Henry Horton State Park is a quiet state park located about an hour directly south of Nashville, Tennessee in Chapel Hill. While visiting my friend in Tennessee, we decided to check out what this park had to offer. This park sits on the estate of Henry Horton, a previous governor of Tennessee from 1927-1933.

I first picked up a trail map at the lodge. It appears that when we were visiting they were undergoing a lot of construction and we heard that a new lodge was being built!

We first checked out the Wilhoite Mill area. On this site, along the banks of the Duck River sat the Wilhoite Mill. It was built in 1846, but later destroyed in a flood in 1902. Another mill was built in it’s place, but later destroyed in a fire! You can still see some of the remains of the mill today.

We then hiked the Wilhoite Mill Trail (green) and then hopped on the Spring Creek Trail (yellow). A bridge connects the two trails.

This was one of my favorite trails that we hiked. While Spring Creek is mostly dry, it was neat to be able to walk along the creek.

This trail is an out and back so we hiked back and continued on the Wilhoite Mill Trail. This trail was also really enjoyable as it follows the rest of Spring Creek until it meets up with the Duck River.

Next, we hiked the Hickory Ridge Inner Loop which is 1.25 miles. I thought this was just going to be another hike in the woods, but this trail also really impressed me!

This trail was full of sinkholes and unique rock formations!

There were several other trails that we wanted to hike, but we had to make it to our final activity at Henry Horton State Park which was a 3 mile kayak paddle along the Duck River! The state park was hosting these events throughout the summer and it only cost $20 per person!

The Duck River is the longest free-flowing river within the state of Tennessee and we got to experience a calm stretch of it during this float.

We passed by a cave and bluffs and since we signed up for a dusk trip, we experienced a nice start to the sunset on the river. Overall, it was really enjoyable!

Below is a park map which can also be found on the Tennessee State Park’s website. Henry Horton far exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to going back to hike the remaining trails!