Radnor Lake State Natural Area

Radnor Lake State Natural Area is an 85 acre lake in the Overton Hills south of downtown Nashville.  The lake itself is located on a 1,200 acre Natural Area protected by the State of Tennessee.  Originally created in 1914 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company by impounding Otter Creek to create the lake, it was used as a reservoir to store water for steam locomotives at Radnor Yard approximately 3 miles north.  The area surrounding the lake was used as a private hunting and fishing preserve for L&N Railroad officials and their guests.  In 1923 the L&N Railroad Company was persuaded to designate the area as a Wildlife Sanctuary and then in 1974 the area was obtained by the State and designated a State Natural Area.

Presently it is 1,200 acres of unpopulated woodland surrounded by Davidson County.  Otter Creek Road, which originally provided a cross-connection between Franklin Road and Granny White Pike, is now closed to vehicle traffic at the east and west entrances to the area.  The roadway is used as a pedestrian and bicycle road through the area.

Here Is A Link to a 27 image panorama across the lake.  When the image opens in your browser (it is a large image file) click it to enlarge and you can pan from left to right.  The image is only 496 pixels high but it is 7,088 pixels wide.

Radnor Lake - October 29 - November 12, 2011

I haven't been by Radnor Lake for a while since it's a depressing place in the summer.  The powers that be allow the lake to become covered by a layer of stinking, slimy green algae so I Really have no urge to go by there.  It usually starts to go away when the water starts to get cold and by fall it's usually gone.

The past week has been gorgeous, brilliant fall day with temperatures just barely above freezing.  Nice mornings for a walk by the lake.

Radnor Lake - December 25, 2010

Seldom do we have a true White Christmas but such was the case this year.  Not a great deal of snow, but certainly enough to qualify for the title.

I arose early, as usual, and walked around my yard for a little while before deciding to drive to Radnor Lake and enjoy the winter scenery.  The first thing I noticed upon arrival was the muffled quiet that only happens when it snows.  All I could hear were my footsteps and the occasional quiet rustle of leaves falling.

Radnor Lake - December 5, 2010

I've been to Radnor Lake a couple of times since the photos below were posted I just didn't take any photographs worth posting here.  Today wasn't much different, there wasn't much going on except brown trees, dead leaves, and the typical early winter doldrums.

There was one unique aspect of Radnor Lake this morning though, it was snowing.  We don't often get snow in December but it was snowing today.  The ground has been far too warm for it to stick, it was 60° yesterday, but just seeing snow this early in the year was an event.

Radnor Lake - October 27, 2010

I stopped by Radnor Lake for a walk today after work to get some fresh air and maybe a photograph or two.  Funny, I started with that exact same line the previous time I added anything here ;)

Anyway, I really did stop by after work today because the trees are really getting beautiful.  I don't think they will last long since it's been somewhat windy the past few days and they are really falling now.  But today, during the "Golden Hour" right before sunset the lake was really pretty.

Radnor Lake - August 26, 2010

I stopped by Radnor Lake for a walk today after work to get some fresh air and maybe a photograph or two.  About all I saw worth taking a photograph of were some butterflies, a bird, and a toadstool with some interesting lighting.  Regardless, it felt good to get out and walk without feeling like I was going to melt.

Radnor Lake - May 9, 2010

I stopped by Radnor Lake for a walk this morning simply because it was a gorgeous morning.  The sky was brilliant blue, the temperature in the 50's, and it was just a great day to walk around the lake.

Nashville, as well as most of middle Tennessee, had some disastrous flooding last weekend (13.5" of rainfall in less than 48 hours will do that!) and Radnor Lake was not spared.

A week later the cleanup still continues but at least the area is accessible.  I stopped by on Monday and the area was completely closed from downed trees and flooding.

The dramatic light filtering through the trees was highlighting individual plants and I couldn't resist taking a few photos of it.

