneous weekday afternoon.
Distances
Heritage Park is 18 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, TN, (and only 7 minutes from Trader Joe’s. 😎)
Everything is free, or you can spend a few bucks on donuts.
Stop #1: Splash and Fish in The Creek
There’s a really neat stream flowing through Heritage Park that provides a tranquil reading or yoga spot for grownups and endless water play for kids. Follow the creek to the bridge and you’ve got a decent fishing spot. I love this area because all my kids can do different things—individually or cooperatively—while I enjoy a peaceful couple hours of mildly supervising.
It’s really fun to see what games the kids come up with. One time they brought a plastic tub and used it as a boat and gave each other tours.
Stop #2: Walk the Loop
Heritage Park also has a playground, dog park, pavilion…lots of amenities. You’ll see lots of other walkers just enjoying the grounds. In spring/summer/fall, it’s a super pleasant green space with plenty of room to roam around.
Stop #3: Check out Heritage Walk
In summer 2023, a private nearby neighborhood partnered with Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors to create a really nice trail in the back of Heritage Park, accessible by gate. Not many people know about it yet and it took me a minute to find.
Wander around the trails and explore the creek and stream. There’s a little tunnel of bamboo, too. It’s just a gorgeous spot.
We found another fishing spot back there, so while our fishing family members caught a tiny bass, the rest of us used creek water to paint! I never remember to pack bug spray, but I make sure we have our watercolors. Mosquito bites and creative energy abound.
Side Quest
Grab some doughnuts or fritters from nearby Tasty Donuts; you can walk there from Heritage Park. You can also grab Lupi’s Pizza for dinner.
A note regarding treats and large families: I love the philosophy on desserts that “Three bites is a feast.” It’s not super indulgent or pricey to split three doughnuts among seven people because it’s super satisfying to have just a taste.
Takeaway: Gratitude for Simple Pleasures
Every single time we go to Heritage Park—which is quite often, let me tell you—I’m just blown away by what a gift it is to enjoy simple pleasures such as walking, fishing, and splashing. I grew up an hour from Orlando, which has every ticketed attraction imaginable, but I always yearned for the ability to just…roll around in grass for free. Heritage Park is the perfect spot to do just that.
There’s a prominent American flag at Heritage Park, and I can’t help but be thankful to live in a place where we have the freedoms we do. I often have some survivor’s guilt that our family isn’t scavenging for food, hiding from bombs, or running for our lives—and who knows what the future holds—but, for whatever reason, I do find myself with the freedoms and safety that I desperately want all people to have access to. I want to be grateful for these things and model that for my kids. I hope our family can be used to make these simple pleasures accessible to other families someday, too.
Places like Heritage Park remind me of what’s most valuable in life. It makes me fall i love all over again with the mundane. I hope you find a place like that for you. I’d rather have a Tuesday afternoon in Heritage Park with my kids than a yacht trip to Bali any day. Can’t beat it.
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Warmly,
Hope from Trip Trifectas