Mill Ridge Park, now being heralded as a destination park for middle Tennessee, has officially opened. Nashville Mayor John Cooper along with Parks Director Monique Horton Odom, Friends of Mill Ridge Park Board President Wesley Trigg, and others opened the 622-acre park, located in Antioch across from Cane Ridge High School at 12847 Old Hickory Blvd., Antioch, Tenn. 37013, on Wednesday.
The new park is anchored by Nashville’s largest destination playground with a five-story climbing tower and slide. Additional features include a large event lawn for community performances and festivals, fitness equipment, paved and primitive trails, sports courts, picnic shelters, grassland meadows, and 300 new trees. Wednesday’s celebration included a community bell ringing, a community yoga session, music, guided tours, refreshments, giveaways, and one of the city’s most unique art installations.
“Southeast Davidson County is the fastest growing and most diverse area of the county,” said Metro Parks Director Monique Horton Odom. “This is an area that is long overdue for a park and open space that captures the beauty of the land while also providing a unique recreational opportunity for those in both immediate and surrounding areas. This park will be a destination for everyone to visit and enjoy. We are so very appreciative of the support from Friends of Mill Ridge Park and their creative programming highlighting the future of the park.”
A unique feature of this long-awaited park is a permanent, interactive public art installation titled ‘Whistle, Two, Ready!’ Created by Daily tous les jours, the piece is a series of five bollards positioned within a linear pathway marked with inset line work. Using the measurements of a marching band, lines on the ground show people where to step. The artwork encourages collaboration and invites passers-by to take a musical shortcut through the park, uncovering new sounds, rhythms, and lights. One of the main creative features for the music is the incorporation of student recordings from the Cane Ridge High School Band, the Rhythmic Ravens. Daily tous les jours collaborated with local artist Robbie Lynn Hunsinger to assist with community engagement, technical work, and project feedback. Community engagement included sessions with the public, Friends of Mill Ridge Park, and students from Cane Ridge High School.
Darrell Hawks, executive director of Friends of Mill Ridge Park, said: “Since 2018, more than 12,000 people have joined Friends of Mill Ridge Park to explore and care for the park, and we already know what all of our community will soon know—that Mill Ridge Park is a precious green space to gather, unwind, and discover. The opening of Mill Ridge Park will forever change for the better how our community experiences the outdoors and each other.”
