The stops
1Radnor Lake State Park
Nashville, Davidson County
The L&N Railroad dammed the creek between 1914 and 1917 to water its steam engines at Radnor Yards, and the state made the lake and its woods a natural area in 1973. The Lake Trail runs 1.35 miles along the north shore; dogs, runners and bikes are allowed only on Otter Creek Road, Hall Drive and the dam.
Park in the west lot at the visitor center, take the Spillway Trail to the Lake Trail, and come back by Otter Creek Road: the loop the rangers suggest, about an hour on foot. The lot fills on fine days, which is why this loop leaves at 8.
- Saturday
- 6 a.m. to 20 minutes after sunset, every day of the year.
- Admission
- Free. No Tennessee state park charges an entrance fee.
- Booking
- No booking, but the lots fill on fine days; the rangers say 6 to 9 a.m. is the quiet time.
Tennessee State ParksIn our state parks guide615-373-3467
2Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
Nashville, Davidson County
Leslie and Mabel Cheek built the house between 1929 and 1932 to Bryant Fleming's design, and it opened as a museum of art and a botanical garden on 55 acres in 1960. Through November 1 the gardens hold Cheekwood Harvest's 100,000 pumpkins; the Carell Sculpture Trail has been closed since August 3.
Book the timed ticket before leaving home, and take the mansion with the gardens if the morning allows; the audio tour of the period rooms is 45 minutes. Perenn, the café in the old garage, serves breakfast and lunch.
- Saturday
- Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; from November 3 to January 29, 9 to 3:30. Holiday LIGHTS, November 20 to January 3, is a separate evening ticket.
- Admission
- Adults $20 to $26 for the gardens and $26 to $29 with the mansion, depending on the day, plus $2 a ticket and $5 to park. Harvest weekends through November 1: $23 and $29.
- Booking
- Every visitor, members included, books a timed-entry ticket online before coming.
Official site
Before you go
Cheekwood is closed on Mondays and keeps short hours from November 3 to January 29, when it closes at 3:30; this loop is out by midday all year. On event weekends its lot can fill, and then walk-up tickets go only to visitors who come by rideshare.
Radnor has no fee and takes no booking, but its marked spaces are the only parking, and the state does not allow roadside parking.
The last stop outdoors, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, ends at 11:35 a.m.. The earliest sunset there on a Saturday this loop runs is 4:33 p.m., on December 5, so the day's walking is done in daylight every week of the year it runs.
How we know
The timetable is worked out from the route and the time at each stop, and checked against every stop's Saturday hours and the sunset for every Saturday in the twelve months after the hours were read. The drive times are a router's, with no traffic: leave room.
- Radnor Lake State Park. Tennessee State Parks, Radnor Lake highlights; Tennessee State Parks, Radnor Lake trails. Hours: as posted, read October 20, 2026.
- Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. Cheekwood, the house; Cheekwood, about; Cheekwood, Harvest; Cheekwood, the sculpture trail; Cheekwood, tickets. Hours: as posted, read October 20, 2026.
- Before you go. Tennessee State Parks, Radnor Lake; Tennessee State Parks, Radnor Lake highlights; Cheekwood, the Halloween Pooch Party; Cheekwood, visit; Cheekwood, the café.
- The drive. Valhalla (valhalla1.openstreetmap.de) on OpenStreetMap, routed October 21, 2026.
- The photograph. Radnor Lake, October 2022. Photo: Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
All 8 loops
