Within Long Hunter State Park sits Couchville Lake, and a 2.1-mile trail encircling it. This loop, paved all the way around, makes a pleasant place to walk or run around the smaller Couchville Lake, just to the east of the sprawling Percy Priest Lake, about midway between La Vergne and Mt. Juliet.

The area attracted quite a few walkers, runners and birdwatchers, along with a few fisherpeople scattered along the lakeshore, on a recent sunny weekend afternoon.

The paved Couchville Lake Trail is stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, for the most part, though some healthy tree roots have disrupted the pavement at certain points. The trail is mostly level with little elevation change, and under heavy shade for the majority of the trail, even in winter.

While the trail loops around the lake near the shoreline for much of its duration, on the north end of Couchville Lake it actually travels over the lake. A 400-foot wooden footbridge sits over the lake and completes the loop, making a unique feature of the park. Standing on the middle of this bridge offers a lovely view of the lake below and the whole scene.

Aside from strollers and wheelchairs, the Couchville Lake Trail is open only to human foot traffic—no pets or bicycles or other wheeled vehicles allowed.

(For cyclists looking for some riding trails, however, Long Hunter State Park does indeed offer 9 miles of bike trails on the southern end of the park, not far from the Fate Sanders Marina outside of Smyrna, in the Bryant Grove section of Long Hunter State Park.)

A sign tells those entering the Couchville Lake Tail to allow an hour for the 2-plus-mile journey around the lake, about right for a casually moving family stopping a few times to take in the natural scenes, but those keeping a jogging pace can complete the two miles much more quickly.

The water level of Couchville Lake was way down in January, but the water surface was beautiful, reflecting the setting sun.

The low water level revealed lots of large rocks along the edge of the lake, in portions often underwater; the exposed rocks gave visitors more terrain to explore on this day of shallow water.

Boaters may use the calm surface of Couchville Lake for practice on kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards, but state park officials close this small lake to swimming and motorized boats—there’s plenty of space for swimming, boating and fishing in nearby Percy Priest.

To find the Couchville Lake Trailhead, coming from the Old Hickory Boulevard exit of I-24, turn right into Long Hunter State Park just after crossing over Percy Priest Lake on Hobson Pike. Pass the visitor center and park office, and then take a left to get to the Couchville Lake Trail parking area.

Long Hunter State Park
2910 Hobson Pk., Hermitage, Tennessee
888-867-2757