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The Richland Creek Greenway is a multi-use trail that connects the Nashville neighborhoods of Sylvan Park and Cherokee Park with nearby shopping centers, entertainment areas, and schools along White Bridge Pike via three access spurs. The greenway makes nearly a complete loop around McCabe Park, and a 0.65-mile portion of it follows the railroad tracks between White Bridge Pike and Cherokee Road.
About the Route
There is no straightforward way to travel along the Richland Creek Greenway. The trail makes a complete loop around McCabe Park, which is primarily a gold course and driving range, and this 2.5-mile (ish) route.
Three additional spurs provide neighbors access to the trail's main loop. One spur leads to the back end of the Nashville Community College along an unnamed road, another has a trailhead behind a shopping center which includes a Target and Trader Joe's and the third spur leads to another trailhead along White Bridge Rd.
Rail history buffs will enjoy the third trail spur along White Bridge Rd., where there is a historical marker for Dutchman’s Curve, the site of the Great Train Wreck of 1918, one of the worst rail accidents in the county's history.
The Richland Creek Greenway runs between 201 54th Ave N (Nashville) and 230 Kenner Ave N (Nashville), which offers parking.
Parking is also available at:
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
This trail is listed as good for in-line skating, but a large section of the trail is very rough / old pavement, and much of the rest of it has long hills and sharp turns.
They pieced this Greenway perfectly throughout the years.
Love the trail, especially “Turtle Bridge”, where you can see a lot of cool turtles. My son went out at night and saw a couple of ghosts near the RR Trax. That’s kinda..neat..best part of all Is our new home backs right up to the creek
This is a great area. This trail is part of the Music City Greenway and links to several areas that provides miles of cycling fun.
this path is awesome- it curves around a golf course, there are creeks you can play in, there’s pretty bridges. Great for anyone- kids, dogs, walkers, runners, cyclists. Loved this greenway! Doesn’t feel like you’re in Nashville- so much lush nature.
Love that it’s a loop and has such scenic variety. Great 3 mile distance.
To take my mind of the chaos of the world we live in, I walk the Richland Creek Greenway each and every afternoon. The scenic creek crossings and the meandering trails can put even the most-troubled minds at ease. The wide paths allow bikers, runners, walkers, dogs, children, and strollers to easily maneuver.
I absolutely love the Richland Park Greenway and consider it a wonderful feature of the Sylvan Park neighborhood. I just have a question about one of the greenway access locations listed on "Parking and Trail Access." It says that the Wyoming St. access and parking lot is located at 101 46th Ave. N. when, in reality, it's off 51st Ave and not 46th Ave. If someone goes to the listed access address of 101 46th Ave. they will be five blocks from the actual greenway access/parking lot and, presumably, very confused.
This is where I ride for exercise, almost every day while the days are long, and a few times a week in the winter. I love it, but I wouldn't make a long trip in a car to ride it. It is short and it can be busy. To ride 5 entire miles you would have to backtrack over some places; the loop is about 3 miles. It is, however, a great family trail, and I see people of literally all ages (from the toddlers with no pedals on their bikes yet to the motorized wheelchair riders from the retirement center) out here. There is access to a creek for dogs and kids, and some men fish here, but I have never seen them catch anything. It is hilly but manageable, and any holes in the bridges or branches on the trails are generally cleared up fairly quickly. Watch for traffic on weekends and at prime exercising hours like 5:00-6:00 p.m. Always be ready to stop; the pedestrians don't follow the rules.
Stop by Star Bagel across from the park community center for a nice snack. They make the best bagels in Nashville.
For a longer ride that crosses the creek on this trail, see the Music City Bikeway, which uses city streets in addition to the trails, but traverses the entire city from Southwest to Northeast.
The RC greenway is in my neighborhood and I'm just tickled pink! Aside from the recreational aspect, it provides residents with easy access to shopping and dining, as well as Nashville State Community College and Tennessee Technology Center. One thing I especially love about the RC trail is it runs right next to the Villa Maria retirement home. I have seen several older folks meandering down the trail, even one senior cruising along in his motorized wheelchair with a fishing pole attached to the back. Go, dude!!
At the Wyoming trailhead sign is posted a warning about agressive dogs in the area. There were several attacks that happened back in 2009 but as far as I can tell there hasn't been one in the past few years. To err on the side of caution I would suggest carrying pepper spray, but I think that applies to any forray into nature.
Check out the display at Dutchman's Curve, site of the worst rail disaster in American history. If you walk past the sign and follow the path to the right, a few short steps will take you to the creek. This is where the photos of graffiti were taken. I saw a great blue heron fishing here.
On another point where the trail crosses RC there was a flock of hundreds of robins bathing in shallow rocky pools, tussling in flight, foraging on shore and generally being wonderful to observe and listen to. I suppose they are migrating to warmer climes. I also saw a kingfisher flying his very noisy way along the creek like it was his/her own personal trail.
I'm giving the RC trail 4/5 stars because it's really busy. Constantly dodging walkers, joggers, strollers, and other bikers was a drag. But I'm the kind of person who prefers a solitary experience when I'm riding and I know where to go to get that.
We rode this trail from Murphy Road over to the Villa Maria retirement complex and back. It passes by the golf course and goes beside the creek where we saw a blue heron. Trail is not crowded, but also not totally deserted, which is the way we like it. Well maintained bridges and path.
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