40 min
By car from the Public Square, 30 mi
Field Guide 04 · Tennessee State Parks
Harpeth River State Park
The river that runs through Franklin, farther downstream: 12 sites strung along 40 miles of the Harpeth in Cheatham and Davidson counties, nine of them places to put in a boat. Montgomery Bell's 1820 tunnel at the Narrows and Mound Bottom, a Mississippian center open only on ranger tours, are the history; the Bluff Trail overlook is the view.
Cheatham CountyKingston SpringsOpenChecked October 20, 2026
676
Acres
272,010
Visitors in fiscal 2025
23
Trails listed, 11.2 miles
Day
Day use only
3
Activities the state lists
What's there
Things to do
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Paddling
On site
- Birding
- Boat Access
- Canoe Access
- Fishing
- Trails
The trails
| Trail | Miles | Difficulty | Surface | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluebird Trail | 0.45 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Bluff Trail | 0.25 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Harris-Street Bridge Trail | 0.35 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Hidden Lake Trail | 0.25 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Lower Field Loop Trail | 0.4 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Lower Loop Trail | 1 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Newsom Mill Fisherman Trail | 2.45 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Paw Paw Trail | 0.4 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Railroad Spur Trail | 0.15 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Ridge Loop Trail | 1.15 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Storybook Trail | 0.4 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Tunnel Trail | 0.2 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Upper Loop Trail | 0.55 | Easy | Natural | Open |
| Upper Loop Trail | 0.55 | — | Natural | Open |
| Lower Loop Trail | 1 | — | Natural | Open |
| Paw Paw Trail | 0.5 | — | Natural | Open |
| Storybook Trail | 0.1 | — | — | Open |
| Connector Trail | 0.1 | Easy | — | Open |
| Bluebird Trail | — | Easy | Paved | Open |
| Ridge Loop Trail | — | — | — | Open |
| Hidden Lake Trail | 0.4 | — | Natural | Open |
| Railroad Spur Trail | — | — | Natural | Open |
| Lower Field Loop Trail | 0.5 | — | Natural | Open |
As the park's hiking page lists them on October 20, 2026. Lengths are one way unless the trail is a loop, and some trails share ground, so the total is the sum of the list, not the miles on the ground.
Getting there
1640 Cedar Hill Road, Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Park office: 1-615-952-2099
The park's page at Tennessee State Parks
Campsites, cabins and lodge rooms are booked online through the park's page or by phone at 1-888-867-2757, the state's reservation line.
Nearby
- Montgomery Bell State Park10 miles away as the crow flies · 45 min from Franklin
- Radnor Lake State Park18 miles away as the crow flies · 20 min from Franklin
- Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park18 miles away as the crow flies · 30 min from Franklin
- Port Royal State Park28 miles away as the crow flies · 1 hr 10 min from Franklin
How we know
Every fact on this page but the summary at the top is the state's, read on the date above, except the drive: that is Valhalla's route on OpenStreetMap's roads from Franklin's Public Square to the park office, with no traffic, rounded to five minutes. Visits are the park plan's count for the year named, mostly from traffic counters. How the guide was made.
- The park. Tennessee State Parks: the Find a Park list, the park's own page, its hiking page, read October 20, 2026.
- Acres. The park's strategic management plan.
- Visitors. The park's strategic management plan, its site fact sheet for fiscal 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025).