Hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park: Flat and Easy Hiking

Cedars of Lebanon State Park is a quiet little park that exemplifies the calm landscape of middle Tennessee.  With 10 miles of easy hiking trails and a peaceful campground, you won’t want to skip Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  

I have visited this state park for a day trip and I have also camped here for 2 weeks.  While your visit will most-likely consist of a day trip or maybe a weekend getaway, I can help you plan your trip!  

Let’s start with some links to get you started!

Important Links (Map, State Park Website, Link to Camping Article)

–Cedars of Lebanon State Park Website

-Printable Trail Map

-Campground Map

–Cedars of Lebanon State Park Reservations – Make Camping Reservations HERE!

–Camping in Cedars of Lebanon State Park – Read about camping here

–Packing your Hiking Backpack Freebie!

Location

Just 40 minutes from Nashville, 2 hours from Chattanooga and 2.5 hours from Knoxville, Cedars of Lebanon State Park is the perfect day trip away from the city.  And the campground is perfect for you if you need a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of life.  

With plenty of parking at each of the trailheads, you won’t want to miss hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  But let’s get to the most asked question.

How Much Time Do I Spend here?

People always want to know how much time to spend at any location.  Is a day enough time?  Do I need to come for a weekend?  And while I can’t answer all of your questions, I can offer you my recommendation if you are looking to go hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  

Realistically, you will only need a day to hike some (or all) of the trails in Cedars of Lebanon.  There are only 10 miles of hiking trails, and 4 of the 7 trails are under a mile.  And all of the trails I would consider easy.  

The trails are flat and even the longest trail (4.2 miles) is what I would call an easy walk in the woods.  But this is exactly the park that is perfect for families with little ones.  Or if you just have a desire to visit all of Tennessee’s State Parks.  

2 Sample Itineraries.

Sample Itinerary – Day Trip

• Park at the Park Office and grab a map.  From there, hike the Cedar Glade Trail (0.6mi.) and Cedar Forest Trail (1.9mi.)
• Drive over and park at the Nature Center.  From there you can hike the Cedar Run Trail (1.9mi.), the Cave Creek Trail (0.6mi.), and the Dixon Merritt Trail (0.6mi.).  
• Drive over to the Picnic Area and park here.  From here you can hike the Hidden Springs Trail (4.2 mi.) and the Limestone Sink Trail (0.4mi.) before ending your day with a picnic lunch after hiking 10 easy miles.  

Sample Itinerary – Weekend Trip

• Book your campsite or cabin reservation here.  All campsites must be booked ahead of time.
• Arrive Friday night, and check-in at the Camper Check-in Store and set up camp.  
• Saturday: Hike several or all of the trails mentioned above. 
• Relax back at camp and roast marshmallows around a fire
• Sunday: Pack up camp, hike any remaining trails that you want and then head home.  

Again, these are just suggestions that you can copy or ignore.  But here is what we did!

Our Itinerary

As I mentioned before, my husband and I did a day trip to go hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park, and then 2 years later we camped there for 2 weeks.  Here are our experiences.  

1. In the fall of 2022 my husband and I took a day trip to go hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  We parked at the office and hiked the Cedar Run Trail, the Cedar Forest Trail and the Hidden Springs Trail (essentially copying the Day Trip Itinerary above).  We felt like this was enough hiking for one day and headed home.  

2. In the spring of 2024, we camped at Cedars of Lebanon State Park for 2 weeks.  We hiked all of the trails multiple times and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the woods around our campsite.  Each evening we took our dog out and hiked either the Cedar Run Trail twice or the Hidden Springs Trail one time.  We worked during the day, but still were able to enjoy the nearby trails in the early evenings.  

While these are two very different experiences, both felt like we got to enjoy and truly experience all the hiking trails that Cedars of Lebanon has to offer.  So whether you visit for a day trip, or stay here for 2 weeks, this quiet park is perfect for a day in the woods, a weekend away or even an extended stay like we did.  

Camping – link to Camping Article

Camping in Cedars of Lebanon State Park is a quiet and peaceful experience.  Even on the weekends when the sites were full, we still felt like we were able to enjoy the woods around us.  

We camped here in our 25 foot travel trailer in the Spring of 2024.  The paved pad we were parked on offered us plenty of room and with such close proximity to the bathhouse we were close to the showers and bathrooms at all times.  

There are 117 campsites in the park and 9 cabins.  The campsites are partial or full shade with the typical picnic table and grill next to the paved pad.  The campground is dog friendly, so bring your pooch!  

With its close proximity to Nashville, Cedars of Lebanon State Park is a great option for camping near the city, without being packed in like sardines.  We were able to drive into Nashville for 2 separate day trips while we visited.  If you are looking to visit Nashville, head over to my article about must-do Nashville Tours!

For more info on the campground and our camping experience, hop over to my other article about Camping in Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  (LINK HERE)

Now, let’s get to some hiking!

Hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park

Hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park is perfect for all ages and capabilities.  The easy hiking trails are perfect for the whole family for a day in the woods, as well as beginner hikers.  These trails are also a great way to stretch your legs after a long winter or just a great place to take your dog to burn off some energy!

Let’s start with what your hiking options are.  And I’m here to tell you, they are all pretty flat and what I (and AllTrails) would consider easy trails.  

