More than 900 people crowded into the Lula Lake Land Trust core property on one sunny March Saturday. It was the first nice spring day after a long winter and one of only two days the property would be open to the public that month. Hundreds of cars lined the drive down to a parking area near the scenic falls and lake that sit on the private property. As the area filled with cars, people parked wherever they could, destroying native plant species, trampling grass and parking in a floodplain.
"We were totally overwhelmed with the number of people," Lula Lake Land Trust Executive Director Mike Pollock said.
The group decided it needed to cut off entrance for the day. It could no longer manage the crowd and the land couldn't handle the sheer volume of visitors. They closed the gate that sits at the entrance of the property to block access.
It didn't matter.
Fifty-seven vehicles, by Pollock's count, parked on the side of Lula Lake Road - where cars often barrel through at more than 60 mph. The visitors parked along the road and destroyed replanted American Chestnut trees before crossing the street, walking around the closed gate and letting themselves in.
"It was a beautiful Saturday at the end of a long winter. It was just gorgeous," Pollock said. "Despite the fact it said 'Don't Enter' at the entrance and the exit, people went ahead and came in. They didn't go through our process. They didn't sign a waiver. They didn't give a [recommended $2] donation."
They counted approximately 250-300 people who did that.
The land trust has worked to protect land on Lookout Mountain since 1994 but has allowed the public to come visit a designated area known as the Core Property about 40 days per year. That property has seen a major uptick in demand over the last three years. The trust's four employees, volunteers and board members knew late last year that they may need to address the problem. Crowds were continuing to grow and they didn't subside in the winter like the group thought they might.
"It's the power of social media, especially Instagram. That's made a huge impact," said Matthew Hubbard, trust director of development and communications.
Hubbard, Pollock and the rest of the team at Lula Lake Land Trust are concerned about the impact the crowds are having on the land. They question whether people are "loving the outdoors to death."
Land that should be lush with grass, they said, has instead seen plant life destroyed. Natural areas never intended to handle large crowds have been trampled as person after person has cut through to get easier access to Rock Creek and other sites on the property. Much of the area at the end of the road near the parking area is covered in desolate dirt. It's been ground down to a point where the original landscape is nearly unrecognizable in concentrated areas.
Lula Lake land manager Pat Kelly has seen the effects of the crowds first hand. Kelly spends most days on the property and has seen 4-5 feet of soil erosion in one small, half-acre area on the property. He's seen the creek banks erode as guests drive, park and suffocate the natural habitat.
"I'm out here every day. It drives me crazy to see this," he said.
The trust had three options, Pollock believed. They could implement significant changes, completely close off the property to the public or continue to allow open use on the first and last weekends of the month.
"That would have been the easy option," Pollock said.
However, the group didn't want to continue watching the land deteriorate. It wanted to conserve the property and make sure it was protected from overuse. A plan to build a new parking area near the entrance and turn the current one into a meadow has been part of the master plan for more than a decade but had not been implemented.
"The board decided it was time to go in that direction," Pollock said.
So last week, Lula Lake Land Trust posted changes to its website. The parking area near the bottom of the property will be restored with plant species native to the property. Cars will not be permitted to drive through the area. A limited amount of parking - about 20 spaces - will still be available along the dirt road leading down to the lake and handicap parking is still available, but most guests will now park near Lula Lake Road farther from the falls. The changes will make a round-trip hike to and from the falls approximately 40 minutes longer.
The new gravel parking lot is under construction and expected to be finished this week. The changes will limit the number of visitors who can enter the park and will accommodate approximately 100 cars. If the lot is full, visitors will be given a handout with information about other outdoor adventures in the area.
The $2 per person recommended donation has been increased to a $10 fee per vehicle. The group hopes the changes will limit the number of people who come to the property and lead to more sustainable crowd sizes.
The group is calling the price increase a "conservation use fee." Most of the money for the next year or so will go toward repaying the construction costs of the parking lot. From there, it will be funneled back into land management and restoration projects on the property.
Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.