Radnor Lake State Natural Area, also known as Radnor Lake State Park, is a popular state natural area and state park in
Oak Hill,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
within
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
.
The nature preserve lies just outside Nashville. Five miles of unpaved trails wander through the woods surrounding the lake. Otter Creek Road runs through the middle of the park and is now closed to traffic. Visitors to Radnor Lake enjoy wildlife native to
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
, including river otters,
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
s,
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
,
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
and the
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
. There is a visitor's center open Thursday through Monday.
History
Radnor Lake was created by the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...
Company in 1914, and was initially used for watering steam locomotives and supplying the watering pens for shipped livestock. Afterwards, it became a local sportsman's club for L & N executives and guests. Efforts to preserve the Radnor Lake area began in 1923 when the executive vice president of L&N Railroad declared the site a "Wildlife Sanctuary" at the request of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. Executives with the railroad and their friends (The Sportsman's Club) used the sanctuary for fishing, but a reverence for the beauty of the area was present even then among L&N families and neighbors who lived in the surrounding hills. In 1962, the property was sold to be developed but initial work proved to be problematic and public pressure influenced the state to purchase the property in 1973 and create the State's first Natural Area.
Any hunting within the natural area is illegal.
Radnor Lake State Natural Area is a Class II State Natural Area, meaning it is a day use area only, and there is no camping or picnicking allowed.
Activities
Hiking
Radnor Lake has several miles of hiking trails, featuring varying difficulty levels.
Visitor's Center
In the entrance to Radnor Lake, there is a visitor's center that contains artwork and other exhibits on display. It also has a map of the entire lake.
Birding
Many waterfowl and transients can be found in the park, including several
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
species, such as
ring-necked duck
The ring-necked duck (''Aythya collaris'') is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek , an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristo ...
,
canvasback
The canvasback (''Aythya valisineria'') is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America.
Taxonomy
Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek ''aithuia'', ...
,
gadwall
The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
Taxonomy
The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...
and
American wigeon
The American wigeon (''Mareca americana''), also known as the baldpate, is a species of dabbling duck found in North America. Formerly assigned to ''Anas'', this species is classified with the other wigeons in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. ...
. In addition, the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center is home to injured-non releasable birds, including a
great horned owl
The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
,
red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
,
black vulture
The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...
,
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
, and
bald eagles
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
.
References
External links
*
Friends of Radnor LakeRadnor Lake Photo Collection
State parks of Tennessee
Parks in Nashville, Tennessee
Dams in Tennessee
Reservoirs in Tennessee
Protected areas established in 1973
1973 establishments in Tennessee
Landforms of Davidson County, Tennessee
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