I took the last few simply because I liked them ;)

Radnor Lake - April 20, 2010

I coincidently decided to stop at Radnor Lake coming home from work today and get some fresh air.  The "Coincidence" angle is important as will be explained below.  I almost didn't though.  On the out of the house this morning I turned around, went back upstairs, and got my camera thinking I might stop at Radnor and walk around for a while when I got off.  I wasn't real sure because it was raining slightly plus we are having some work done in our office and are working odd hours so I knew I'd get out of the office later than usual.  But I did.  It was comfortable and not raining so I decided to stop and walk for a while.  Maybe get a few photos of the spring flowers.

While I was walking around the lake a man paused and asked me if I had seen anything interesting.  I told him that all I had seen was a few flowers.  He said, "Yeah, me to.  All I've seen are a couple of Wood Ducks under a tree by the edge of the lake."  Wood ducks??  He said, "Yeah, want me to show you where they are?"  He was kind enough to do so and I managed to get some halfway decent photographs of them.  Not great, but decent considering they were a long way off for my little 300mm lens.

There were two pair of them under some trees about halfway across the lake.

Now here is the "Coincidence" angle:  I have been trying to get a photograph of a Wood Duck for 35 (that's thirty five) years!  Had it not been drizzling rain this morning I would have ridden my motorcycle and wouldn't have had my camera.  Had I not stopped halfway down the stairs and gone back for my camera I wouldn't have gone by the lake.  Had we not had some construction at my office I would have left earlier and never met the man who mentioned the ducks.  Had he not paused and happened to mention seeing them I never would have known about them.  All these came together though and I got my Wood Duck photographs!  Not great ones, barely even "Decent" photos, but I did see them and I did get photographs.  A 35 year quest is realized!

Radnor Lake - February 7, 2010

The vast majority of interesting photographs are a function of simply being in the right place at the right time.  Today was one of my days.

It was cloudy most of the morning, a remnant of yesterday's light snow, so I stuck around home until I got bored and then went to Radnor Lake to walk around for a while.  Had I left earlier I would have missed this: A Red-Tailed Hawk eating a snake.  Yep, 35° outside and somehow this hawk manages to find a snake for lunch.

I also ran across a Chipmunk who decided he'd poke his head out of a tree and watch me for a minute.  A few deer roaming around as well, and some other birds hunting for food.

Radnor Lake - January 30, 2010

A good bit of overnight snow blanketed Radnor Lake in white so I had to stop by and take some photos.  It was worth the trip.

Radnor Lake - January 23, 2010

Warm and partly cloudy today so after a morning motorcycle ride I walked around Radnor Lake for a while.  The place was packed with people trying to get out of their houses for a while so it was more like going to a shopping mall than a state park.  But at least I got some fresh air and a few decent photos.

Radnor Lake - January 10, 2010

Seldom do we get snow in Middle Tennessee but we did get a little.  Not much, but a little.  It has been very cold the past week, in the low teens at night and not reaching freezing during the day, so everything is solidly frozsen.  That includes Radnor Lake, a feat I was told has not occurred since the 1980's.

I finally got by there today to get some photographs of it, and it was must assuredly cold.  It was 11° when I parked my car in the parking lot and had warmed up to 16° when I got back to it a couple of hours later.  I have to admit it was a gorgeous site though.

Radnor Lake - January 3, 2010

More cold weather pix.  16° when I left home.  Since home is only about 5 miles from Radnor Lake it didn't warm up much during the trip either!  The Cooper's Hawk photos made hiking in that cold worthwhile though.

Radnor Lake - January 1, 2010

Cold yet clear again.  When I left home it was 22° and warmed up to 31° by afternoon.  After all the rain and cloud this past week just seeing sunlight felt good.

Radnor Lake - December 31, 2009

I stopped at Radnor Lake on the way home but it was just before dark and so cloudy I could hardly see.  I got a couple of decent photos though.

