Kings Mountain National Military Park — Attraction in Smyrna

Just WOW! Where do I start?! The park is run & maintained by the US National Park Service (NPS). It is in pristine condition. The park trails and facilities are well marked, disability accessible. The 1-1/2 mile Battlefield Trail is rubberized spongy, wide open, but steep, i.e., too steep to manually propel up/down, in several parts. You'd need something under power to navigate. The trail takes you from the Visitors Center and by several interpretative marker signs. The MOST IMPRRSSIVE part of our tour was the park staff. Park Ranger LAMAR TATE is the best tour guide we've ever had bar none at any park. Deep, deep, knowledge of the Kings Mtn. battle, and its affect on the war and the eventual Patriot's victory at Yorktown. Far reaching to say the least. Ranger Tate was knowledgeable on the entire Carolinian Revolutionary War to boot. You've got to walk with him to appreciate this gem of a historian. During our walking tour the park [female, and I forgot her name :( , superintendent was out walking the trail, greeted us about halfway to ask how all was going. Cold and windy, she took the time to walk the entire trail to greet and meet her park guests. That's going the "extra mile" in my book. A first-class 26 minute movie (HistoryChannel) in the Visitors Center (VC) (movie theater is very steep!)--if disabled be advised! The gift shop is huge and well stocked with various interesting items, books, tshirts. The VC museum is way cool, like taking a walk through the woods, and takes about ~10 minutes. The park roadways and grounds are kept up like a military facility--pristine. Restrooms are like everything in this NP--extremely well kept/clean. Kings Mountain Battlefield (NPS) is firing on all cylinders. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND! Major callout and kudos to Ranger Lamar Tate and the park...

Rude staff, nice land. One star for help/printed materials re: the park trails. Four stars for the path (minus a star because the blazes were irregular, on fallen trees or too far apart). Signage is bad. I'm not a particularly good navigator but can get around if there are maps to be had. Looked at some of the posted maps and there was nothing to take with on my hike. Had to go to the "Trading Post" to ask. Person at the desk took one look at my leashed dog and said, "NO DOGS". I understand but when I asked for a map, he didn't even come around the desk to give it to me. Instead, he just stood there trying to hand it to me across the width of the store. So I had to ask if I could bring the dog in to receive the map. This caused a big sigh as he had to haul his hide around the desk to give the map to me. This behavior might have been forgivable if there was ANYONE else around but this guy was literally staring at nothing when I opened the door. Also might have been forgivable if he was afraid of dogs, which he clearly wasn't since he came around the desk instead of keeping it between himself and my tethered animal. The hike was good (blue trail) but I got twisted around a couple of times because the blazes were not visible. I found more than a couple on trees that were fallen and because there was irregular distance between blazes got "lost" a couple of times as I thought I was following a path that wasn't my path. The trail head wasn't particularly visible until I got down next to the dam. All in all, good hike, bad taste of the...

Hello's is followed by good-byes. Many new experiences and lessons to use in Trip 3.. #panda_dan_and_sasquatch #Stinker_aka_littlemon #preppingforUSATOURii here at King's Mountain State Park & King's Mtn Military National Park. Very informative visitor's center to orientate your bearings of routes #TheKingsRedcoats marched the region over to keep then King Of England's colonies in alignment with the Ruler's demands. One cannot travel through the park and not NOT appreciate the hard choices made to separate from the land once before because a new government architecture was at this time just a quiet thought amongst the newcomers searching for a new start. What daydreaming you can conjure through your mind when hiking through these ancients routes, over 20 miles of hiking trails combined. If that's not enough, close by is neighboring Crowder's Mtn State Park maybe just a mile up Hwy 161. Many many miles to road cycle and venture outside or inside Park. Nice amount of quiet #gravelroads to test your #skinnytire skills. It's very apparent @scstateparks #scprt has allocated funds to make new campsites or make new again at King's Mountain State Park. #newutilityhookups #freshlygradedcamperpads #abundanttentsites #optoutside #ultimateoutsiderclub #adventureawaits...