Harpeth River - Pinkerton Park Access Point

The Pinkerton Park Access Point to the Harpeth River is one of the best marked. It has a brown canoe sign on Highway 96 letting paddlers know where to turn into the park. Then another sign is located on the park road indicating where to turn for the river access. To get to Pinkerton Park take I-65 South from Nashville and exit at # 65 Franklin/TN-96 and Murfreesboro Rd. Turn right onto TN-96 and go 2.2 miles. Then turn right into Pinkerton Park and a left down to the river bank. The left-hand turn will be on to a gravel road, it is not paved. 

There is no parking lot at this location but rather an open field. Parking on the grass is allowed, just don’t get stuck after a heavy rain. One of the great things about this access point is that there are all kinds of amenities, that includes restrooms, playground, picnic tables and hiking trails. It even has a historical site, Ft. Granger. Once your vehicle is parked it is a short gravel walkway about 20 yards to the 28 steps down to the river. During periods of high water, boats will have to be launched from the steps. Otherwise there is enough room at the river’s edge to beach boats while getting all the gear packed up. 

Pinkerton Park access point is at river mile marker 88.1.  It is 1.4 miles downriver from the Eastern Flank access point. There are no outfitters that currently service this part of the Harpeth, so river traffic is light. The next planned access point is at Bicentennial Park in downtown Franklin, 1.2 miles downriver. Harlinsdale Park is the current next access point and it is 2.2 miles from Pinkerton Park.

Looking Up River                          Looking Down River

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

Play Ground at Pinkerton Park

Harpeth Fun Fact: There are four rivers that have the name Harpeth in their name: The Little Harpeth River, The South Harpeth River, The West Harpeth River, and The Harpeth River.

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.  

Harpeth River Access Points

Starting this week, I will be posting a series called “Access Points On the Harpeth River”. The city of Franklin and the state of Tennessee have been doing an amazing job of constructing new access points for its citizens and visitors who enjoy paddling and fishing. The Harpeth River is over 125 miles and has 1,000 miles of tributaries. It truly is one of our state’s great resources.

Fifteen miles of the Harpeth river flows through the city of Franklin, with numerous access points along the way. The Tennessee State Park’s Department has made another 40 miles of the Harpeth River a linear park with most of it being part of the State Scenic Waterway. It also has many access points.

As I describe each access point I will give you details on each of the following:

Availability of parking at the access point.

Distance to the river.

Number of Steps from the river bank to the water.

Is it easy to access the water from the bank?

How busy is the access point (do local outfitters use the access?)

Are public restrooms and other amenities available at the location?

When planning a paddle trip, it is nice to have all the available information you can gather. It can be a struggle to get to a take-out location and to find out you must hike 200-yards with all your gear to the river’s edge. I will include lots of pictures, so the paddlers can get a feel for the location. Please note that locations change over time, so I will try my best to keep up. 

Currently the Harpeth River has 16 access points between Franklin and Cheatham County. There are an additional 10 that are in the process of being built or in the plans. Flooding and other natural occurrences can play havoc with wood structure, so remember the way it looked last year may not be the same this year. 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 - The Narrows

Estimated Length: 5.3

Date: April 9, 2017

Weather: Sunny

Time on River: 2 hour

Put-In: Narrows of the Harpeth

Closest City: Kingston Springs

Take-Out: Narrows of the Harpeth

Outfitter: Canoe Music City, Foggy Bottom, Tip-A-Canoe, Adventures on the
Harpeth

   Our first canoe trip of the year was Sunday and of course it was the Narrows of the Harpeth. Got to the put-in at 10am and the park was already busy with both hikers and paddlers. I noticed that the park now has signs for over flow parking so the amount of people enjoying this great little park must be on the rise.

   
Lex and I started paddling about 6 years ago and it has been amazing to see the growth of this sport/activity in Middle TN. There are 4 big outfitters that I know of that service this section of Harpeth and probably some smaller ones that I don’t know about. One of the reasons for the growth of paddling is due to organizations such as the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSAR) and the Harpeth River Watershed Association (HRWA). Both associations have joined forces to create the Harpeth River Blueway Project which has a mission ”to promote recreational opportunities, safety and the preservation of natural cultural features along the Harpeth River through the provision/kayak access sites and accompanying signage”. If you go the following website: http://www.harpethriver.org/programs/recreation/  it will give you great information about current and proposed recreational access points along the Harpeth.  This is a great map to have on hand when planning any trip down the Harpeth.