List of Hiking Trails

• Cedar Forest Trail – 1.9 miles
• Cedar Glade Trail – 0.5 miles
• Cedar Run Trail – 1.9 miles
• Dixon Merritt Trail – 0.6 miles
• Hidden Springs Trail – 4.2 miles
• Limestone Sink Trail – 0.4 miles
• Cave Creek Trail – 0.6 miles

All of these trails are mostly flat (very minimal elevation gain) and are mostly shaded.  The trails lead you through various sections of the state park and take place mostly in the woods.  The Cedar Run Trail is the only exception with many sections of field and not as much shade as the other trails.  

Any trail you choose will give you the typical woodland views of Tennessee.  The entire state park has many Cedar trees (hence the name) around, so if you have a keen sense of smell, you’ll be able to get a whiff of that iconic Cedar tree smell. 

But enough description, let’s talk about our hikes!

Our Hikes

Since my husband and I did all of the trails here at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, I’m going to group them by area.  

Near the Park Office/Store

When you park at the Park Office, you’ll be able to access two trails from that one parking lot.  We did both of these trails in one go so it was like making an extra long loop.  

Cedar Glade Trail (Easy, 0.5 miles)

This loop starts to the right of the park office and loops you back around behind and to the left of the park office.  This trail is easy and short, so a perfect warm up.

Cedar Forest Trail (Easy, 1.9 miles)

This trail begins right across the street from the Park Office and is another loop trail.  While this one is close to 2 miles, it’s still very easy with very little elevation gain.  You’ll loop around and finish back where you started, regardless if you go left or right.  

Near the Nature Center

For our next hub of trails, you can drive further into the park and park near the Nature Center.  There are 3 trails that you can do here or just hit up the basketball or tennis courts here.

Cave Creek Trail (Easy, paved, 0.6 miles)

Beginning right behind the nature center is the Cave Creek Trail.  This trail is a short loop that is either paved or made up of wooden bridges.  This is another great warm up trail with several benches and one picnic table along the trail if you need to rest or grab a snack.  

Dixon Merritt Trail (Easy, 0.6 miles)

This trail is clearly one of the least popular trails in the park.  The trail itself is more narrow that all the other trails and is nearly overgrown in certain sections.  

And while it is a nice and easy lollipop style loop trail, it was definitely my least favorite trail in all of Cedars of Lebanon.  

Cedar Run Trail (Easy, 1.9 miles)

And the final, and longest trail in this section of the park is the Cedar Run Trail.  When we camped here, we did this trail several times to get our steps in.  This trail is partially in the woods and partially in a large open field, so bring your sunscreen or a hat.  The trail is mostly flat and goes very quickly as you wander in and out of the wooded area.  

We saw lots of cool birds in this section of the park, such as Goldfinches, an Oriole, an Indigo Bunting, and the other standard birds of Tennessee like Blue Jays and Cardinals.  And now, for the final section of the park.

The Picnic Area

There are two trails that you can pick up from this parking area.  We drove here and then hiked the two remaining trails before calling it a very full day of hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park.

Limestone Sink Trail (Easy, 0.4 miles)

This very quick and easy loop is just 0.4miles long and can be done in about 10 – 20 minutes.  We combined this small loop through the woods with the Hidden Springs Trail that is also in that area.  Overall this trail is a cute little area but it could be skipped or just combined with the Hidden Springs Trail like we did.  

Hidden Springs Trail (Easy, 4.2 miles)

The Hidden Springs Trail is the longest loop trail in all of Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  This trail is labeled as moderate in AllTrails because of its length but I’m here to tell you it’s definitely easy.  If you can only do one trail in the park, I would definitely hike this one.  The woods surrounding this trail offer you a quiet and peaceful escape.

This trail will lead you past several deep holes in the ground (Watch your kids and dogs!) that are the hidden springs.  One hole was so deep it had a wooden fence around it and we couldn’t see the bottom.  You will also cross the horse trail several times while hiking this trail.   

After all the short trails in Cedars of Lebanon, this trail feels much longer but is essentially the same view as all the others. This trail did get quite muddy after some rain, which our dog LOVED, but overall this was a great trail to hike.  

So there you have it, every trail where you could possibly go hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park!

Things to do in the area

Besides hiking and camping, there isn’t much in this general area.  The city of Lebanon is about 15 minutes away and besides the Historic Downtown area, the rest is mostly strip malls.  

Nashville is about 40 minutes away and is a great place to have a few drinks, explore some history or shop hop in the Gulch if that’s your thing.  

Overall, Cedars of Lebanon State Park offers the quiet escape that people look for in a state park, and easy access to Nashville.  

Conclusion

Alright, let’s sum it up.  Is the hiking in Cedars of Lebanon State Park the best hiking the state of Tennessee has to offer?  Not even close, but it does offer quiet and easy trails perfect for any hiker.  This state park also protects a lot of Cedar trees from deforestation as well as offers a free place for people to come and walk, run, host events, or even play tennis or basketball.  

State parks are so important to the community and for protecting nature in a rapidly changing area.  

So whether you are looking to go hiking for a day, camping for a weekend, or just want to spend some time sitting in nature, you don’t want to miss Cedars of Lebanon State Park!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected] and I’ll do my best to help!

Happy Hiking!