Location: Between Livingston and Celina, TN

Hike Rating: 4.5 Miles / Moderate - narrow path along steep hillsides

References:
     Middle Tennessee on Foot - Robert Brandt

Trail Notes: March 28, 2004

   The park has a man-made lake that forms an X-shape within the hills and hollows.  The Lake Trail surrounds the lake, sometimes along the shore, sometimes along the ridge above the lake.  Each leg of the "X" seems to have different items of interest for the hiker.
   We parked our cars at the information center/ranger station and descended the steep hillside to the dam and the trailhead.
   The Lake Trail begins below the dam with a swinging bridge that crosses the dam's spillway.  The trail quickly ascends the ridge.  We began to see the numerous wildflowers that led to selecting this hike location.  Toadshade Trillium, Rue Anemone, Foam Flower, Prostrate Bluets, and even the rare and delicate Bloodroot seem to be everywhere.  This leg of the trail takes us along a ridge above the lake, past a cabin being reconstructed for education purposes.  We can see the dam and the crossing X-pattern of the lake.
   We descended into a hollow as we cross from the first leg of the lake to the second leg. The path along the second leg trailed along the steep sides of the hills. Along the trails we crossed several of the creeks and water chutes that feed the lake. Some of these waterways were dry; but several had some water flowing through the leaves and rocks. We took the opportunity to search for salamanders and other animal life. The men became giddy schoolboys in their hunt for critters. At a hollow the trail crossed another road and a bridge. Below the bridge we saw several fish swimming in the stream. Along the whole trail we found animals tending to their spring rituals.
   As we completed the second leg of the lake's X-pattern, we found ourselves on a roadway alongside the lake.  We could hear chirping/creeking noises from the shoreline of the lake.  We walked along the road, over a bridge at this end of the lake to find a picnic shelter for our lunch stop.  The chirping/creeking noises ran non-stop during our stay.  After lunch, we walked to the edge of the lake to find the source - hundreds of American Toads were in the water laying their eggs.  We could see long strands of tiny eggs, almost pearl-like in the sunlight, strewn through the stalks of last season's cattails.
   We continued our journey along the lake.  The trail now more closely followed the lake shore. Not long after leaving our lunch stop did we see signs of beaver activity.  Many trees were scarred and some felled from the chewing of large front teeth.  We heard a loud slap in the lake water and first thought it was the "beaver emergency network", slapping tails to alert the group of our presence.  Upon watching the water, we saw a large fish leaping out above the surface and slapping back into the water.  Soon after we saw several large fish just below the surface - perhaps bass, perhaps carp.  Our attention was quickly diverted to a garter snake, which the schoolboys tried and failed to capture.
   We continued past the gnawed trees and the lazy fish in search of more sights and sounds. the rewards came quickly as we spied the beaver lodge in the distance.  The pile of limbs was on a small bar in this leg of the lake, well out of reach of hikers.  A little further down the trail we came across another bridge to get us over the shallows and feeder stream to the lake.  One of the hikers spied a water snake which would hold our attention for several minutes.  The snake was calmly floating at the edge of the stream until a schoolboy walked towards it.  The snake then swam across the stream and towards the bridge supporting us.  Unable to find a suitable resting place near the bridge, it swam downstream to a snag of branches, where it disappeared from view.
   Just beyond the bridge, we found ourselves hiking on sandy loam, the bottomland at this end of the lake.  We hadn't gone far when we spotted more fish, animal tracks, and a snapping turtle - a snapping turtle within reach.  Schoolboys had to be schoolboys, and we - yes, the writer included - had to circle around the snapping turtle to catch him.  Carefully lifting him by the tail, we took snapshots of a snapping turtle with a shell about 15 inches in length.  We then released it back to the small creek where it proceeded to bury itself so that its shell barely was visible.
   More wildflowers were visible as we walked the final leg of the lake trail. Cut-Leaf Toothwort and Long Spurred Violets now added to the ranks of the others we had been seeing. This last section of trail took us to two different shelters on the lake that allowed us to rest in the shade and see fish swimming below. The second shelter had a father and son sending worms to their fate in hopes of landing a big fish. The boy's casting ability was somewhat hampered by the roof overhead; but the fun was obviously outweighing the frustration.
   The last hundred yards or so of trail was almost down at the water level.  The narrow path made it a bit harrowing for fear of sliding into the drink.  Fortunately, no casualties occurred and we soon found ourselves at the dam once again.  From the dam we had the short but steep hike up switchbacks to the cars. But we managed to make the climb survived yet another outing in the wild.
   Overall, the guests liked this hike.  The weather was perfect.  The wildflowers were beautiful and abundant.  We saw a lot of wildlife along the way.  And the company proved to be entertaining - for the other guests, anyway.  That Snapper may have a different story . . .

A note of caution when hiking this trail - At many times the trail is very narrow with a steep slide below you to ravines and waterways. It is wise to exercise caution as you travel as not to slip the few feet into the lake or 50 feet into a steep ravine. The hike was otherwise moderate. The steepest climbs are at the beginning of the trail and the climb up from the dam to the ranger station. However, there is a parking lot at the dam to save you that last climb.