Radnor Lake - December 26, 2009

Cold yet clear, a rare combination for us in the winter.  It's been cloudy, rainy, and windy for the past several days but the wind finally died out, the clouds blew away, and a clear blue sky was left behind.  A bit too cold for a motorcycle ride at 29° so I went walking at Radnor Lake.

The deer and squirrels didn't seem to be bothered by the cold weather at all, and were probably glad to see the sunshine.  The cold was in some ways beneficial to them since the paths were crusty with ice and they could hear anything walking along them long before they got in their vicinity.  The deer are so tame they don't worry about people but the squirrels are still paranoid.

This is the first time I've seen these ducks on the lake.  They are American Wigeons and, like most ducks, are quite shy.  As soon as they heard anyone getting even remotely close to them they headed out toward the middle of the lake.  As soon as the people passed they swam back closer to the shore.  The photographs are not very good because the trail was about 50 yards from shore, and one thing you do NOT do at Radnor Lake is get off the trail!  The fine, if you are caught, is $196.50 according to the signs!

Radnor Lake - December 20, 2009

Once again a bit too cold for me to ride motorcycles so I headed for Radnor Lake.  30° when I got up and the remains of a "Tennessee Winter Storm" on the ground for us to deal with.  The photos below show what that means ;)

Radnor Lake - December 12, 2009

As it becoming the norm when it's too cold for me to get out and ride my motorcycles, and the 26° that it was this morning is below that limit, I headed for Radnor Lake to get some fresh air.

I wasn't the only one on the trails braving the cold this morning either:

Mom wasn't real thrilled about sharing the trail with me so they trotted up into the woods after she glared at me for a minute.

Deer were everywhere as usual.  Two bucks were by the lake butting heads, presumably over the doe that was standing around grazing while they gave each other a headache.

There really isn't much that could be called "Pretty" in Tennessee right now, a few spots and a few details but in general winter is not a pretty season around here.  We don't get a lot of snow so normally the only bright spot is the brilliant blue sky.  Today was cloudy and gloomy, hence everything was brown and gray and boring.  Even the little woodpecker in the photos below was only pounding half-heartedly on the tree.

I did notice one oddity though.  I was walking along the roadway and noticed pieces of styrofoam hung on the bushes.  I wondered why nobody had bothered to clean it up, and then I happened to see a piece that was out on the roadway itself and it was melting.  That's odd, styrofoam doesn't usually melt that easily.  Then I realized that all of the styrofoam I had been seeing was actually ice crystals.

On the way back to my car I happened to see this guy pounding on a tree, and it made the trip worthwhile.  I've heard them all my life but I've never seen one.  The pictures aren't that great, but this is a Pileated Woodpecker and it is a beautiful bird.  It's about a foot tall, and when they pound on a hollow tree the sound can be heard forever.  He was about 75 yards away and that stretched my little 300mm lens to it's limit.

Radnor Lake - December 5, 2009

What a difference a week can make!  Last weekend I was here in shirt sleeves whereas this weekend I wore heavy winter clothes.  It was below freezing when I got to the lake about 8:00am but with a bright blue sky for about the first time this week.

Radnor Lake - November 28, 2009

I had to meet some friends this morning and I decided to go walk around Radnor Lake a while before I met them.  I counted 37 White Tailed Deer, most of them up in the woods too far away for any decent photographs.  I did manage to get a couple though, as well as a few of a Gray Squirrel eating an acorn.

Radnor Lake - November 25, 2009

We got off early today for the Thanksgiving holiday so I stopped at Radnor Lake to walk around and get some fresh air for a while.  The trees around the lake are virtually bare now except for one or two small splashes of color among the earth tones.  Except for those few brave trees everything else appears to be preparing for the onslaught of winter's dreariness.  Very soon all we will see for several months will be gray and brown, seldom broken by even a covering of white.

Radnor Lake - November 22, 2009

Today was not a repeat of yesterday's clear skies and sunshine.  It dawned gray and overcast with rain forecast for later in the day.  Much like late summer Tennessee is not pretty in the winter because everything is brown and lifeless looking.  Radnor Lake is no exception and today did not present any outstanding photo opportunities.  I walked around a little while and just shot some "Lake Scenics" before heading back for home.

