Harpeth River - Ladd Farms Access Point

Informational Sign

To get to the Ladd Farms access point from Nashville head south on I-65 and exit at TN-248 N/Goose Creek Bypass/ Peytonsville Rd., exit 61. Make a left onto TN-248/Peytonsville Rd and go .3 miles. Turn left onto Long Lane W and go 1.5 miles. Next, turn left again on to Carothers Parkway and continue for .8 miles. At the entrance of the Enderly subdivision turn right into the subdivision and then make an immediate left onto Ryecroft. The Harpeth River access point is at the end of the road, under the Carothers Parkway bridge.

Road to Access Point

Ladd Farms is the first public access point on the Harpeth River. It as at the river mile maker; 95.7. The mileage for the river starts at where the river ends, at the Cumberland River and the mileage markers go up from there.  There is currently no signage for this access point but once you come to the end of the Ryecroft street keep going onto the smaller paved road and it will take you very close to the rivers edge. There is no parking lot but many people pullover under the Carothers bridge and parking on the grass is also an option.  The gravel path is roughly 50 yards and leads to a set of 24 steps down to the Harpeth River. 

Path to River                        Steps to River

Pathway Looking Towards the Parking Lot

There is a nice gravel bar at the bottom of the steps but in high water levels it could be washed out. Overall this is a very easy access point. The only way to improve it would be to add a canoe slide to assist with getting the boats down to the water. There are no bathrooms at this location or any other amenities. Currently, no outfitters are using the access point, so you may have the place to yourself. 

Looking Up River at Access Point             Looking Down River at Access Point

The next access point is at Eastern Flank, which is 6.4 miles downriver.  There are 3 more access points in the plans between Ladd Farms and Eastern Flank: Carothers/Helm Property, Waters Edge and Nicholas Bend. Two resources for maps are the following links:

https://tnstateparks.com/assets/pdf/additional-content/park-maps/harpeth-river-trailandaccess-map.pdf

http://www.harpethconservancy.org/programs/recreation/sm_files/Watershed%20Map%20PDF.pdf

Harpeth River Fun Fact: The Harpeth River starts in Rutherford Count at Eagleville. Various little creek come together north of Highway 99, and flow under Highway 41A and together these creeks and stream become the Harpeth River.