Henry Horton State Park Wins Award for Service to Visitors

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has honored Henry Horton State Park for its performance in the Excellence in Visitor Experience Award category of the annual Tennessee State Parks Awards of Excellence.

"The rangers and staff at Henry Horton State Park consistently provide outstanding service for all visitors of all abilities," said TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. "With a particular focus on offering accessible features and services, Henry Horton is very deserving of this recognition."

Among the accessibility-focused improvements completed this year, the park added an additional all-terrain wheelchair, built a one-mile accessible natural surface trail around the campground and created a new accessible entrance to the visitor center with automated doors. The park is also implementing $7 million in ADA improvements for fiscal year 2026.

Henry Horton also installed 60 new picnic tables in shelters, made a reservable shelter available at the multi-sport area, constructed a stage in the day use area, built a 1.5-mile greenway made of recycled Tennessee tires, expanded disc golf facilities, extended restaurant hours and opened a new gift shop at the multi-sport facility. Additional improvements included new bottle filling stations, benches and dog waste stations along the park's accessible greenway.

The park hosted several well-attended events, including the inaugural Duck River Outdoor Expo, which featured a 10k duathlon, a 12-hour trail run, a mountain bike race and a bicycle ride. The park also received a $20,000 award from General Motors to update the park's Story Book Trail.

The Excellence in Visitor Experience Award recognizes a park for distinguished achievement in strengthening the quality, accessibility and breadth of experiences available to guests of all abilities. The evaluation considers significant enhancements to visitor access, the development of new or expanded recreational opportunities and the integration of visitor-serving features that advance strategic goals for inclusive, high-value park experiences.

TDEC announced the following awards for parks in other categories:

• Excellence in Amenities Award: Panther Creek State Park
• Excellence in Resource Stewardship Award: Johnsonville State Historic Park
• Excellence in Operations Award: Roan Mountain State Park

Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park was named Park of the Year.