Radnor Lake's First Fall After the Ice Storm: What Changed, and What's Still Coming

When the ice storm hit Radnor Lake in January, Park Manager Steve Ward rode it out in a building on site. The park's special-needs birds were brought inside with him. He told WKRN the storm was "like a 24-36 hour event." According to NewsChannel 5, crews had been running chainsaws since January 24.

That cleanup ended faster than anyone planned. The rest of Radnor's 2026 has moved much more slowly, and the same group is doing most of the work. The volunteer program that cleared the trails in February spent the summer rebuilding the eagle enclosure, and it is also the labor behind the new Harris Ridge trail. The leaves are coming down now, and this is the first fall you can see how far each of those efforts has gotten.

Five Weeks Instead of Fourteen

The damage was severe. In early February, Ward told NewsChannel 5 that hundreds of trees fell on the first day and the count quadrupled on the second. He estimated about 250 down along one road alone. The Nashville Banner reported that on February 6, officials said no part of the park "was left unscathed." At least seven miles of trail were blocked and thousands of trees were down.

Ward said his first assessment, made on the second or third day, put the reopening at May 1. Here is how the actual timeline ran:

1. January 24. The ice storm arrives, and the chainsaw work begins.
2. February 6. Officials report damage in every part of the park.
3. February 25. Thirty-five volunteers clear limbs from Ganier Ridge, mulch the Lake Trail and rehabilitate South Lake Trail.
4. February 28. Forty-three more volunteers work the Lake and Ganier Ridge trails.
5. March 2. The park reopens, nearly 60 days ahead of the original estimate. More than 300 volunteers had signed up across nine recovery days.

Ward described the method to WKRN. "We tried to use the volunteers like a scalpel," he said. Chainsaw teams cut first, and volunteers followed, with the whole effort run by the park's volunteer coordinator. Rangers took on the dangerous work. On Ganier Ridge, Ranger Paul Schauer and a colleague found two large trees tangled together and leaning over the path. They ended up felling a third tree to bring the pair down safely. Ranger Brandon Jarratt's description of the first days was simple: "The Lake Trail was covered with trees."

What the Storm Left Standing Open

Reopening the trails did not undo the storm. One volunteer told WKRN that "seeing how open the space is there now, it's kind of a little jarring." As the canopy thins this month, those openings will be easier to see from the trail than they were in summer.

Ward has been clear that the fallen timber is not just debris. "That's food source and habitat for those birds," he told NewsChannel 5, adding that small mammals gain places to live and raise their young. He expects that "we'll probably see some population increases with some of our wildlife."

The longer-term plan for the hardest-hit ground was to turn some of it into native grassland, partly to support monarch butterflies. The Friends of Radnor Lake Spring 2026 newsletter said that conversion would come "later this summer." Neither the newsletter nor any later Friends post or news report names the sites or says the work has been done. The park already has a model for it. The Native Grasslands Initiative lists the Hall Farm as a key restoration site. Its park-designed seed mix includes common milkweed for monarchs and native grasses for ground-nesting birds. In June, Ranger Alexia Shore led a hike through that established grassland. For now, the storm-opened ground is a plan in progress, and no finished meadow has been announced.

The Aviary Took the Summer

The storm also damaged the flighted-eagle enclosure at the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center, and repairing it became the main volunteer project of the year. In April, volunteers from AllianceBernstein helped prepare for replacement netting, and the July volunteer day crew worked on the damaged enclosure. In late August, the target for finishing was September.

The repair was urgent because a new resident was waiting. NewsChannel 5 reported on September 25 that an injured female bald eagle named Phoenix had nearly been euthanized because of her injuries before U.S. wildlife officials reversed that decision. She was outside Knoxville at the time and is expected at Radnor by the end of the year, pending permit approval. She will share an enclosure with one of the park's current eagles. Volunteers have spent months zip-tying, digging and building enrichment perches to get the space ready. When she arrives she will lose her name, as the park's other raptors have, and become Eagle Number 3, a park ambassador.

An August Friends post said the eagle "now has a new home" at the aviary. That post was about the federal decision, not her arrival. The Friends update of September 28 said the enclosure renovation was "nearing completion" and that paperwork remained once the permit is approved. The Friends also credited the Nissan Neighbors Grant from the Nissan Foundation, which supports the volunteer program, and the Nissan volunteers who helped build her enclosure.

The wild eagles had a good year too. On July 1, the Friends reported that the Radnor eaglet had fledged after nearly three months in the nest and made its first flight over the lake.

Harris Ridge Is Running on the Same Labor

The Harris Ridge Trail Project is the expansion closest to this side of town, and it relies on the same volunteer program. In December 2025, NewsChannel 5 reported that the park had acquired 9 acres near Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard in Brentwood. The purchase took about 20 years of planning and $8 million in partnerships. Ward described the trailhead this way: "The noise of the intersection is where you're gonna start this hike, you're gonna hike to one of the quietest places in Nashville within 3 miles."

That December story said the hope was to open the property sometime in 2026. The Friends' project page describes a longer path. The plan calls for a 3.5-plus-mile strenuous trail built to national trail standards, running from Otter Creek Road near the east end of the Lake Trail to a new trailhead on the northwest corner of Old Hickory Boulevard and Franklin Road. Before then, the work includes:

• Clearing trash and invasive-exotic plants from the new parcels
• Designing and building the trail itself
• A bridge over Lakemont Drive
• A 100-car parking area and trailhead
• Three new staff to run the trail safely for visitors and neighbors

The same page says volunteer projects in 2026 and 2027 will include Harris Ridge work. It also says the State of Tennessee has not yet added staff for the project. Park staff have been working on it "as time allows" while also serving the 2 million people who visit Radnor each year.

So far the 2026 progress has been cleanup. A March Friends notice described the demolition of two residences on the property and asked hikers to spend 45 minutes collecting trash and sorting recycling. In September, 12 Sierra Club volunteers hiked the 9-acre Mantra Tract, heard about the future trail plans, and pulled invasive plants. No opening date has been posted, and the work plan now runs into 2027.

Radnor's November Calendar

The volunteer schedule takes its usual break this time of year. Friends of Radnor Lake holds volunteer days monthly except in October, November and December, and there are no individual volunteer opportunities outside the posted days. That makes the aviary the easiest way to see this year's recovery up close.

Support for the park has kept growing this fall. The Friends' Radnor in the Round at Vanderbilt's Dyer Observatory on October 18 sold out in two weeks. It raised $101,748, beating its $100,000 annual goal. On October 1, Ranger Paul Schauer, one of the rangers who cleared Ganier Ridge in February, led a night hike on the Lake Trail and Otter Creek Road for 12 participants. The Tennessee State Parks Radnor Lake page lists new ranger-led programs as they are scheduled, and the Friends' project page points there for upcoming Harris Ridge hikes.

Ward expects Eagle Number 3 by year-end, pending permits. The Harris Ridge trailhead at Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard will wait for the 2026 and 2027 volunteer seasons.

We follow Radnor Lake's news the way we follow the market around Richland Country Club. If you'd like to talk through what the Harris Ridge trailhead and the rest of this corner of Nashville mean for your home, The Luxe Collective would be glad to help. Schedule a free consultation.