How to Spend the Perfect Day in Johnson City, TN
Two residents give the inside scoop on fun things to do in Johnson City.
For both recent transplants and natives, the perfect day includes enjoying the ample wilderness and water around Johnson City, TN. Here are two agendas – from former Floridian Alan Edwards and Tennessee native Grant Puckett – on how to spend an ideal day in and around the city, plus some bonus ideas to customize your own itinerary of fun things to do in Johnson City.
Life in the Bike Lane
Avid road biker Edwards first heard of Johnson City while he was living in his native Jacksonville, Florida, and a cycling buddy announced he was moving there. Edwards assumed the two would lose touch after the move, but he ended up visiting his friend and fell in love with the area.
Some may scoff at the idea of leaving Florida’s perpetual summer, but that was actually part of its appeal. “It’s completely different from Jacksonville, where there’s 11 months of summer and a month of winter,” Edwards says. “It’s nice to have the four seasons.”
Then there are the vast spaces for outdoor recreation, which Edwards has taken full advantage of since he himself relocated there in 2017.
“It’s all about the outdoors for me,” he says, reeling off a list of places he can access within a few minutes from his apartment: Cherokee National Forest, Smoky Mountain National Park and the Appalachian Trail, and Watauga Lake.
Unsurprisingly, Edwards’ ideal day revolves around getting out into nature, and heading out on his bike for a two- or three-hour ride is the first thing he’d do after a light breakfast at home. “My favorite area is the south mountains, but I don’t think anybody locally calls it that,” he says of the terrain between Johnson City and Asheville.
A section of Interstate 26 passing through Johnson City was completed in the mid-1990s, and according to Edwards, that leaves older, two-lane mountain roads primarily to bikers.
“You can be out for a four-hour ride – which I have been before – and you barely notice the cars,” he says. “It’s a challenge to go up those climbs. You do a climb and then have this thrilling descent into the valley, and immediately do another climb. It’s a heck of a workout, but it’s also a thrill.”
Afterwards, an afternoon on the water is the perfect way to cool down, so Edwards will grab some friends and his boat to make the 30-minute drive east of town to Watauga Lake. With just over 100 miles of shoreline, the lake is large enough to accommodate multiple activities.
His crew enjoys beaching the boat for a picnic onshore and spending time on the water kneeboarding (a kissing cousin of wakeboarding) and tubing. He’d end the day with an order of smoked wings slathered in Stoney Creek barbecue sauce and fries at Southern Craft Barbecue, a smokehouse that offers “great service” along with casual grub.
Thinking About Moving to Johnson City?
Find other reasons locals say they love to live in Johnson City at movetojohnsoncity.com.
Chasing Waterfalls
Grant Puckett, his wife and their 10-month-old child spend much of their outdoor time seeking out the many waterfalls in the region. The 80-foot-high Laurel Falls, located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a 20-minute drive from the city, and Cherokee National Forest’s Red Fork Falls is also nearby. His personal favorite, though, is Twisting Falls, “because it requires a little bit of skill to get to. In some spots you’re literally holding onto a (guide) rope with knots tied into it to get down the hill.”
Puckett is also a music buff, so he’d definitely search out live music on his ideal day.
“I know I can go to pretty much any restaurant and hear live music. We always have live music going on. There’s always a concert, there’s always a festival,” he says.
The Down Home, a local venue that’s been hosting musicians for nearly five decades, was just one of seven statewide showcases for Tennessee Songwriters Week in 2023. East Tennessee State University opened the Martin Center for the Arts, a 93,000-square-foot facility, in late 2020.
Another of Puckett’s in-town haunts, Mulligan’s Gaming Pub, has live music several nights per week as well as tasty Irish cuisine. He also shouts out BURG’r & BARREL (located inside a historic train station) as well as his favorite restaurant in Johnson City, the high-end Juniper (“Divine is the only word I would use” to describe the offerings, he says).
Bonus Picks
Residents who’d prefer to get some fresh air without leaving the city have plenty of options, thanks to the nearly 20 public parks in town. King Commons and Founders Park are two parks that are easily accessible from downtown. The Tweetsie Trail (so named for the sound of train steam whistles) runs nearly 10 miles from Johnson City to nearby Elizabethton.
Downtown Johnson City also offers a wealth of shopping and dining options. Specialty shops hawk everything from screen-printed T-shirts and women’s apparel to plants to skate gear to vinyl, while modern general store The Generalist stocks a fun mix of jewelry and accessories, home goods and grocery items. And to fuel up, check out the pies at Main Street Pizza Co., eclectic fare at the LABEL (one of Edwards’ favorites), local beers at Yee-Haw Brewing Co. and much, much more.
Get to Know Johnson City
Want to learn more about living and working in Johnson City, TN? Check out the latest edition of Livability Johnson City.
