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The Cumberland River Greenway is a 9-mile multiuse trail that follows the winding course of the Cumberland River through downtown Nashville. Less than a mile of the route runs along a former railroad corridor.
About the Route
Most of the trail lies on the west/south bank of the river, but it does cross over the Shelby Street Bridge and continues to LP Field. This part of the trail is known locally as the East Bank Greenway.
The trail runs from Ted Rhodes Park to Metro Riverfront Park and LP Field, providing wonderful views of the river and access to Morgan Park and Bicentennial Mall State Park, each via a short spur.
Connections
The Cumberland River Greenway is one of many forming Nashville's system of greenways throughout the city. Nashville's greenways link neighborhoods, schools, shopping areas, the downtown area, offices, recreation areas, open spaces and other points of interest.
The Cumberland River Greenway runs between the Ted Rhodes Golf Course (1901 Ed Temple Blvd, Nashville) and the parking lot at the intersection of Peabody St & Lea Ave (Nashville).
Parking is available at:
Visit the TrailLink map for all parking options and detailed directions.
We rode this trail in May 2023. We accessed the northwest end of the trail via Freeland Station Road. It appears that the trail continues past this point but it is not shown on the map. We followed the trail northeast, east and southeast towards downtown Nashville. After a few miles we passed several homeless encampments in the wooded areas. When we reached the downtown area near 2nd St and Cement Plant Road we were met with construction debris. We found no clear description of where we were, where we might go and what we might see. We returned to the trailhead.
Prior to reaching the homeless encampment, the paved trail follows the curve of the river. Wildlife is visible on and along the river.
It would have been great if the trail were marked and we would have been able to ride the trail into the Broadway downtown area, Ryman Auditorium, etc.
We totally enjoyed this ride on the river !
I rode this greenway back in the summer and one of the interesting aspects was the herd of goats that keep the vegetation on the levee in check. I rode again in February and was not surprised to see that the goats were not out there, nothing to eat this time of year. But I am curious. What happens to those goats when winter rolls in and the vegetation dies?
Nice trail, rode it on a Wednesday with very few people using it. Tent city was a surprise but didn't see anyone there. Really quite and peaceful ridd
I biked from Ted Rhodes golf course to Titans stadium. The levee section is nice and the downtown section is interesting. This one is not my favorite greenway in the Nashville area but I am glad I took the time to ride it.
The previous comment titled “Ugly” by Tweakhound back in Aug ‘08 is spot-on. My experience was exactly the same. Thoroughly unimpressed.
It was industrial but a nice ride with some good views and you can get lunch downtown if desired.
I was a bit concerned about some of the negative reviews but I found this route to be surprising interesting. Yes, it is industrial in parts but it is level, well-traveled and how can you not be surprised by the goats!!! It was fun and it is definitely a city vibe as opposed to rolling hills.
I run on this trail every week and it is especially beautiful in the morning with the mist rising off the river. Great trail along river that connects to downtown.
I don't get the 5 star reviews or the trail description. Rode from behind Titans stadium to trail end. It is 14.26 miles round trip. After you clear the Riverfront area full of trash and homeless, the first half of the trail is past warehouses, and cement factories. You can't see the river at all. When you clear that you still have warehouses on the land side and the view in this section of the river ain't much. No water and one porta-potie that I assume is associated with the golf course.
We are visiting the Nashville area from Iowa & I wanted to get in a short ride. Very nice trail. Well maintained. Good trail markers. Love the Cumberland river section. The sheep added to the experience. Nice to see barges navigating the river.
As with a lot of trails starting out in cities, you'll go through indrustrial areas. This one is no different, but once you get past the water plant you have a nice ride by the river. Smooth flat surface, with great river views. Couple of entrances with water fountains. It was a beautiful day, but very few ( less the ten) people took advantage of it. Did see a homeless camp but felt no fear at all.
This is the first time I've used this app and it has been wonderful I ran 12 miles on the Cumberland Trail today and the app told me where I was on the trail it was accurate if I can say anything bad about the trail it would be the homeless people that are sleeping alarm silent and didn't bother me but I had to be courageous because some of them
Had envisioned this as a nice run along the river into downtown. Turns out that most of the trail is set back a good bit from the river, runs behind a water treatment plant and through heavily industrial area. Very few actual river views. The finish on the river in downtown Nashville was cool, but otherwise this run far missed my expectations
Driving from Missouri to Florida, we used this App to get at least an hours bike ride in. Such a great surprise in metro Nashville along the Cumberland River
Honestly, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this trail. Most Nashville residents don't go downtown unless it's for a show or work. What I found were almost endless opportunities for photography (my personal image folder for this trail has hundreds of photos), people watching, and learning about my city from ancient geology to river commerce. I also grabbed some fresh veggies at our Farmer's Market before I drove off for the day.
The trail surface is well maintained asphalt. It's pretty much flat which makes for an easy ramble. Any hills are totally workable. There are several portalets so no need to worry about finding a bush.
The Metrocenter levee trail is closed until summer of next year (2012) for reconstruction that I assume is due to damage from the flood.
If you're a visitor or even a long time resident, please take a few hours to meander about. Maybe even pack a lunch for kicking back on the riverfront lawn and enjoying the sunshine.
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