Harpeth River State Park

This area was originally a quarry from 1914 to 1918. It sat until it was purchased privately in 1931 and turned into a resort, with a waterslide going into the hidden lake. In 1931, $1.25 got you a gourmet dinner and a night of swimming and dancing at the club. Due to World War 2, business dried up and many of those working the area were sent overseas. As the resort floundered, it suffered a fire in the late 1940s, and the resort went out of business. It was privately owned and used for farming, and the State of Tennessee swooped in and bought it in 1993. If you drive up the river, and stop at all of the stops, you can easily spend a whole day out here. We did one stop and spent about an hour exploring.

The park itself has nine different entrance points over 40 river miles.

Hidden Lake Trail- 7851 McCrory Lane, 37221- This is the trail we did today. The Hidden Lake Trail include a hidden lake, the concrete remains of an old farmhouse, an oil reserve tank, the remains of an old shed, a concrete dancefloor leftover from the resort days, and a beautiful overlook. The trail itself is a two mile loop.

Narrows of the Harpeth- 1254 Narrow of the Harpeth Road, 37082- This entrance is the head to three separate trails. The first is a half mile bluff overlook. The second is a half mile trail to Pattison Forge waterfall. The third follows the river to the Harris Street Bridge.

Newsom’s Mill- 8728 Newsom Station Road, 37221- This entrance takes you to Newsom’s Mill, one of the oldest mills in Davidson County.

Gosset Tract- 1230 Cedar Hill Rd, 37082- This entrance takes you to a two mile loop with a lot of view of birds and wildflowers.

There’s also an entrance that takes you to Mound Bottom Archeological Site, a large Mississippian Period Indian Mound Complex that is usually only open with guided tours.