Visitor directory
Sullivan County directory
Bristol Motor Speedway and the Bristol Sessions on State Street, Kingsport’s Bays Mountain Park and Warriors’ Path State Park, the Southwest Territory capital at Rocky Mount, historic Blountville, Exchange Place and the Netherland Inn, Boone and South Holston lakes, and Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest.
Cities: Kingsport (also Hawkins) · Bristol · Bluff City · Johnson City (also Carter & Washington)
Communities: Blountville (county seat) · Bloomingdale · Colonial Heights · Piney Flats · Walnut Hill · Sullivan Gardens · Orebank · Spurgeon (also Washington)
Official tourism, parks & attractions
Tourism
- Historic Blountville — Sullivan County Archives & Tourism ↗County seat since 1779 · the Historic Sullivan County Courthouse and the Deery Inn on Highway 126 · Archives & Tourism, 3425 Hwy 126, Suite 100, Blountville · (423) 323-4660.
- Visit Kingsport (Convention & Visitors Bureau) ↗400 Clinchfield St, Suite 100, Kingsport · (423) 392-8800 · outdoors, the downtown carousel, events and places to stay.
Parks & outdoors
- Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium (City of Kingsport) ↗853 Bays Mountain Park Rd, Kingsport · a 3,788-acre city nature preserve with a 44-acre lake, nature center, planetarium, native-animal habitats, barge rides and about 44 miles of trails (part of the preserve reaches over the ridge into Hawkins County) · $7 per car · grounds November–February Monday–Saturday 8:30–5, Sunday 11–5 · the nature center’s lower level is closed until further notice.
- Warriors’ Path State Park ↗490 Hemlock Rd, Kingsport · just over 1,000 acres on TVA’s Fort Patrick Henry Lake · marina with kayak, canoe and pedal-boat rentals, hiking and mountain-bike trails, a golf course, two 18-hole disc golf courses and the Boundless Playground · reservations 1-888-867-2757.
- Steele Creek Park & Nature Center (City of Bristol) ↗4 Little Lane, Bristol · a city park of more than 2,200 acres with a 52-acre lake, opened in 1964 · paddle boats, walking, hiking and biking trails, an 18-hole disc golf course, the Steele Creek Express train, a splash pad, shelters and the lodge · the nature center (free with park admission) is open Monday–Saturday 11–5 and Sunday 1–5 from Labor Day to Memorial Day · (423) 989-5616.
- Cherokee National Forest — Holston Mountain & South Holston Lake (USFS) ↗Holston Mountain above TVA’s 7,580-acre South Holston Lake · a 36-mile horse and hiking trail complex, Little Oak Campground on the lake, and fly fishing below South Holston Dam · Jacobs Creek Recreation Area is closed after Hurricane Helene · Watauga Ranger District office in Unicoi.
- Appalachian Trail (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) ↗The A.T. crosses the county’s far southeastern corner on Holston Mountain, near the Carter and Johnson county lines; the USFS Cross Mountain trailhead has parking for hikers.
Attractions
- Bristol Motor Speedway ↗The NASCAR half-mile track and Bristol Dragway · Food City Speedway in Lights, a 4-mile drive-through holiday light show with a lap of the track, runs Nov. 20, 2026–Jan. 2, 2027, 6–10 PM · tickets (866) 415-4158.
Museums & history
- Rocky Mount State Historic Site ↗200 Hyder Hill Rd, Piney Flats · William Cobb’s log home, where territorial Gov. William Blount lived from 1790 to 1792 while it served as the capital of the Southwest Territory · open March to mid-December, Wednesday–Saturday, with costumed guided tours at 11, 1 and 3 · (423) 538-7396.
- Exchange Place Living History Farm ↗4812 Orebank Rd, Kingsport · a restored mid-1800s farm and former relay station on the Great Stage Road, run mostly by volunteers of the Netherland Inn/Exchange Place Association · (423) 288-6071.
- Netherland Inn & Boatyard Historic Site ↗2144 Netherland Inn Rd, Kingsport · William King’s 1802 inn above the Holston River in Boat Yard Park, later a stage stop on the Great Stage Road · tours Saturday–Sunday 2–4, May–October · $6 adults, $4 ages 7–17 · (423) 245-5449.
Government
- Sullivan County government ↗County mayor, commission agendas and county offices · 3411 Hwy 126, Blountville.
- City of Kingsport ↗City services, Bays Mountain Park, the Kingsport Greenbelt, police, fire and city news.
- City of Bristol, Tennessee ↗801 Anderson St · (423) 989-5500 · city services, parks and recreation and Steele Creek Park.
- Bluff City ↗4391 Bluff City Hwy · (423) 538-7144 · a pavilion and boardwalk on Boone Lake.
- Sullivan County & Kingsport public libraries ↗Sullivan County Public Library: Blountville, 1655 Blountville Blvd (423) 279-2714 · Bloomingdale, Colonial Heights, Sullivan Gardens and Thomas Memorial (Bluff City) branches · Kingsport Public Library is at 2101 Fort Henry Dr during its downtown renovation, (423) 229-9489.
Shared with neighboring counties
- Boone Lake (TVA) — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
Local resources
- Emergency (police · fire · EMS)911Call 911 for any emergency.
- Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office(423) 279-7500140 Blountville Bypass, Blountville · Sheriff Jeff Cassidy ⓘ source
- Sullivan County Emergency Management(423) 323-69121651 Blountville Blvd, Suite 103, Blountville · preparedness and hazard plans · for emergencies call 911 ⓘ source
- Sullivan County EMS(423) 279-28123411 Hwy 126, Suite 204, Blountville · dispatch · for medical emergencies call 911 ⓘ source
- Holston Valley Medical Center (Ballad Health)(423) 224-4000130 W. Ravine Rd, Kingsport · 24/7 emergency department and trauma care ⓘ source
- Bristol Regional Medical Center (Ballad Health)(423) 844-11211 Medical Park Blvd, Bristol · 24/7 emergency department, Level III trauma center and a pediatric ER ⓘ source
- Sullivan County Regional Health Department(423) 279-2777154 Blountville Bypass, Blountville, with a second office in Kingsport · immunizations, WIC, vital records ⓘ source
- Sullivan County Mayor’s Office(423) 323-6417Financial Administration Building, 155 School Ave, Suite 233, Blountville · Mayor Zane Vanover ⓘ source
- Sullivan County Schools(423) 354-1000154 Blountville Bypass, Blountville — calendars, closings ⓘ source
- Kingsport City Schools(423) 378-2100400 Clinchfield St, Suite 200, Kingsport ⓘ source
- Bristol Tennessee City Schools(423) 652-9451615 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Bristol ⓘ source
- Sullivan County Election Commission(423) 323-64443258 Hwy 126, Suite 103, Blountville · Election Day Tue Nov 3, 8 AM–8 PM ⓘ source
- Veterans Service Office(423) 279-2879125 Anderson Rd, Blountville · by appointment, Monday–Friday 8–4:30 ⓘ source
- Highway emergency (cell)*THP (*847)Tennessee Highway Patrol ⓘ source
Checked Oct 28, 2026 · official sites only · phone numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. In an emergency, call 911.
Area news
Headlines from local outlets · Sullivan County
Bristol's first Turkey Bowl adult flag-football tournament is Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. at Stone Castle; registration is $20 per player.
Read at WCYB 5 →Dogs of all shapes and sizes can compete in Kingsport's free Howl-O-Ween costume contest Thursday evening at Dogwood Park.
Read at WJHL 11 →Work on the downtown library includes a children's area twice its old size; the library operates from 2101 Fort Henry Drive until it reopens next year.
Read at WJHL 11 →The 47th Christmas Connection arts and crafts show fills MeadowView Nov. 13 (noon–6) and Nov. 14 (9–4); admission is free.
Read at City of Kingsport →Kingsport's curbside bulk leaf collection starts this week and runs through Jan. 15.
Read at WJHL 11 →A new section of just over half a mile picks up at Rotherwood Drive and follows Netherland Inn Road into Hawkins County; the city puts the cost at about $1.5 million for all phases.
Read at WJHL 11 →
Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]
A short history
North Carolina created Sullivan County in 1779 from Washington County and named it for General John Sullivan, a New Hampshire officer of the Revolution; the county was organized in February 1780. Settlers called the area the North of the Holston settlement and believed it was part of Virginia until a 1779 boundary survey placed it in North Carolina. Troops marching to relieve Fort Loudoun in 1761 cut the Island Road and built Fort Robinson at the Long Island of the Holston, and families from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, settled nearby in 1765. The island, at the head of navigation on the Holston, mattered through the Revolution: Fort Patrick Henry stood on the old fort site, settlers fought the Cherokee at Island Flats in 1776, the Treaty of the Long Island of the Holston followed in 1777, and in December 1779 John Donelson gathered families near here for the river voyage to the Cumberland settlements.
Hawkins County was carved out of Sullivan in 1786. From 1790 to 1792 William Blount, governor of the new Southwest Territory, lived with William Cobb’s family at Rocky Mount, which served as the territory’s capital until he moved to Knoxville. Blountville, the county seat, grew along the turnpike that ran north toward Virginia, and its Deery Inn served travelers from 1785 into the 1930s. Ironworks, powder mills, tanneries and gristmills joined the farms in the early 1800s, and in 1861 Sullivan was one of the East Tennessee counties that voted for secession.
Evan Shelby built a fort at Sapling Grove, the future Bristol, in 1771, and the modern city grew up on the state line where the Southern and Norfolk & Western railroads met. In 1927 Victor’s Ralph Peer set up a recording studio on the Tennessee side of State Street and recorded the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and the Stoneman Family — the Bristol Sessions, remembered as the start of the modern country music industry. Kingsport stayed a country village until the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway came through in 1909; planners laid out an industrial city there, chartered in 1917, and Tennessee Eastman, which began in the 1920s, made it a chemical-manufacturing center.
Towns & communities
- Blountville (community) — county seat (unincorporated); the Historic Sullivan County Courthouse and the Deery Inn
- Kingsport — largest city; Bays Mountain Park, Warriors’ Path, the Netherland Inn and Exchange Place (part of the city reaches into Hawkins County)
- Bristol — twin city of Bristol, Virginia, across State Street; Steele Creek Park and Bristol Motor Speedway
- Bluff City — small city on Boone Lake
- Piney Flats (community) — southern Sullivan County; Rocky Mount State Historic Site
- Colonial Heights (community) — lake community near Warriors’ Path and Fort Patrick Henry Lake
Our place stories in and near Sullivan County
Go deeper
Neighboring counties: Carter County · Hawkins County · Johnson County · Washington County · All counties →
Official visitor links
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · hours, fees and events live on these pages.
Videos
Sources
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · We summarize; follow these for the full history. No hours or fees on this page — check official sites before you go.