Harpeth River State Park - Hidden Lake

Nice and quiet. Several hikes of varying lengths and difficulties. Dog friendly. Harperh River access. Lots of history. Go in spring/summer when the wildflowers are growing and shape the storybook walk.

Wonderful park with river access, trails, a boat landing, kids storybook trail signs, informative tree signs, hidden lakes, historical significance, and unexpected beauty. Great place to hike with little kids just learning to walk. Huge parking lot

This a wonderful TN State Park, split up into areas along the Harpeth River. The Hidden Lake Trail is my favorite, with the Narrows area coming in at a close second place. If you’re after a simple and beautiful little stroll, check out the Gossett Tract area of the park. The Hidden Trail is easy and is a mile or so long. It meanders around and through a wildflower field in the beginning and it ends at a small ‘hidden’ lake. The Narrows has a 1/3 of a mile long incline to a beautiful a bluff area with a terrific overlook. Behind The Narrows is the Tunnel Trail, which isn’t very long either but you’ll end up at a tunnel/waterfall.

Found this park thru Google as I was looking for a place that had butterflies to see since my friend who just passed loved them. This park has lots of them, flowers, birds and I was pleasantly surprised to see deer nearby eating . It was so beautiful with a trail to walk around a couple of lakes. Loved my visit! There is an outhouse located at the info station near the parking area. There were story board signs along a easy trail for children. It would be nice to have benches at certain places in the trail.

Beautiful but easy trails. Minimal elevation rise makes this a great stop for kids or just casual walks with the dogs. You will get lovely views of the harpeth the back of the veterans cemetery and of course the hidden lake if you take the 1.5 mile railroad spur. Lots of interesting old ruins from the 1904 quarry and 1920s resort operations too. There is also a put in and take out to the river so this area is heavily trafficked in the summer by the local river outfitters. (Shout out: Sunshine Adventures). This location usually does have ample parking but again beware the summer weekends it will fill up.