Bryant Grove Trail at Long Hunter

Years ago, when C still fit into our infant carrier pack, V and I hiked two miles of the Bryant Grove Trail, had a nice picnic, and then returned along the same route we'd come. Today, the weather was so pleasant that we decided to hike the entire trail as a family. Still four miles total, but this time, we took two vehicles so that we could do a point-to-point trek.

Bryant Grove connects two recreational areas in Long Hunter State Park. The northern trailhead is adjacent to Couchville Lake, and from there, the trail winds alongside Percy Priest Lake and emerges at the Bryant Grove Recreational area, which sits just next to the Jones Mill mountain bike trail. Below is my GPS capture of our trip.

Bryant Grove Trail


In my copy of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Nashville, Bryant Grove is listed as a "moderate" hike in terms of difficulty. My guess is that the rating mostly stems from the rocky terrain. Overall, the hike features very little in the way of elevation change, and the trail itself is well kept and well marked.

Today, we stopped for a picnic at the same two-mile mark as before. E merrily munched on crackers while the rest of us had our sandwiches and chips. Afterwards, we all made our way down toward the point where C threw rocks into the water and E had great fun playing with rocks. For the first time, I'm proud to say, she made it through an entire hike without nodding off, but both she and C were getting tired by the time we exited the trail.

Click pictures to enlarge.