The Best Places to Leaf Peep Near Nashville, TN
Where Can You See Fall Foliage Near Nashville, TN?
While Nashville’s neighborhood canopy offers a colorful backdrop to everyday life in autumn, there are many majestic displays of nature’s beauty just outside of Nashville! Whether it’s an outing with family and friends or time to commune with nature on your own, getting into wild spaces is one of the best ways to truly appreciate and enjoy the vibrant fall foliage, wildlife, and many outdoor activities made available by protected areas. Here, we’ll go over seven destination locations near Nashville where you can take a break from town life and immerse yourself in the shades of the season.
Best Places in Nashville to See Fall Foliage
Natchez Trace Parkway And Trail
Natchez Trace is a historic forest trail from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi that offers many ways of experiencing the fall foliage. The parkway allows for a leisurely drive through the otherwise densely forested countryside, while numerous trails and historical sites provide opportunities to enjoy the area on foot. With so many things to do along its full 440-mile stretch, from its parkway and hiking trails to fishing, horseback riding, and camping, Natchez Trace can be visited for a single day trip or multiple times throughout the season (or throughout the year, for that matter!).
Percy Warner Park
On the southwestern edge of Nashville, Percy Warner Park is a forested area with paved roads and pedestrian trails that snake through different portions of the park. With multiple trails, including a section of the Natchez Trace path, this park has multiple environments to trek through. From the easy 1.6-mile loop for a pleasant stroll or bike ride to the 4.5-mile Mossy Ridge Trail that goes up and down wooded hills and across meadows and springs, the Warner Park system is an excellent local space with a variety of experiences.
Harpeth River State Park
The Harpeth River, one of the major tributaries of the Cumberland River, is an important waterway in Tennessee. This state park manages multiple trails and sites along 40 miles of the river, providing access to the riparian area where visitors can enjoy hiking through woods and fishing on the river banks, as well as kayaking and canoeing on the river itself. Most of the trail loops are less than one mile in length, with a couple of the longest loops being just about a mile long. The park has a range of environments to traverse, including dense riverside forests, the stunning river itself, breathtaking bluffs, and open wildflower meadows.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Smoky Mountains, a portion of the wider Appalachian Mountains sitting in Eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, are protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In addition to keeping this land pristine, the park opens the mountains up to visitors who are able to explore the forest in a variety of ways. The Smokies are an especially interesting place to view fall foliage due to the range of elevations; leaves change color earlier in highland areas, such as along the tops and sides of mountains, while trees in lowlands, like in the mountain valleys, turn later. This makes for a multitude of spectacular views from any of the many trails and vantage points you can reach in this park.
Radnor Lake State Natural Area
Radnor Lake State Park is a natural area right outside of Nashville that provides an excellent place to escape the city for a total change of scenery. While half of the park is a reserve without access, there are several hiking trails (most of them being less than a mile in length, with a couple of them just over a mile and a half) situated around the lake itself. The trails offer multiple views of Radnor Lake and different experiences in the forest. Some trails are elevated, climbing the hills and bluffs of the park, while others are flat paths for more leisurely strolls near the lake.
Bells Bend Nature Center
Situated along the Cumberland River on former farmland, Bells Bend is a park and nature center located in western Davidson County where visitors can get a taste of nature close to home. Rolling meadows are surrounded by forests, hills, and the river, with multiple trails to hike or bike along to connect with the environment. The nature center on the site offers a range of educational opportunities for people of all ages and serves as a resource to learn about and engage with natural spaces.
Long Hunter State Park
Just east of Nashville is Long Hunter State Park, another lake-centered park that provides a unique local environment to experience fall scenery. With a variety of trails across the conserved area, ranging from less than a mile to eight and a half miles long, there are many options to get beautiful views of the trees in this space set against the watery and hilly surroundings. For a day trip of hiking, biking, fishing, boating, or overnight camping, Long Hunter State Park offers a wealth of opportunities to indulge in your desire to connect with autumnal nature.
Things to Consider for Day Excursions to Nature
When you’re choosing a destination, some planning will help you make the most of the visit! Every visit is unique since the leaf colors, vibrancy, and lighting will be different based on the time of season, the time of day, and your vantage point. The topography of an area (the land’s layout, natural features, and elevations) provides for the particular scenes and experiences, while an area’s offerings of trail options and activities allow different ways to engage with and experience each location. Doing some research beforehand and having a plan will take the guesswork out of the day, allowing you to flow freely through your excursion and take in the sensory environment.
Some of the things you can consider when strategizing a visit include:
Visitor centers and websites – Parks and wilderness areas often have visitor centers, with or without staff, and websites where information on the location is provided, including open hours, maps, historical and natural education, and other guidelines that will help you best navigate and appreciate the location to get the most out of your visit.
Crowds – Keep in mind that other people will want to enjoy the sights as well, and it might get crowded on weekends! If possible, try to get out during the week when crowds are minimal.
Pet friendliness – Some locations allow pets, but others don’t. Verify before going out whether you’re allowed to bring your furry friends along!
Food and drink – Since day trips can be long and tiring, bringing along provisions to keep you energized and hydrated may be important, but be sure never to litter! Dispose of your trash at designated locations, or bring it home with you to make sure the natural space is left uncontaminated. Avoid bringing alcohol into state parks, which tend to be family-friendly spaces for people of all ages to enjoy.
Obey signs – safety signs, like no swimming, no crossing, or designations of forbidden areas, are posted for a reason! The park’s administrators know which areas are dangerous or must be protected, so staying along marked trails and respecting the park’s rules keeps these natural areas available and safe for us to enjoy and for wildlife to live in.
Don’t smoke in parks – Smoking in natural areas and leaving cigarette butts is bad for the soil and wildlife, and it may be disrespectful to other visitors. Cinders or unextinguished cigarettes left behind can easily become a fire hazard, especially around dry leaves and dead plant material in the fall.
For more information on the trees in and around Nashville, subscribe to our newsletter! Browse the selection available through the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ tree sale to add fall color to your own property’s landscape to enjoy for years to come, or consider volunteering with us to help care for Nashville’s canopy at large.