On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Knoxville leaders cut the ribbon on the Hilltop Pavilion at Lakeshore Park. The Lakeshore Park Conservancy says that ends the current round of work. Construction at the park is now on hold for a few years, and the construction fencing will be removed.
So for the first time in a long while, the Lakeshore you walk this week is the Lakeshore you'll have for the foreseeable future. This last wave went into the links between places the park already had, with roads, trails, a plaza between two event spaces and a roof at the top of the hill. If your loop goes past the Overlook or your kids have games on weeknights, here's what changed.
Two Rounds of Fencing, One Plan
Everything you've been walking around goes back to one document. In October 2020, Knoxville City Council approved an updated master plan for the 185-acre park, which sits between Lyons View Pike and the Tennessee River. The Haslam family gave $35 million toward the work. The plan has been built in pieces since then, and the last two pieces look very different when you set them side by side.
| Round | Finished | What it added |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 2, Part 1 | Fall 2024 | Jim Haslam Sports Center, six pickleball courts, Pryse Pavilion & Gardens, Tower Playground & Pavilion, McCamy Family Adult Fitness Center, plus updated trails, parking lots and sidewalks |
| Fall 2025 phase | October 2026 | New and improved roads, a paved parking lot, better trails, new green space, a plaza joining Marble Hall and Marble Pavilion, an updated Central Services Building and the Hilltop Pavilion |
The 2024 round gave the park new places to go: courts, a playground, a fitness area, a sports center. The round that just ended gave it better ways to get between them and more places to sit once you arrive. Each item on the second list makes something from the first list easier to reach.
The Newest Roof Is at the Top of the Hill
The Hilltop Pavilion sits near the HGTV Overlook at the highest point in the park. According to WVLT's report on the opening, it gives visitors cover from sun or rain, with tables and seats underneath.
Location is what matters here. The HGTV Overlook is a 500-foot walkway with a marble plaza in the middle and black gum trees and string lights along its length, looking out over the park, the river and the mountains. Until now, the best view in the park had no cover nearby. A pop-up shower on the hill meant a fast walk back down. Now there's a place to wait it out, or just sit with a coffee, at the end of the climb.
As of this week, the Hilltop Pavilion isn't on the park's list of bookable venues. The park's general rule is that pavilions are first-come, first-served for small gatherings when nobody has reserved them, and any group of 10 or more has to reserve. If you're planning anything bigger than a few friends, check the Conservancy's venues page before you go.
A Plaza That Turns Two Venues Into One
Lower in the park, the new plaza connects Marble Hall and Marble Pavilion. When the Conservancy announced this phase, it called that space a terrace between the two buildings.
Marble Hall is already one of the park's most-used event spaces. It's a 3,000-square-foot covered, partly enclosed pavilion with a stage, private restrooms, front and side terraces and two parking lots with 64 spaces between them. Joining it to Marble Pavilion with a plaza means a wedding, fundraiser or reunion can spill out of one building and into the other. On days when nothing is booked, it's one more paved, open spot along a walk.
The Roads and Trails Are the Real Upgrade
New roadways, a paved lot and what WATE's report called an "enhanced trailway system" don't sound exciting in a ribbon-cutting announcement. But they're the part you'll notice most often.
The park's trail system adds up to 4 miles, including a riverwalk through a natural marsh and woods along the Tennessee River, according to Visit Knoxville. Every new roadway and trail connection changes how you get onto that loop, where you can park when the ballfields are full and how easily a stroller or a slow-walking dog gets from one end to the other. Osborne's list of finished work in WVLT's coverage also included improvements to the Central Services Building, which now houses offices for the Conservancy and a new home for Knox Youth Sports.
That last item explains the weeknight crowd. A park with a youth sports organization based on site is busy in the evenings, and the park has added something for those evenings.
A Weeknight Snack Stop for the Ballfield Crowd
Camp Honey Coffee, owned by Ryan and Whitney Holliday, has served the Lyons View area from its shop across the street from the park for about a year. In late summer it opened an outpost inside the park at Central Pavilion. WATE reported that the Hollidays saw a gap in healthy food options inside the park and stocked the outpost with grab-and-go sandwiches made from whole ingredients, plus snacks and sports drinks. Their motto is "have a picnic."
The Conservancy's announcement says the outpost is meant to serve park users, "particularly sports families, on busy evenings." You can also buy Lakeshore Park gear there and add a donation to the Conservancy. The hours have been given two ways. The Conservancy listed Monday through Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m., starting Aug. 24, while WATE's September story said Monday through Friday. The outpost is built around game nights, so check Camp Honey before you plan a Friday dinner around it.
How all this gets paid for matters too. In that same WATE story, Osborne explained how the park's money works:
"It's city-owned land. A lot of the projects that we're doing right now is because of private donors, and also city help. But as far as the day-to-day operations of the park, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have Friends in the Park."
With building on hold, that donor program, which Osborne calls Friends of the Park, is what keeps the finished park in shape.
What Stayed the Same
The park's basic rules are the same as before. From the park's visitor FAQ:
- The park is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, though some facilities inside keep their own hours.
- Parking is free, spread across several lots. The park map shows current locations.
- Pets are welcome on a leash, and you clean up after them.
- No motorized vehicles on trails or playgrounds, and that includes e-bikes, scooters and skateboards.
The park's venues page still carries an older notice that construction will limit parking at the HGTV Overlook from March through November. The Conservancy's Oct. 20 announcement that the work is done and the fencing is coming down is the more recent word.
The Hilltop's First Big Gathering Is the Dec. 5 Market
The lights come first. Light Up Lakeshore, the Conservancy's holiday lighting fundraiser, lights up sections of the park sponsored by local families and businesses. Visit Knoxville lists it as free and running daily from Nov. 29, 2026, through Jan. 1, 2027.
The first big gathering on the finished hilltop follows on Saturday, Dec. 5. That's the holiday market that kicks off the season, with local makers, businesses, food trucks and nonprofits at the HGTV Overlook, right next to the new pavilion. The Conservancy's Light Up Lakeshore page gives the hours as 2 to 6 p.m., and Visit Knoxville's listing says 3 to 7 p.m., so check the Conservancy's page closer to the day. Last year, a December market at the Overlook meant open sky and nowhere to duck in. This year there's a roof a few steps away.
Our team at MR10 Realty lives and works in West Knoxville, and Lakeshore is a park we visit often too. If you have a question about Bearden, the park or the neighborhoods around it, we're always glad to talk. Get in touch, and we might see you up at the Hilltop Pavilion in December.