This is a pedestrian bollard.  It's about 3 feet high, made of plastic, with an aluminum base bolted to the roadway surface.  It's one of several mounted to prevent people from walking in an area where the roadway surface is collapsing (I guess repairing the surface would be asking too much).  It's been there for years.  Notice that NONE of the nuts are tightened all the way down.  When it is touched it just kind of flops around.  Rather that properly tightening the nuts whoever installed it apparently decided that was too much effort so the nuts are only halfway tightened.  Over the years NOBODY has bothered to take a wrench and spend a minute tightening those bolts, they would just rather let it flop around.

This attitude epitomizes this country today.  Why do something properly when nobody cares, when nobody notices, and when it just doesn't make any difference to most people.  The rangers and park staff who pass those bollards on a daily basis just can't be bothered to fix something.

Maybe I'm being unfair.  Perhaps it was knocked down and just recently repaired.  It could be that the person who did the repair didn't have the right size wrench and will come back Monday and fix it properly.  On the other hand it could be that I'm right.

Radnor Lake - November 21, 2009

Today was a beautiful late fall day with temperatures forecast to top out in the mid 60's.  Not a cloud in ths sky, and just too nice to stay inside.  Beafore I headed for the Nashville Zoo I decided to stop by Radnor Lake and walk a bit.  The last few times I've been there it was so late in the day I barely got out of my car and it was already getting dark.

Today, rather than walk around looking for the animals I decided to try another method.  I picked a spot on a little wooden bridge, set up my camera on my tripod, and just waited.  Sure enough after just a couple of minutes a pair of Chipmunks came out of an old tree.  A little while after that a buck deer came walking through the woods.  I think I like this method, I may have to use it more often!

Radnor Lake - November 18, 2009

I found a spot at Radnor Lake where several White Tailed Deer pass through each evening right at sunset.  I've seen them in the same spot three times now and, since deer are very much creatures of habit, I'll probably see them there several more times.  Unfortunately when I said "Right at sunset" I really mean RIGHT at sunset, as in just a few minutes.  It's getting dark and I really have to shoot slow to get a decent exposure.  They are relatively tame though and don't spook easily so I'll try my tripod next time.

Radnor Lake - November 11, 2009

November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada.  Please stop for at least a minute and think about what that means.  This is the one day of the year that honors our military, the one day that is theirs.  Whether you support our military or not please take a moment out of your busy day to thank a Veteran.  Many of these men and women have risked their lives so that we can sit at home and enjoy the freedoms that we take for granted every day of our lives.  All in the world that they want is an occasional Thank You in return.  Is that too much?

I got a new lens for my camera today and wanted to try it out for a little while.  Since it gets dark so early now about the only place I could stop and get a few minutes of daylight was Radnor Lake.  I headed over there after work and took a few scenics.

The color in the trees in the photos above is somewhat misleading.  Most of the color is coming from the setting sun.  There is still some color left in the trees, vivid color in places, but in general this part of Tennessee is starting to shift to our winter coloration of browns and earth tones.

Like I said, there is still a little bit of color in places, and where the leaves are still on the trees they are vivid and bright.

I barely got these photographs.  It was getting dark, as in about 10 minutes before sunset.  The Drake Mallard was backlighted by the setting sun and I was really having to shoot at a slow shutter speed.  The White Tailed Deer was standing beside the road having a bite to eat.  I shot about 10 frames of him but they were all so slow I knew when the shutter tripped that they would be junk.  I started to walk away and he raised his head up and held it.  I figured, what the heck, one more frame for what it's worth, and I got this one.

Radnor Lake - November 5, 2009

We switched from daylight savings time to "Normal" time last Sunday morning so it is getting dark at 4:45 now.  Why we go through this twice a year I will never understand.  To the airheads in Washington: Pick one and stay with it!

