Radnor Lake State Park named Tennessee’s State Park of the Year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation named Radnor Lake State Park of the Year as part of the Tennessee State Parks Awards of Excellence. It was honored Tuesday with an award for its performance in sustainability.

Radnor Lake was chosen among 56 state parks in Tennessee for the award. The park features programs focused on birds, such as interpretive spotting scope programs highlighting the park’s first-ever American Bald Eagle nest. The park also has interpretive programming for special-needs visitors at the Barabra J. Mapp Aviary Education Center with the aviary’s non-releasable birds-of-prey.

“Radnor Lake State Park is a perfect example of why we are so proud of our parks,” they said. TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “The park has initiated outstanding programs, and it consistently earns great support from the community. Its performance in sustainability is just part of the park’s overall achievements. We are excited to recognize Radnor Lake with these awards.”

The park also hosted four weeks of the Junior Ranger Intern Program with 51 youth participants, held its annual Trees to Trails program that recycled 900 Christmas trees, a park record and worked with over 1,500 volunteers on projects ranging from invasive plant removal to stream cleanups and trail projects.

TDEC officials said the park welcomed Rivian electric car charging stations in October 2021 and was the first park with two of the chargers that are utilized daily., making up over 60 percent of EV use in Tennessee State Parks. In November, the park also hosted a ribbon-cutting with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development for the first wheelchair-accessible color viewfinder in Tennessee.

Using Go Green building products with recycled materials and recycling electronics items also contributed to the park’s recognition for sustainability.

TDEC also announced awards for the best parks in the following categories:

Johnsonville State Historical Park in the Customer Engagement category; Sgt. Alvin C. York State Park for Innovation, Henry Horton State Park for Interpretation, Dunbar Cave State Park, and Edgar Evins State Park tie for the best Resource Management.

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