Oak Ridge: Public Programs

With nearly 100 square miles seized by the Federal government to create Oak Ridge, there is a lot to explore. Join rangers for park programs across Oak Ridge.

Check the park calendar for upcoming program dates.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Where Will They Live? Housing and Education Tour on Cedar Hill Greenway

Many of the Oak Ridge greenways follow trails and paths of early Oak Ridge residents. Passing through the backyards of Cedar Hill and over the hills of Jackson Square, this hike explores the unique and utilitarian military architecture of the Manhattan Project’s homes and schools.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Digging into the Manhattan Project: Pet-Friendly Hike on North Boundary Greenway

Is your B.A.R.K. Ranger just pawing at the chance to learn more about the Manhattan Project? This hike on the North Boundary Greenway explores both the pre-Manhattan communities and the construction of Oak Ridge. This program passes by multiple displaced community cemeteries and a Manhattan Project quarry.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Finding Community In America’s Secret City: Jackson Square

Jackson Square, or Town Center No. 1, formed the social and economic center of the wartime community of Oak Ridge. Stroll through the townsite to learn how Oak Ridgers created community in this atomic city.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Powering the Project: Paddle on the Clinch River's Melton Hill Lake

30 miles (48 km) upriver from Oak Ridge, the Clinch River flows through the turbines of Norris Dam, the first hydroelectric dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Bring your human powered vessels and explore the role of the Clinch for the Manhattan Project.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Secrecy, Security, & Spies

Post-war Oak Ridge earned the moniker of America’s Secret City. Join a ranger talk inside the Turnpike Checking Station to learn about the security apparatus that wartime residents lived and worked under, and the few who tried to subvert it.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Seeds of Victory: Open Garden Days

Across the American Home Front, everyday Americans helped put food on their community tables. At the park’s reproduction victory and pollinator gardens, join in planting, weeding, and learning the ins and outs of putting food on the table during the war.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/ED WESTCOTT

Tennis Court Dances

Community dances were just one outlet of entertainment for war workers in Oak Ridge. Tennis courts provided the ideal surface for open-air dances in the hot Tennessee summers. The park recreates these dances monthly throughout the summer.

 

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Walk Through Wheat

Wheat, Tennessee was a thriving hub of education and commerce prior to the Manhattan Project. During the fall of 1942, the federal government seized the town and nearly 100 square miles for the creation of Oak Ridge. Visit the former townsite on this ranger-led walking tour.

 

NPS

Displacement: Freels Bend Cabin Paddle

The oldest surviving structure in Oak Ridge, the Freels Bend Cabin, dates back to 1810. Bring your human powered vessels and explore Melton Hill Lake. This active paddle explores the changes brought to the Clinch River Valley over the last 200 years.