Monday, February 13, 2012
Phillips Edwin Warner Park: A Review
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 5:12 AM
Size of Park: Huge
Crowds: Medium
Approximate Age of Patrons: Adults
Topics of Conversation: "This Porta Potty is disgusting."
Stray Dogs Seen: None
Types of Vehicles in Parking Lots: All kinds
Perceived Safety: High
Number of Gunshots Heard: None
Dog Friendliness: Great
Number of pitbulls sighted: Just mine
Accessibility: Can be an issue
Incorporation of Local History: Not as much as I might like
Recommended Patrons: Everyone
Why are we hiding Edwin Warner's light under a bushel? Why is that bushel so hard to find?
Anyway, I'm positive most of you are familiar with Edwin Warner Park, so I'm not going to waste time describing the hilly hiking trails. Instead, I'm going to make an argument for the back side of the park.
Just past the dog park, right before the sign that says "Williamson County," you can turn right and go into a part of the park that runs along the Little Harpeth River. It's tucked away behind a hill, and it's full of big open fields and places to picnic and good trails for walking or bike riding.
They're doing some riverbank reclamation, and there's a really informative sign telling you what they're doing and why. Plus in order to keep you from trampling on the reclamation project, they've provided some paths that go right down to the river — which is gorgeous, even this time of year.
Really, the only slight drawback is that, though they have plenty of bathrooms, almost all of them were closed for the winter. I ended up using a Porta Potty by the dog park that had an ice slick on the floor. I pray it was ice made from water. But it's a Porta Potty, so probably not.
Edwin Warner is a lovely park and definitely worth checking out. I know it's cold as all get out, but one thing about this time of year: The bird watching is incredible. Just walking along the river, I could not believe how many birds we saw.
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
Gravity Hill is quite easy to find. It's the exit from Edwin Warner onto Old Hickory Blvd. And, if you're walking into the park from Old Hickory, walk up the hill and take your first right and you will soon be looking at Nashville's skyline (about half a mile in)
like
dislikeBoth parks are great ,we are truly gifted to have 3 great Green Protected Spaces(P.W.,Radnor and E.W.) in Nashville. E.W. is where I take my Pit every Sunday for a long hike and a swim ,she is a swimmer and loves Harpeth River even in the cold . We hike both the trails for wildlife smells and the road for dog newpaper reading smells . I sometime ride over to E.D. just to pull the hills on the bike and they are fanastic for running up ,the new bike trail that run to the west towards Bellevue is awesome especially in the fall with the leaves covering the path and its also great for interval work . My Pit has 3 points of entry to Harpeth river so I usually have a worn out dog child when I get home . Betsy thank you for a great write up on Edwin Warner Park and please go back when the wild flowers are in bloom ,its beautiful.
"I'm not going to waste time describing the hilly hiking trails."
LOL
I much prefer Edwin to Percy ...
I'm curious how you can write a review of Edwin and not even mention the nature center there?? Not all of us have dogs, you know, and might be interested in other aspects of any given park.
I don't think I've mentioned the nature centers at any of the parks. Like I said, I assume people are familiar with Edwin Warner. And I hope my reviews inspire people to go explore our parks and find out what's there. The person who's relying on me to provide a full guide to what's at any given park is being short-changed for sure.
My goal has been to go to the parks and see what a person like me gets out of them. If you wonder what a person like you might get out of them, I can highly recommend visiting a different park every weekend and just working your way down the list.
I've really, really enjoyed it and am sad I only have a month left.
I had to explain Gravity Hill in an introductory essay I wrote for Terry Livingstone's beautiful book of Warner Parks photos in 2000 -- see footnote on seventh page of this draft pdf:
http://the-wood-family.org/wp-content/uplo…
I love this park it is so pretty
Mitchel
http://www.mitchelsphotography.com
615-977-1073
Hmmm... so if I wonder what a person like me - or even actually me - would get out of a particular park, I should actually go to that park.
Man, I never would have thought of that angle. Genius!
I feel like I know every inch of this park. It was such a HUGE part of growing up on the far southwest side of Nashville.
When they closed most of the best parts off to cars, it broke my heart a little.
Memories. Ah.
It makes me wonder - where DO kids go and park to make out nowadays? Nashville has very few remote spots which are also accessible by car. Edwin Warner was, of course, the best place back in the day, but there were also areas out by South Harpeth which are still there today. I sure as hell ain't gonna tell my kids about them.
Are the shelters which were up in the hills still there? Or have they been torn down now that they can't be driven to?
