Bells Bend Park Trails

Bells Bend Park is a relatively new park with over seven miles of trails through unique scenery on the west side of Nashville. While many Nashville-area trails run through parks or river corridors with densely shaded forest cover, the Bells Bend trails run through mostly open land, where you and your dog can see well beyond where you stand, over rolling meadows and pastoral farmscapes to the distant hills beyond.

The main trailhead is located just off a large parking lot next to the Bells Bend Outdoor Center, which has bathrooms for human use and information about the park. There's another trailhead at Poplar Hollow just a little further north. The main trailhead links directly to the 2.3-mile Bells Bend Loop Trail. The Poplar Hollow Trailhead provides direct access to the 1.6-mile Dove Farm Loop. A 0.1-mile connector trail links the Bells Bend Loop Trail to the Poplar Hollow Trailhead and Dove Farm Loop. Old farm roads and the 1.5-mile Buchanan House Loop branch off the Bells Bend Loop. You can link the Dove Farm, Bells Bend, and Buchanan House loops together for a six-mile walk.

Both the Bells Bend and Dove Farm loop trails have sections that run right along the shores of the Cumberland River. The varied scenery along the way includes short forested sections, shaded ponds and wetland bogs, and open fields where tall stalks of golden grass wave in the wind. In warmer months, wildflowers including asters and ironweed bloom in meadow and dale, along shady stream banks and in full sun. The park is a great place to watch and listen for birds, too, who use its openness to their advantage while searching for food. 

Have water to share and clean up bags on hand to make sure your trek through these trails stay furbulous!

The wide variety of sights and smells at Bells Bend make it a pupular hiking destination for Nashville dogs and their people. Don't miss out on the fun! Bring your dog here and you're sure to get thanked with a big, sloppy kiss.