Day Loop Trail Long Hunter State Park

A scenic hike 30 minutes outside of Nashville

Long Hunter State Park is a quick 30-minute drive from Nashville but feels like a world away. The park is on the east side of Percy Priest lake in Hermitage, TN and is home to a range of activities. There are over 25 miles of hiking, swimming areas, paved paths, camping, and more.  

We enjoyed the Day Loop trail, which is an easy/moderate 4 mile loop that begins at the Bakers Grove Trailhead. The hike is relatively flat, with some very slight elevation changes and a few more rocky stretches. It’s very kid-friendly and we saw quite a few families during our hike. While our family was not up for the full 4 miles, we enjoyed an out and back. The first half of the loop leads you alongside Percy priest lake before it connects to the Volunteer Trail, which leads you back to the trailhead through the woods. There are several scenic bluff overlooks that give great views of Percy Priest lake and an area to access the water. Around 1.5 miles in, you will see a short path that leads to the lake (do not be confused with the social trails, which they discourage the public from using) and there is a rocky beach.  

This is a highly used trail and gets busy on weekends. We arrived at 9:30am on a Saturday and the small parking lot was already full. We were able to quickly get a spot, but we noticed a longer line of cars waiting as we were leaving.