OK, so much for my complaint of the day.  I get off at 4:00 so I had a few minutes before dark so I stopped at Radnor Lake for a few photos.  "Few" being the key word since I only had about 30 minutes before dark.  It was really pretty with the fall leaves and the late sunlight.  I might have to go back by there again right before sunset.

With the voluminous list of things that visitors are not allowed to do at Radnor Lake, I don't why this sign would surprise me.  Pets must be leashed; bicycles prohibited on trails; skateboards, roller-blades, and scooters are prohibited; food, picnicking, and feeding wildlife are prohibited; fishing, boating, and hunting are prohibited; swimming and/or wading are prohibited; firearms are prohibited; musical instruments, church services, and weddings are prohibited; parking on the road and not in the parking lot is prohibited; collecting any plant, flower, rock, mushroom, or artifact is prohibited.  Damn if I know exactly what is actually allowed but it certainly isn't anything most people would normally want to do in a State Owned park (I underlined the "State Owned" part to emphasize the fact that this is state-owned property and not the private playground of the few that live in the area.)  "No Fishing" at Radnor Lake.  What a surprise.

Radnor Lake - October 30, 2009

Fall is making itself seen in Tennessee, and the colors have really been gorgeous the past few days.  I don't think it's going to last very long because the wind is already knocking most of them onto the ground.  I thought I'd stop at Radnor Lake one more time on the way home and try to get some photos of the leaves.

It was a gray day with rain in the forecast, but the time changes tomorrow night so this will probably be my last opportunity to stop on the way home.  Radnor Lake isn't very far from my home but stopping for a walk on the way home from work is more enjoyable to me than making a special trip over there.  Despite all the rules and regulations Radnor Lake is a nice place for a quiet walk and a few photographs.

There were a number of others walking around the lake and enjoying the mild weather as well.  When I returned from Arizona a couple of weeks ago I went from 100° to 40° on the same day.  Today, even with the gray skies and low clouds, the temperature was in the upper 60's and it was just a good day to walk and enjoy the sights of the lake.  I don't normally take many "People Photos" but in some cases having a person in a candid photo adds to it.

It was starting to get dark by the time I left.  It wasn't that late in the day, still an hour before sunset, but the low clouds and gray skies told me that the rain that had been forecast all day was on the way.  I had to shoot a few of the photos above at 1/6 of a second at ISO 800 just to get the depth of field that I wanted.  Naturally, as always seems to be the case with me, my tripod was at home when I needed it to ;)

Radnor Lake - May 31, 2009

As can be seen from many of the photographs on this page Radnor Lake really is a pretty place.  Placid water, blue skies, green hills, just a lovely place.  At least most of the time.

Now that summer has arrived the water is warming up and the algae is taking over.  This is a common problem on slow-moving bodies of water around here.  Without current to keep the water circulating it gets very warm and that's all the algae needs to take over.  It isn't yet as bad as it will probably get.  By late July the entire lake will probably be covered in a layer of green scum.

My question about the algae is this: Is it there because the tree huggers in the area view it as "Natural" and argue to leave it in place or is it because the State Parks Department is unable to do their job of properly maintaining the lake?

Personally I think it is disgusting and does not reflect well on the people who are supposed to maintain the facilities or the state as a whole.  Imagine how out-of-state visitors view these facilities.  Beautiful lake areas with a thick layer of green slop on top of the water.  Algae can be controlled, it is difficult to do but it can be done, but on most of the lakes in State Parks around this area it is not.  I have summer photos of Dunbar Cave Lake in Clarksville as well as Couchville Lake and Radnor Lake in Nashville that show them completely covered in a layer of green slime.  I would really be interested in knowing why it is allowed to grow like that and nothing is done about it.

The only ones who appear to not be bothered by the layer of scum growing on the lake are the deer.  There were a few along the edge of the lake grazing when I got there.  They are so unafraid of people that we can get very close to them before they will run.

