Long Hunter State Park

2910 Hobson Pike, Hermitage, TN 37076

If you are wanting to spend the day at the lake or find a good Nashville campsite, Long Hunter State Park has everything to offer. The 2,600 acres of the park is segmented into three sections along the lake: Baker’s Grove, Couchville, and Bryant Grove. The Volunteer Trail stretches between Couchville and Baker’s Grove in a 5.5 mile trail through the natural landscape. There are also two boat ramps for water access to Percy Priest Lake. Another major trail is the Jones Mill Trail which leads to the top of Bald Knob, an overlook of the lake, in the Bryant Grove section. Besides hiking, there are activities of fishing, camping, kayaking/canoeing, and birding. For more information on park activities and locations, visit here.

Long Hunter State Park opened in 1974 after nearly six years of park formation. However its history begins further back in history. Native Americans inhabited the area preceding the arrival of Euro-Americans in their efforts to acquire furs for trade in Virginia. In 1760, “long hunters”, named after their unusually long hunting seasons, arrived in the Nashville area. The United States acquired the land from the Cherokee in 1805 and it was largely settled by 1820. Bryant Grove is named after Sherrod and Henderson Bryant, who were early settlers and one of the wealthiest African American families in Tennessee. Another prominent family, which settled near the Bryants, was the Couch family. Due to the Stone River’s tendency to flood, a dam was constructed and named after the Tennessee congressman, James Percy Priest. Long Hunter State Park was officially opened in 1978 and has been widely enjoyed to this day.