COALMONT, Tenn. – The wrapper was peeled back on a miracle, unveiling Tennessee’s largest inclusive playground, Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park, in Grundy County.
“Today, we celebrate far more than a playground and splash pad,” Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady told the large crowd gathered at the new park. “We celebrate a dream. It became a reality through faith, perseverance and unwavering belief that every child deserves a place and belongs.
“This park is a result of countless people coming together,” Brady said, “families, advocates, volunteers, donors, public servants and community members, who refused to let a vision change. Through challenges, delays and obstacles, they remained committed to something that is greater than themselves.”
Officials broke ground on the 26,000-square-foot park Feb. 27, 2025.
Brady noted there was still landscaping work to be completed but said he wanted to get the park opened for the children and their families whether the weather cooperated or not.
A recent study showed at least 4,600 children with disabilities live within a 30-mile radius of Grundy County, according to Brady. The facility offers high-level access under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so people with disabilities from everywhere will be able to enjoy an all-inclusive park with their friends and family.
The park’s Facebook group has more than 3,100 members, and the facility is brand new. The park will be open daily from 10 a.m. CDT until dusk, except when there’s inclement weather. The park on the Cumberland Plateau is east of Interstate 24 about 55 miles northwest of Chattanooga and about 100 miles southeast of Nashville.
Tracy City, Tennessee, residents Joey Noland and his son, Beau, got to take a sneak peek at the park a little while back, and they were excited to get full access Friday.
“For kids with special needs, it’s awesome,” Noland said as he and Beau, 18, got ready for the ribbon-cutting.
DREAM REALIZED
In 2012, local resident Audrey Nunley, a mother of a child with disabilities, turned a dream into a movement, according to Brady. Friday’s opening is the realization of the local nonprofit Nunley established, Mom and Pop (which takes its name from Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park), raising the bar on inclusive recreation for people with disabilities. Nunley died in 2016 before her dream came to fruition.
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“Audrey Lea McBee Nunley first envisioned what would become Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park through the eyes of her son, Grant,” a bronze plaque to be installed at the park will say. “Like many children faced with challenges, Grant had limited opportunities to play, grow and simply be a child due to the lack of suitable facilities. But Audrey saw something more, she imagined a place where every child, regardless of ability, would be treated equally … a place where they could laugh, play and thrive together.”
Tracy City resident Heath Winton was a charter member of the park’s Facebook group and an ardent supporter of the facility and the idea of inclusiveness, he said as he stood with his son, Reid, 16. Winton said Reid has been to an inclusive park in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, but it’s the only one.
Even though he was familiar with the project as a supporter, Winton was stunned when he saw for himself.
“I came out here and got a tour of it in person, and I’m telling you, it just blew my mind,” Winton told the crowd of fellow parents and children. “And for a kid who’s never been able to play on their own ability on a playground with their friends, or with someone they would like to make their friends, here, they can make it happen.
“I can’t imagine how a kid can come here with a walker or a wheelchair or a vision impairment or whatever it may be, and walk inside these gates and just be able to do what they’ve always wanted,” Winton said, emotion filling his voice. “I know it’s no comparison, but it’s kind of probably how heaven’s going to be for me. I want to thank y’all so very much for what y’all have done, not only for my kid, but for all kids.”
Tennessee’s largest inclusive playground opens in Grundy County
INCLUSIVE FEATURES
Cookeville, Tennessee-based design firm Recreational Concepts designed the inclusive playground and 7,000-square-foot splash pad for the $6.2 million park project, according to officials. The park border traces the outline of Grundy County, and its activities and features highlight the county’s communities and their histories and attractions. Brady also noted bathrooms at the park are equipped with motorized, adult-sized changing tables.
A component called a We-Go-Swing allows the user to remain in their wheelchair while rolling onto the equipment to swing with family and friends, according to Adam Walton, Middle Tennessee play consultant for the company. Similarly, the We-Go-Round is a large merry-go-round designed to allow wheelchairs to roll on board and spin with everyone else.
There are waterproof wheelchairs for use on the splash pad, and most other features are wheelchair-friendly, Walton said. Another feature, which does require a transfer from a wheelchair, is a zip line with an inclusive seat for a thrilling ride through the park.
The park highlights features of the communities with the map that shows off the county’s hiking trails, off-road vehicle trails, the Caverns music venue in Pelham, along with a Swiss-themed home that pays homage to the town of Gruetli-Laager’s history, Walton said.
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Walton said Grundy County’s facility will attract people from surprising places.
“We do a lot of these big inclusive playgrounds, and it amazes me every time how people will travel because a lot of these families, their kids don’t have anywhere to play,” Walton said Friday by phone. “Can you imagine being a kid not having anywhere to play if you have a disability of some kind? So you put in these big amazing parks, and people just flock from all over.
“As far as inclusivity,” Walton said, “it’s one of a kind, for sure.”
OPENING
Brady praised the community and its faith for the successful project.
“Miracle Mountain was built from a dream, strengthened by faith, carried by a community and made possible by God’s grace,” Brady said at the close of the ceremony. “As children laugh and create memories here for generations to come, may Miracle Mountain forever remind us that when people come together with purpose and faith, extraordinary things happen.
“I have done what I was supposed to do,” Brady added, his voice quiet and quavering. “To God the glory.”
Children of all ages and abilities formed a small, excited mob at the park gates as they waited for the ribbon to be cut, many of them in bathing suits with towels over their heads and around their shoulders. When the ceremonial speakers had finished, their chatter increased when Brady said it was time to cut the ribbon.
“We’re going to open the doors and let the kids play,” Brady said at last.
“Finally,” one boy in the crowd said.
When the gates opened, children and their families poured into the park on foot and on wheels with equal enthusiasm, and the air was filled with the sound of children at play.
Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.