The Lakeshore Park Conservancy and the City of Knoxville will celebrate the grand opening of Lakeshore Park’s newest playground in the woods on Wednesday, May 8, 3 p.m.

The Huie Woodland Playground is a unique, nature-themed playground nestled in the woods at the northeast portion of Lakeshore Park. Donated by benefactors Ann and Joe Huie, the new play space adds to a growing variety of playgrounds offered to parents and children at the park. This discovery-oriented playground is meant to immerse children in nature while providing a host of features that promote unprescribed and imaginative play.

Set within an existing woodland and ravine, the Huie Woodland Playground draws visitors to an otherwise underutilized portion of the park. Two primary entrances leading from nearby parking and the outer loop trail pull visitors into the space. Within the ravine, woodland trails and a number of features such as a 12-foot embankment slide, boulder scramble, log ladder, and log stair provide fun and unique opportunities for children to navigate the slopes.

At the lower portion of the playground, play elements such as a log stack, log tunnel, play hut, circle, swings, and see-saw provide ample opportunities to engage with nature and with others.

The playground’s material palette is largely focused on the varied and creative use of wood, rock, and boulders to highlight and compliment the natural setting. Custom wood elements such as a bridge crossing, log steps, log planks, benches, a small picnic table, and sculptural inverted trees add distinctive character. An existing tree canopy consisting of Magnolia, Tulip Poplar, Hackberry, Sycamore, and Maple trees was preserved to the greatest extent possible to promote shade and provide a strong sense of enclosure.

Additional native plantings will be installed over time to encourage seasonal interest, provide additional enclosure, and evoke the landscape of eastern Tennessee.

The Huie Woodland Playground is one of four playgrounds offered at Lakeshore Park. Two existing play spaces – the larger, more centrally located Hank Rappé Playground and the Lakeshore Playground located near the soccer fields – are popular traditional playgrounds catering to a broad age range of children.

The Lakeshore Playground is currently being renovated along with the adjacent pavilion.

Currently under construction, the Tower Playground near the new baseball complex will provide much taller play structures and distinct play features for children ages 5 to 12. Further removed from the other play spaces to the north, the Huie Woodland Playground offers a completely different type of play experience immersed in a natural setting.