   The weather was beautiful for this paddle. There was a breeze which kept things cool but did make paddling a bit difficult in places. The river was moving at a good clip which made up for having to fight the headwinds. Vegetation along the river is starting to sprout making everything feel alive. The turtles where out in full force and I was able to capture a few of them sunning.

   My advice to anyone wanting to take this paddle is get out early in the morning to beat the traffic from the outfitters or make it a weekday trip. 

Harpeth River East Flank Park to Williamson County Rec. Ctr.

Harpeth River in Franklin

Estimated Length: 4.7 Mile 
Date: July 10, 2016

Weather: Partly Sunny

Time on River: 2 hour

Put-In: East Flank Park

Closest City: Franklin

Take-Out: Williamson County Rec Center

Outfitter: None

    After the rains we had last week, Lex and I knew we had to take a Harpeth in town paddle and Sunday was the day. The river was running very nicely, but was the water ever muddy. With the rains the water level was high enough to wash out most of the gavel bars so getting out to play was not an option, so the muddy water did not bother us too much. We left our big red canoe at home and took our kayaks for their first trip of the year.

    The City of Franklin Parks Dept. has done a great job of getting new signs on the

Franklin Parks Dept. signs  on the River

Harpeth. On this stretch of river all the bridges have big blue signs that not only tell you the name of the road you are going under but also the river mile marker. Lex and I stopped by Bicentennial Park in Franklin on our way home to see the cool overlook that they are constructing. We had viewed it from the river but wanted to get a better perspective of the project. I think they also plan to put an access point at this location.

   Since last year the Parks Dept. has added two new access points; one at Pinkerton Park and the other at Harlinsdale Park. A new access point at Ladd Park subdivision is scheduled to open this summer. It’s great to see so many resources being spent on this section of the Harpeth. The Harpeth is one of the many gems of Williamson County!!!

Construction of new overlook at Bicentinnial Park in Franklin

Harpeth River Gossett Tract to Harris Street Bridge

Date: June 26, 2016

Distance: 7.7 Miles

Weather: Sunny and Hot

Time on the River: 4 hours

River Conditions: easy

Distance from Nashville: 30 minutes

Close By: Nashville

Put-In: Gossett Tract

Take-Out: Harris Street Bridge

Outfitter: Music City Canoe, Tip-A-Canoe, Foggy Bottom

     The Harpeth was a popular destination today. There was a steady stream of paddlers on the river both young and old. We got to Gossett Tract about 9:30 in the morning and the outfitters were already loading people onto the river. But even with all the paddlers we found stretches of river that were quiet and calm.

     We took our time on this float, stopping to play in the water and talk to fellow paddlers. The piece of river between Gossett Track and the Narrows is lots fun with some nice Class I riffles.  The tunnel built by Montgomery Bell for his ironworks is always an impressive sight. The water was a bit muddy but flowing at a good clip.

Getting splashed by Granddad

Singing on the river

Motgomery Bell's ironworks Tunnel

The Harpeth is one of Nashville's greatest resources for those of us who like to get outside and explore. Please respect the river and follow the “Leave No Trace” principle.

Harpeth River - East Flank Park to Rizer Point

Harpeth River - East Flank Park to Rizer Point

Estimated Length: 5.2 Miles                     

Discharge Day of Paddle: 91 cfs
Date: June 17, 2015
Weather: Sunny and in the low 90's
Time on the River: 2 1/2 hours
Put-In: East Flank Park Canoe Access
Take-Out: Rizer Point Canoe Access

Lex and I took off mid-week to see how the Harpeth was running through Franklin. Middle Tennessee had not had any rain lately so we were curious to find out if we would be bottoming out with the kayaks on the paddle.  We had also heard a rumor that a tree was laying across the width of the river somewhere between East Flank Park and The Williamson County Rec center. Our paddle could turn into a bit of a downer if we were not prepared.

When we got to the take-in at East Flank, sure enough another paddler had written on the map kiosk about the downed tree located after Pinkerton Park. We were ready to tackle it with whatever necessary to make it down river. So we went ahead and launched our kayaks.

