Cedars of Lebanon State Park is located in Wilson County south of Lebanon, TN. The park consists of approximately 3,600 acres, including two state natural areas, and sits adjacent to Cedars of Lebanon State Forest. Land in and around the park is known for its limestone cedar glades, a unique type of ecosystem adapted to thin (often nonexistent) soil typical of areas in the Central Basin. The gravelly glades are part of a mosaic of communities that include barrens, cedar woodlands and oak-hickory forests, dictated by soil depth and affecting canopy cover. The open glade flora features many moisture-loving annuals in spring, such as glade cress and pink stonecrop, and dry soil annuals, such as witchgrass and poverty dropseed, in summer and fall. Tough perennials, like Tennessee coneflower and Nashville breadroot, survive when their thick roots penetrate cracks in the broken limestone. Eastern red-cedar, blue ash, post oak, and chinkapin oak define the overstory in cedar woodlands.
Cedars of Lebanon State Park is one of the first state parks established in Tennessee and features excellent examples of stone construction as part of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, including the beautiful Cedar Forest Lodge. There are several miles of hiking and horse trails, including a new birding trail. The Dixon Merritt Nature Center contains historical and natural artifacts and boasts a lovely butterfly garden in the back.
The next Tennessee Naturalist Program at Cedars of Lebanon State Park begins Saturday, February 22, 2020. Registration for the 2020 course opens on Friday, November 1, 2019. Note, class size is limited to just 20 students. To ensure your place in the 2020 course, we suggest you register early (beginning November 1).