Pride in their park: Dunnavant Valley Park opens to public

Shelby County residents now have another place to enjoy the outdoors.

A ribbon-cutting and grand opening was at Dunnavant Valley Park at 1185 Dunnavant Valley Road on Friday, April 29.

The property, which was the site of the old Mt Laurel organic garden, was acquired by the county last year from EBSCO. It consisted of 11 acres of property adjacent to Dunnavant Valley Road (Shelby County 41) along with 750 acres of land between Dunnavant Valley Road and Bear Creek Road (Shelby County 43).

County Manager Chad Scroggins said this effort was to provide more outdoor recreational opportunities for residents along the U.S. 280 corridor.

“We were looking for areas to develop in some of our high growth areas and continue to look at areas to provide public access,” Scroggins said. “Shelby County has one of the largest demands for this, and people really want to use our public access.”

One pavilion was already at the location and will continue to be utilized, and a second pavilion has been built, along with bathrooms, a playground and fencing. A new gravel parking lot was also created.

Work continues on clearing the 750 acres, Scroggins said, and it will be completed in a few months. There will be a connection between Dunnavant Valley Park to Double Oak Park located on Shelby County 43. The 36-inch-wide trail will stretch around 15 miles and should be set to open later this year.

Shelby County Commissioner Rick Shepherd was in attendance at the ribbon-cutting and said when he thinks of Shelby County and what it means to him, he immediately thinks about family and community.

“Nothing really says more about family and community than having a place like this,” Shepherd said. “We are very fortunate in Shelby County to have people to lead it in parks and recreation and also the resources to fund it. This is a place for your kids to play and enjoy the outdoors, a place to go in the community and socialize with neighbors. We are very proud to have it in Shelby County, and I’m proud to have it in my district as well.”

Part of the county’s comprehensive plan included the planning for more parks and trails. Shepherd thanked residents of Dunnavant Valley and the Friends of Dunnavant Valley group for their help in making the space a reality.

“Without the commitment and the individualism of the people in this corridor, things like this would never happen,” he said.

Scroggins said people of Shelby County love the outdoors, and the service and planning departments work together to bring more of these options to residents.

The county is also in the final stages of creating a new comprehensive plan. Scroggins said a number of parks were built based on a former plan, but Dunnavant Valley Park came from the current plan. The No. 1 thing the residents wanted to see in a new plan was more public space and recreation opportunities.

“We had the opportunity during COVID that there was a lot of money spent because of the federal infusion of funds, which increased the sales tax revenue above and beyond what we had budgeted,” Scroggins said. “The [Shelby] County Commission decided to invest about $6.5 million into recreation space. Not only the 10 acres that is here, but the 750 acres where there is currently a professional trail-building staff building hiking and mountain bike trails.”

The mail trailhead will be on Shelby County 43, and the two will connect. After the contract was signed in August, crews went to work.

“We’re excited about opening this facility and excited about opening Double Oak Park,” Scroggins said. “This will be a long-term project to preserve and create space for residents to get out and enjoy the environment. This is a significant purchase by the county to set space available for many years to come.”