The access point at East Flank Park is becoming more and more popular as families use it to bring their kids to play in the water. But once we got on the river, traffic was at minimum. Even with the river flowing at 91 cfs we did not have to get out and drag our kayaks. I did notice that in some spots the river smells were a lot stronger than when we did this same run about a month earlier. Not sure if that is because the river water levels are lower or that the air/water temperatures has risen.  We did sight three different deer on this trip and one had her baby with her.

We did find the downed tree, but enough of it had been removed so we did not have to portage. If we had been in the Old Town Canoe it would have been a different story. The take-out at Rizer Point is great but the distance to the car gets a little long after a couple hours on the river. In all it was a great mid-week diversion. 

Harpeth River - Hwy. 100 Canoe Accessto Hidden Lake State Natural Area

Estimated Length: 11.5
Discharge Day of Paddle: 337 cfs
Date: May 23, 2015
Weather: Sunny and in the low 80's
Time on the River: 5 1/2 hours
Put-In: Hwy. 100 Canoe Access
Take-Out: Hidden Lake State Natural Area
Outfitters: None

Steps leading to river at Hwy. 100 access point

I wish all access points could be like the one at Hwy. 100. Nice easy steps to the river's edge, lots of parking for cars, and a good map of the river posted on the kiosk. If the state put in restrooms it would be perfect. After we finished our last paddle here on Tues. Lex and I decided this would be a good starting point for our next trip. We packed up the cooler, got out the Old Town and made it on the river by 11 am.

The sent of Honeysuckle was with us the whole trip, which made Lex's allergies act up but I loved it. Honeysuckle smells so much better than river water.  There were a few large groups of paddlers that we shared the river with, but on the whole not that many people were out and about. There were long stretches of the the river where it was just Lex and I. We did see a first, a family using nets to catch fish. Another paddler told us they were fishing for bait?

Walking Trail in Bellview

There has not been much rain leading up to this paddle, so the river was a bit low. Even with that being said we did not have to get out and drag the canoe. What we did experience was long slow sections of river, which gave us a work out! Knowing how slow some pieces of the river became, I would  have cut back on the length of our trip and taken out at Newsom's Mill. Still all in all it was a great day to be on the river.

Harpeth River - Moran Rd. to Hwy 100

Estimated Length: 6.2 Miles            

Discharge Day Of Paddle: 68 cfs
Weather: Sunny and High 70's
Time On the River: 2 1/2 hours
Put-In: Moran Road
Take-Out: Hwy. 100

Canoe or kayaks.... which do we take? That was the question of the day, we finally decided on the kayaks. For this paddle the Old Town Canoe would have been fine on the water but getting it down the steep incline at the Put-In would have been hard. Both Lex and I had to work the up coming week-end, so river time was going to have to happen mid-week. Neither of us had done this section of the Harpeth before, so it was new territory.

Gosling

The paddle was nice, with lots of river vegetation  I had expected more homes along the banks, so I was pleasantly surprised that we viewed more woodlands then homeowners back yards. The only traffic we encountered was a solo fisherman. The first 2/3 of the trip the river was moving fairly swiftly but at the end we had to put some muscle into our strokes to get to the take-out.

Wildlife Along the Harpeth

For an in-town paddle this was a nice section of river. The Put-In can be a bit hazardous since it is not an "official" location. There is no designated parking lot so you have to leave your car along the side of the road. The Take-Out is part of the Harpeth River Access System and it's an easy location with gently descending steps to the river. Also its hard to miss the big green bridge that marks the Take-Out for Hwy 100.

Harpeth River - Kingston Springs to Hwy 70

Estimated Length: 4.6 Miles

Discharge day of Paddle: 375cfs
Date: May 10, 2015
Weather: Sunny and in the low 80's
Time on the River: 3 Hours
Put-In: Kingston Spring City Park
Take-Out: Hwy70
Outfitters: Adventures on the Harpeth
                 Tip-A-Canoe
                 Foggy Bottom Canoe
                 Canoe Music City

Xander in the kayak with Dad

Mother's Day was spent on the river!!! Our son and his family joined us for a paddle down the
Harpeth. We met at the Kingston Springs City Park (LL Burns Park) at 9 am and after unloading and shuttling cars we got on the river 45 minutes later. Since we had our 20 month old Grandson (Xander) with us we wanted to keep the trip short and easy, so we only went to Hwy 70. This stretch of river was perfect.

Xander loves the river, almost as much as Nana and Granddad. He had so much fun.

