Both of Radnor Lake's parking areas are on Otter Creek Road. One is the visitor-center lot, reached from Granny White Pike. The other is the east-side lot, reached from Franklin Pike. Tennessee State Parks asks visitors to park only in marked spaces and warns that those spaces "often fill quickly," particularly in good weather. Friends of Radnor Lake puts annual visitation at 2 million.
A third entrance is now being assembled a few miles south, on a far busier corner. Over the past two years the state and Friends of Radnor Lake have bought land, approved purchases, and started planning that would give Oak Hill's best-known public land a southern entrance. The plan includes a parking area, a trailhead, a ranger station, and a new ridge trail. None of it is open to the public yet. This winter, the only way to walk it is on one of three registration-only hikes led by Park Manager Steve Ward.
The Pressure on Otter Creek Road Is an Old Problem
The case for another way into Radnor goes back more than a decade. In 2015, WPLN reported long weekend lines of cars waiting for the existing lot. Ward told the station then that an access point on Franklin Pike was critical to easing pressure on the park's current resources.
The land for that access point was collected slowly. Friends of Radnor Lake describes the Harris Ridge Trail Project as a public-private partnership of more than 20 years among the nonprofit, the Harris family, and the State of Tennessee. Its aim is to secure a corridor along the east side of the natural area, from Radnor Lake down to Old Hickory Boulevard. From 2011 to 2017, that work added 89 acres. The piece that would connect the ridge to a public road was still missing.
How the Corner at Franklin Road and Old Hickory Came Together
The missing piece was the Mantra Tract. Friends of Radnor Lake had kept it on its acquisition list since 2015, but the property didn't come up for sale until 2024. It came together in stages:
- January 2025: Friends of Radnor Lake bought the first three acres at the corner of Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard from Mantra LLC. The owner agreed to hold six adjoining acres while the state arranged to buy them.
- April 2025: The State Building Commission approved buying an 8.45-acre parcel on Old Hickory Boulevard from Key Investments II. Its stated purpose was access for trails between Old Hickory Boulevard and the visitor center.
- October 2025: The state bought the remaining six Mantra acres with a $3 million federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, which requires a 50-50 match. Friends of Radnor Lake committed $1 million, plus land valued at $3 million that will transfer to the state as the match.
- March 2026: On Saturday, March 21, 21 visitors hiked the nine-acre Mantra parcel and spent about 45 minutes collecting trash and recyclables from the land and nearby roads.
NewsChannel 5 described the nine-acre addition as about 20 years of planning and $8 million in partnerships. It also reported that the land needed trash and invasive plants removed, along with dilapidated houses, before any trail work could begin. Friends of Radnor Lake says the two residences on the tract were set for demolition in 2026, paid for by a family foundation grant. The plan is to restore the acreage under the group's Native Grasslands Initiative and build a 100-car parking area and trailhead there.
An Office Building on the State's List
On July 20, 2026, the State Building Commission's executive subcommittee was asked to approve a proposed purchase for Radnor Lake State Park. The property is 0.13 acres at 5595 Franklin Pike, owned by Palmer Development Concepts, with an office building on the lot. The agenda names the 26/27 State Lands Acquisition Fund as the funding source.
The agenda explains the reasoning. The building sits next to "the planned 100-car parking area," the Harris Ridge trailhead, and "the planned southern entrance" to the park. Using it would spare the state from building a new facility for wheelchair-accessible public restrooms and a ranger station. The building would also house offices, interpretive programs, and meeting space.
If the purchase goes through and the plans are built, the corner of Franklin Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard would put parking, a trailhead, accessible restrooms, a ranger station, and program space in one place.
What the Ridge Will Ask of a Hiker
The new entrance will open onto a demanding trail. When it's finished, Friends of Radnor Lake says, the Harris Ridge Trail will be a strenuous route of more than 3.5 miles, built to National Trail Standards. It will start at Otter Creek Road near the east end of the Lake Trail and follow Harris Ridge to Franklin Road. Ward gave NewsChannel 5 a one-way range of 2.5 to 3.5 miles from the new trailhead over the ridge to the lake, and described the contrast like this:
"The noise of the intersection is where you're gonna start this hike, you're gonna hike to one of the quietest places in Nashville within 3 miles."
He also told the station the views would be "one of the best views in Middle Tennessee or the metropolitan area at least," and described a one-acre parking lot meant to handle the park's growing visitor numbers.
Friends of Radnor Lake lists the remaining work in order:
- Clearing trash and invasive exotic plants from the new properties
- Designing and building the trail
- Building a bridge over Lakemont Drive
- Building the 100-car parking area and trailhead
- Adding three new staff positions to run the trail safely for visitors and neighbors
Most of that depends on volunteers. Because the ridge is steep, the nonprofit says the trail will take many hours of labor, and its 2026 and 2027 volunteer projects include Harris Ridge Trail work. It adds that the state hasn't yet added staff for the project, so park employees have been working on it as time allows while also serving those 2 million annual visitors. Earlier surveys done for the trail's design turned up historic features on the land that hadn't been documented before, with help from Dr. Doug Heffington. Vegetation research by Dr. Robert Loeb is guiding the route around sensitive plant communities.
Three Fridays on the New Land
Friends of Radnor Lake calls these properties closed to the public except for occasional ranger-led hikes. This winter there are three, all led by Ward and all crossing what the nonprofit calls "our newest 29 acres," which were bought through the state partnership.
- Friday, November 27, 8 to 10 a.m. This is the day after Thanksgiving. Ward will talk through the trail planning process and the planned parking area and trailhead. Once the hike starts, no one can leave early. Registration and details.
- Friday, December 11, 1 to 3 p.m. This is the park's second International Mountain Day hike, inspired by Aldo Leopold's phrase "thinking like a mountain" from A Sand County Almanac. It starts on the Mantra Tract, is capped at 20 people, and includes a climb of 150 to 200 feet between the parking area and the ridgetops. Registration and details.
- Friday, January 1, 8 to 10 a.m. A New Year's Day hike in the same format. Registration and details.
All three meet at 800 Old Hickory Boulevard and are rated strenuous. Registration is required, the minimum age is 13, and pets aren't allowed. Each hike is free, or $10 if you register as a "Hiker + Donor." Hikes leave on time, and late arrivals can't join. The park recommends good hiking shoes, water, and hiking poles.
For the two morning hikes, breakfast is close by on the same corridor. Big Bad Breakfast is now open at 330 Franklin Pike Road in Brentwood Place, serving daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to The Tennessean.
Earlier this year we wrote about how much of Oak Hill's daily routine depended on Radnor during the five-week ice storm closure. The Harris Ridge work is the park adding a second way in, at the corner of Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard.
If you live near Radnor and want to talk about how a new southern entrance could change the streets around it, Bainbridge Realty Group knows Oak Hill street by street, and we're always glad to have that conversation. Register early for whichever Friday suits you. The December hike takes only 20 people.
