Cane Creek Park — Attraction in Cookeville

This more two point five than it is a two star rating. I’ll start by saying that the park isn’t bad it’s just filthy. Let me explain why. People that go to the park just throw the trash on the ground and it gets into the lake and stuck in trees. Freshly chewed gum is always on the walk way waiting to get stuck to the bottom of your shoes. There’s almost no respect given by the people that go here. It’s sad because all in all the scenery is lovely. I do hope before the bee and butterfly gardens get implemented that a community clean up is held. Trash and nature don’t mix well. Birds will eat cigarette butts and gum gets stuck in their wings, bees can get trapped in soda and water bottles, and the local turtles can inhale the plastic bags people don’t throw away. My fingers are crossed the park gets cleaned up. I can only do so much of it when I go there. Another thing I noticed is that the park also doesn’t enforce the leash law. If you take your dog there it says ALL PETS MUST BE ON A LEASH. But yet I always see people letting their dogs roam freely. I’m a dog person I love them to bits. But it makes it hard for me when I walk my dog there because mine will spaz out and want to play with the dogs that are running about and it makes walking him and getting him to focus on just me and my commands all that much harder. Not to mention if dogs aren’t being well supervised and are off leash they can cause damage to each other, local wildlife or even ingest something that is toxic to them. They can also probably bite park goers or another dog. That causes problems for the owner of the loose dog because they actively chose to disobey the rules set in place at the park to ensure safety for everyone. I would probably go here more often if wasn’t such such a disappointment to see adults not following a simple rule. TL;DR The park is filthy and no one follows the leash law...

This park would make Leslie Knope proud! Very family friendly.

Plenty of free parking in and around the park.

There's a nice paved path that goes around the lake that's great for walking or riding a bike. It splits in some places, so you can walk 1.8 miles (nice and flat) or 1.9 miles (more hilly). There are signs that indicate which path you are on. As you walk or ride, you'll notice a few places where they are working on butterfly gardens.

There are only a few places around the lake that are not accessible for fishing. In the winter they stock the lake with rainbow trout. You can put a kayak in anywhere with lake access or you can use the boat ramp to put in something bigger. You just can't use a motor (except for trolling motors). You can also rent out paddle boats. No swimming is allowed due to a "dangerous" lake bottom.

There are several pavilions that can be rented out with playgrounds in close proximity. There is also an 18-hole disc golf course that plays in open field as well as...

This is a nice park. We came for disc golf (I'll get to that in a second) but in so doing got a good look at the rest of the park. There are tons of great places on the water to hang out, lots of nice playgrounds, and gazebos and other covered areas for picnics and whatnot. The facilities are also really nicely maintained for a public park. Now on to the disc golf. The first 9 are just ok to be honest. It's pretty because it's also partly on the water so that's nice but they aren't challenging really other than a long hike up hill with no real obstacles. Hole 10 however takes you into the woods for a real challenge. Fair warning it's a decent hike and you WILL need an app or someone who's been as the next holes aren't always intuitive but it's still a lot of fun. Worth the drive from Nashville in my...