Radnor Lake - April 26, 2009

Spring is finally coming to Tennessee.  The tree leaves are coming back, the flowers are out, and the temperature is warm again.  To make things even better it finally quit raining every other day.

Radnor Lake - March 28, 2009

Once again it rained yesterday, it rained last night, it rained this morning.  Finally about mid-day the sun tried to come out, everything dried up a little bit, so I went and walked around Radnor Lake.  I wanted to ride my motorcycle for a while but I didn't trust the weather.  As things turned out it was a good thing.  I was a few hundred feet from the parking lot coming back to my car when the thunder started booming.  I looked up, took the last photo in the third row below, stuffed my camera in my case, and hightailed it for my car.  I got a little damp but the people still down around the lake got well and truly soaked because the bottom absolutely fell out!

Radnor Lake - March 26, 2009

I stopped at Radnor Lake on the way home from work today to get some fresh air and maybe take a few photos.  It's just a good place to walk and unwind.  It's also convenient since it's right on my way to and from work!

Radnor Lake - March 17, 2009

Spring is once again in the air and Tennessee is starting to come out it's annual sloppy deep freeze.  I stopped at Radnor Lake coming home from work today to get a little fresh air and take a few photos.  The ducks were diving for food and the turtles were sunning themselves on limbs by the water.  I just enjoyed being outside without a coat and gloves for a change.

Radnor Lake - February 22, 2009

A clear but cold sun greeted Tennessee this morning.  Yesterday's rain and light snow bleww out overnight and left behind a blue sky for a change.  Unfortunately yesterday's high temperature of 55° was replaced by today's high of 35° after an overnight low in the mid 20's.  I decided to forego a motorcycle ride today and just went to Radnor Lake for a few photos.

Radnor Lake - January 17, 2009

Tennessee winters are dominated by gray skies, brown trees, and rain.  The predominate colors are earth tones with an occasional blue sky thrown in for flavor.  We seldom get much snow in this area so they gray and brown is not often obscured with a blanket of white.

On this particular day the lake was mostly iced over, and the ice formed some really interesting formations by the edge of the water.  Unfortunately I couldn't get any good photos of it (I got some photos, just not "Good" ones) because when I dared walk off the trail to take some photos I was summarily told by a Park Ranger to NOT get off the trail again (actually she was quite nice about it and only doing her job, but it still annoyed me).

I ran across a couple of Whitetailed Deer foraging for a bite to eat.  They were content to graze and keep one eye on me so I got a few photos of them.  Naturally I had the wrong lens on my camera so the photos of them were taken at high resolution with a 55mm lens.  I cropped and resized them which explains why they are a little on the fuzzy side.  Not the best photos I've ever taken but not the worst either ;)

There was a lot of evidence of Beavers cutting down trees to.  I had to wonder each time I saw one gnawed down whether or not the Rangers fined them for picking foliage.

Radnor Lake - June 9, 2007

Tennessee summers are the antithesis of Tennessee winters.  While the winters are cold and bland with little color to be seen our summers are cloaked in green.  Only during late summer and during periods of drought do we see our foliage turn to brown.

Unfortunately we normally suffer from high temperatures coupled with high humidity which makes the ambient temperature difficult to deal with.  Temperatures in the 90's with humidity in the 50% range is common throughout June, July, and August.  Pop-up summer thundershowers only intensify the closeness of the air.  Visibility is frequently low due to haze in the air as well.

The green palor visible in the water in many of the photographs below isn't necessarily a reflection from the trees surrounding the lake.  It is algae which is a common problem in landlocked bodies of water in this area during the summer months.  Unless the water flows freely, and Radnor Lake does not, algae will proliferate within a few days and turn the water green.  It grows so thick that it forms a layer of scum on top of the water and it is not at all uncommon to see ducks and geese swimming in a mass of green pea colored goop.  Here Is A Link to a photo that I took at Dunbar Cave State Natural Area and Here Is A Link to another photo that I took at Couchville Lake that show how bad it can get in this area.