About Natural Areas

The best that nature has to offer in middle Tennessee can be found in Metro Parks Natural Areas… fresh air, sunshine, and healthy activities in the great outdoors. Natural areas in Metro Parks encompass approximately 8,000 acres of forests and meadows, hills and hollows, and rivers and streams to explore and enjoy. The benefits and recreational opportunities found in natural areas are endless… environmental education and outdoor recreation programs, physical fitness, and relief from the pressures of urban living.

Natural Areas

Beaman Park

Beaman Park features Highland Rim habitat with 2,170 acres of rugged ridges, steep slopes, narrow moist hollows, springs, streams, and waterfalls. The park’s unique plant communities include Eggert’s sunflower, butternut trees, and “barrens” with glade-like plant species not found elsewhere in the Metro Parks system. Most of the park’s acreage is listed as a Designated State Natural Area under the State of Tennessee Natural Heritage Program.

5911 Old Hickory Blvd.
Ashland City, TN 37015

For further park information email the Beaman Park Nature Center staff at: [email protected]

Bells Bend Park

Bells Bend Park is a special natural area with a rich cultural, archaeological, and agricultural history. Located beside the Cumberland River, the park’s varied habitats provide homes for many species of birds including Henslow’s Sparrow, American Woodcock, and Dickcissel. Wetlands enhancements including migratory shorebird ponds are under development on the property.

4187 Old Hickory Blvd
Nashville, TN 37218

For further park information please email the Bells Bend Outdoor Center staff at [email protected]

Hamilton Creek Park

Hamilton Creek Park is characterized by cedar glade-like habitat with shallow depth of soils and exposed limestone. The park is adjacent to J. Percy Priest Lake and contains 790 acres leased from the Corps of Engineers. The federally endangered flowering plant Dalea foliosa, whose common name is leafy prairie clover, is found and protected within the park boundaries.

2901 Bell Road
Nashville, TN 37217

Peeler Park

Peeler Park contains approximately 600 acres. The scenic property is located on the Cumberland River in Neely’s Bend. Current passive recreational use includes greenway hiking and equestrian trails, and primitive camping.

2043 Neely’s Bend Road
Madison, TN 37115

Shelby Bottoms

Shelby Bottoms with 960 acres and approximately 3 miles of Cumberland River frontage, is located in close proximity to Nashville’s central business district. The park features bottomland hardwood forest, open fields, floodplain, wetlands, and streams. Many frog species can be heard and seen, and local birders consider the park one of the best locations for bird watching field trips.

1900 Davidson Street
Nashville, TN 37206

For more park information email the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center staff: [email protected]

Warner Parks

Some of the largest natural areas within the Nashville Metro Parks system reside in Warner Parks. Warner includes 4 unique parks that total more than 3,100 acres. Discover hardwood forests, deep hollows, wetlands hosting American Bullfrogs among tall cattails and meadow blooming with goldenrod in late summer, all less than 10 miles outside the city.

For more information and to begin your adventure, call Warner Park Nature Center at 615-862-8555, or email [email protected].

• Percy Warner Park: 1225 Belle Meade Boulevard
• Edwin Warner Park: 7311 Highway 100
• Burch Reserve: 7300 Highway 100
• Hill Forest State Natural Area - Accessible by appointment only

Resource Management Projects

• Compliance and enforcement of public use policies
• Invasive plant control and eradication
• Inventory of plants, animals, and natural features
• Prescribed burns and scheduled mowing of fields and meadows for wildlife habitat improvement
• Trail design, maintenance, and sustainability
• Wetlands enhancements