20 min
By car from the Public Square, 14 mi
Field Guide 04 · Tennessee State Parks
Radnor Lake State Park
The closest state park to Franklin: an 85-acre lake inside 1,380 acres of woods in south Nashville, saved from development in the early 1970s. The trails are for walking and watching wildlife; pets, runners and bikes are allowed only on Otter Creek Road, Hall Drive and the dam, and parking is the first problem its plan lists.
Davidson CountyNashvilleOpenChecked October 20, 2026
1,380
Acres
1,894,178
Visitors in fiscal 2022*
10
Trails listed, 7.6 miles
Day
Day use only
2
Activities the state lists
* Visitors: The traffic counters' figure. The plan estimates another 200,000 or more walkers, runners and cyclists a year whom the counters miss.
What's there
Things to do
- Birding
- Hiking
On site
- All-Terrain Wheelchair
- Aviary
- Birding
- Colorblind Viewfinder
- Gift Shop
- Museum
- Trails
- Visitor Center
- Wheelchair-Friendly Overlooks
- Wheelchair-Friendly Paved Trails
The trails
| Trail | Miles | Difficulty | Surface | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access Trail | 0.25 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Dam Walkway | 0.2 | Easy | Gravel | Open |
| Ganier Ridge Trail | 1.65 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| Hall Drive | 0.4 | — | Paved | Open |
| Historic Valve House Trail | 0.15 | Easy | Mulch | Open |
| Lake Trail | 1.35 | Easy | Mulch | Open |
| Otter Creek Road | 1.05 | Easy | Paved | Open |
| South Cove Trail | 1.4 | Difficult | Natural | Open |
| South Lake Trail | 0.9 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Spillway Trail | 0.25 | Easy | Mulch | 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
1160 Otter Creek Road, Nashville, TN 37220
Park office: 1-615-373-3467
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
- Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park8 miles away as the crow flies · 30 min from Franklin
- Long Hunter State Park14 miles away as the crow flies · 40 min from Franklin
- Harpeth River State Park18 miles away as the crow flies · 40 min from Franklin
- Montgomery Bell State Park27 miles away as the crow flies · 45 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 2022 (July 2021 to June 2022). The traffic counters' figure. The plan estimates another 200,000 or more walkers, runners and cyclists a year whom the counters miss.