Why not take a day trip to canoe, or kayak along the winding Harpeth River this summer? A short drive to Kingston Springs will allow you to enjoy the outdoors, experience nature and the beauty of Middle Tennessee. Relax as you float down the river, or paddle for some exercise, the adventure is yours for the making.
Middle Tennessee is like a bowl, with valleys surrounded by hills and mountains. Through the valleys runs a river system awesome in its scope. The 125-mile-long Harpeth River is one. The Harpeth drains up to 1,000 tributaries as it meanders through six Middle Tennessee counties before emptying into the Cumberland River. The Harpeth River is the habitat for an amazing variety of wildlife, and, according to local legend, a few ghosts as well on a foggy morning.
Along the Harpeth River are Indian burial mounds famous for being in use as far back as 700 to 1,300 AD. More recently, a businessman called Montgomery Bell bought acreage around Narrows of the Harpeth. In 1818, he blasted a tunnel using slave labor and explosives. The Harpeth flows past Bell’s property before it turns back on itself a few miles downriver. It is the property between these two sides of the same river that houses the tunnel. The flow of water was then used to power a mill called Pattison Forge. It turned raw pig iron into more workable pieces. The site of the old forge is now a lovely waterfall with a beautiful pond at the bottom.
While you could take a drive along the river, the best way to experience the beauty of the Harpeth River is by water. Renting a canoe or kayak can be a fun way to get out and enjoy the outdoors this summer. There is nothing more breathtaking than looking up from the water experiencing the cliffs along the river.
Tip-a-Canoe Stores, Inc. was founded for this purpose. As the oldest canoe livery in the South, Tip-a-Canoe offers visitors boats and days of sight-seeing full of wonder and beauty along the Harpeth River.
You can choose from one hour trips, perfect for newbies or those with small children, two hour, four hour all the way to a ten hour trip that calls for staying overnight at a campsite.
For complete information about Tip-A-Canoe, Inc., the trips they offer and camping options, click here.
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