Administration Trail

The Golden Pond Visitor Center serves as the information hub at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. Visitors will find brochures, recreation maps, trail maps, state maps, restrooms, gift shop, children’s play area, a pavilion, trail heads and more.

An exhibit room of historic photographs and interpretive messages explains the rich heritage of the land and the people who lived “between the rivers.” The exhibit also delves into the construction of the dams  on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers with the eventual forming of Land Between The Lakes.

Visitors will also find Golden Pond as a great place to relax, picnic, and teach your children how to fish. For a small fee, visitors can see a show at the Planetarium on topics that include space exploration, planets, and the night sky. An Observatory sits out back which hosts free Star Parties at dusk from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The Administration Trail can be found by hiking the Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail east. After walking a few hundred yards from the Visitor Center you will come to a “Y” in the trail. The Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail goes to the left, and  the “unmarked” Administration Trail goes to the right and through a tunnel/underpass.

This trail is an estimated one and one-half miles, making an out-and-back trip around three miles. The trail loops behind the administration office, goes behind the employee housing, and then continues on to the grounds maintenance buildings. There used to be published maps for the Administration Trail, but they are no longer available and the trail is no longer publicized.