Xander and Granddad playing in the water

Xander"paddled" in the kayak with his Dad, he played in the water and he could have spent all day throwing rocks into to the river. My son did admit that he thought his son would have been crying for the entire paddle but knowing what a good time Xander had the family is ready for another river excursion.


This section of river has some great bluffs and easy Class I riffles. It is used by the local outfitters so there is a lot of traffic but we got on the river early so it was not to bad. The put-in and take-out are well established, easy, and have lots of parking. There are more then enough gravel bars along the route to stop and play. In all it was a great Mothers's Day.

Beautiful Bluffs

Harpeth River - East Flank Park to Williamson County Rec Center

Estimated Length: 4.7 Miles

Discharge Day of Paddle: 86 cfs
Date: May 7, 2015
Weather: Sunny and in the low 80's
Time on the River: 2 1/2 hours
Put-In: East Flank Park Canoe Access
Take-Out: Williamson County Rec Center

Our Kayaks

Lex and I bought our second kayak this week and of course we had to try it out. Lex had never been in a kayak before and it was only my third time, so both of us had some learning to do. Our new kayak is an 10 foot Pelican that we got at Academy Sports for $150, what a deal. The Dagger which is the nicer of the two was given to us for free, even a better deal!

We decided on taking a paddle for a couple of reasons; first both of us had to work in the morning so drive time had to be at a minimum. Second we wanted a short trip since we did not really know how to handle the kayaks. Lastly, I have always wanted to try the Harpeth through downtown Franklin but was not sure our 16 foot Old Town Canoe would "fit" on this stretch of river. The kayaks were the perfect choice. 

For two "mature" paddlers and I mean age not experience, the trip was great. The getting in and out of the kayaks was a challenge. Everyone I have even seen makes it look so easy but we kinda plopped ourselves into the boats and then rolled ourselves out. There was some getting use to sitting that low in the water. Being able to "read" the river was more difficult but we were able to respond a lot quicker. Our Old Town Canoe would have been dragging the bottom, so our choice of kayaks was smart.

The river was cleaner then anticipated. The water had good visibility but there are still some tires in the river bed. The river banks had some debris, some of which looked new but a lot of it has been there for a long time. I was encouraged by how many people where on the river banks either fishing or playing in the water.

Great water visibility!

 With all the access points the State and Local Government is planning and the continuous effort to clean up the river, the Harpeth is a wonderful recreation destination. For those of us the that live and work in the area what a great resource and we need to help take care of it.

Harpeth River Hidden Lakes to HWY 249

           Last Saturday we met our friends and hit the Harpeth River for a great paddle. We started at the Hidden Lakes access point and canoed the 8.9 miles to HWY 249. There was not much traffic on this stretch of river and we only ran into 2 other boats the whole day. I don’t think the local outfitters make use of this part of the river.

            Lots of small riffles kept us on our toes and the water was running clear.  If the river was a couple inches shallower in some places we would have been dragging our canoe. So I would definitely paddle this section of river in the spring. We saw some Canadian Geese, a Heron, an otter, a deer and lots of turtles; not bad for one day. There were lots of gravel bars to pull over and take a break. We even found a feeder stream with a small waterfall.

            This section of river crosses I-40 twice but it is not too disruptive to the paddle. Also, the river does not run through that many residential areas, for the most part it feels like you are out in the county.  If you like solitude when paddling try this section of the Harpeth. 

Harpeth River Hwy 70 to Harris St Bridge

Put-In at Hwy 70

          Lex and I made it to the Harpeth River two weeks ago and it was a beautiful day to be on the river. We went to the Harpeth hoping to avoid all the crowds that seem to converge on this river during the summer and it was a success. The water was running fast and deep, no dragging the canoes this trip. This is another reason to paddle the Harpeth in the spring.

            This was the first time that we canoed this section of river, from Hwy 70 to The Narrows of the Harpeth. I had been concerned about the noise from the road traffic but I was surprised how little we actually heard from the cars. This was a great section of the Harpeth, the scenery was great and in a couple of places the rapids kept us on our toes.

Spring Run-Off

            We had Foggy Bottom Canoe Rental shuttle us for $15 and they were great. They came and picked us up within 10 minutes of us calling, so we could get back to our car which we had left at the put in at Hwy 70. With the water running so swiftly we were able to complete the xxx mile paddle from Hwy 70 to Harrison St. Bridge in 3 hours.  We would have completed the trip even in less time if the wind had not been gusting.