Stones River National Battlefield | BOUNDARY TRAIL

Boundary Trail loop hike map

Boundary Trail loop hike map

Distance: 3.5 miles
Time: 2 hours, including a visit to the National Cemetery
Difficulty: easy

The C-shaped Boundary Trail runs along the western border of Stones River National Battlefield. If you combine this with a park road and a short trail that runs from the Hazen Brigade Monument to the Stones River National Cemetery, you can form a nice loop around the entire park.

The Boundary Trail Loop hike begins and ends at the Visitor Center. When you walk out the front door, head to the left side of the parking area and look for a path that runs next to the picnic tables. This is the start of the hike.

Path next to the picnic area leads to the Boundary Trail

Path next to the picnic area leads to the Boundary Trail

Just a couple of minutes down the trail is an intersection with a wood chip-surfaced trail that branches off to the left. This is the Boundary Trail. However, if you stay straight you can take a short loop that will bring you to trenches and rifle pits dug by the Pioneer Brigade, a brigade of crack Union engineers who were responsible for earthwork and bridge building. They dug these earthworks on New Year’s Day 1863, the day after the battle began. Things did not go well for the Union that day, and Confederate General Braxton Bragg woke up on January 1st expecting to see the Union troops withdrawing from the area. Instead, they were digging trenches and preparing for more fighting.

Pioneer Brigade exhibit and trenches

Pioneer Brigade exhibit and trenches

The short loop will intersect once again with the Boundary Trail. At the four way intersection take a right (a left takes you back to the first intersection). You can tell that you are on the Boundary Trail by the white blazes (paint splotches) on the trees.

White blazes mark the Boundary Trail

White blazes mark the Boundary Trail

In a third of a mile down the trail, it will merge with a gravel road. The trail now borders the forest on the left and an open field on the right.

At around .35 mile the trail merges with a gravel road

At around .35 mile the trail merges with a gravel road

At the half-mile point you will come to an intersecting trail that branches off to the left. This is a connector trail to an unnamed, inner loop trail that mirrors the Boundary Trail, offering a shorter version for those who don’t want to walk as far. Pass this by and continue south.

The gravel road eventually comes to an end, and you will find yourself back on a wood chip trail that starts off in the forest. Here you will once again find the white blazes on the trees. The trail eventually emerges from the forest and you will be hiking under an open sky. On a hot day the sun will be beating down on you, so wear the appropriate clothing and bring sunscreen if you use it.

Terrain of the Boundary Trail at the southern end of the park

Terrain of the Boundary Trail at the southern end of the park

At the one-mile point the wood chip surface disappears and you are now on a dirt trail. The forest has once again taken over the landscape and offers some shade. Up until this point the trail has been flat and easy to hike, but you will now start encountering large rocks similar to those found in the Slaughter Pen, and they become more frequent as you proceed down the trail. Known as karst topography, these formations resulted from a limestone and slate bedrock being penetrated by water over millions of years, eroding the soft limestone but leaving the slate. As I wrote in the Slaughter Pen battlefield tour stop review, “It’s as if God dug his outstretched fingers into the rock and then ripped them across the stone to form natural knee- to waist-high trenches.”

Large rocks dot the path near the southern end of the Boundary Trail

Large rocks dot the path near the southern end of the Boundary Trail

Karst topography of the southern end of the park

Karst topography of the southern end of the park

The Boundary Trail eventually ends at the Slaughter Pen, so if you didn’t do the Battlefield Tour and want to see it, now is your chance. When the trail dead ends into a T-intersection, take a left. This will take you to the Slaughter Pen where you will find an extreme version of the rock formations you saw earlier. Metal sculptures of Union soldiers situated among the rock trenches are scattered over the area.

Silhouettes of men fighting are placed among the rocks

Silhouettes of men fighting are placed among the rocks

Once you pass the Slaughter Pen you will come to one last intersection. Here the Boundary Trail ends. If you continue straight you will come to Cotton Field Trail Road, which leads back to the Visitor Center. To continue the hike, take a right and in a few minutes you will come to McFadden Lane, which is a paved park road. Take a left on the road and follow it all the way to the main road, Old Nashville Highway.

McFadden Lane

McFadden Lane

On the way you will pass Battlefield Tour Stop 1, which marks the left flank of the Union army at the start of the battle on December 31, 1862. A short path leads to an information panel and cannon exhibit. You will also see the paved Cotton Field Trail on your right. This is for those wanting to hike or bike to the Stones River Greenway. This is not what you want to do, so after stopping to see the exhibits continue on to Old Nashville Highway.

Cannon exhibits at Stop 1 on the Stones River Battlefield tour

Cannon exhibits at Stop 1 on the Stones River Battlefield tour

At Old Nashville Highway the trail makes a zig-zag. It runs to the right along the highway and is bounded by a wooden fence. Just a short ways down is an opening that allows you to cross the road. On the opposite side is a fence that also has an opening. That’s where you want to go. You are now about 2.5 miles into the hike.

Trail continues along Old Nashville Highway

Trail continues along Old Nashville Highway

Break in the fence line near the Round Forest

Break in the fence line near the Round Forest

Once on the other side of the road, continue walking down the trail to the right and you will come to Battlefield Tour Stop 5: Round Forest. Here you will find the Hazen Brigade Monument, the oldest Civil War monument in existence that is still in its original location. There were only two others erected before it; one no longer exists and the other has been moved. The monument, which is also the burial place for 45+ men of Colonel William Hazen’s bridge, was built by the surviving members only six months after the battle. There are information panels at the site that tell about it, but if you want more info, be sure to read the Round Forest web page here on National Park Planner.

Hazen Brigade Monument

Hazen Brigade Monument

To continue the hike, head to the back left of the monument and you will find a trail leading into the woods. This will take you to the Stones River National Cemetery. A sign states that there is a trail exhibit, but the only thing you will find is an information panel far down the trail (maybe that’s what they are talking about).

Trail leads to the Stones River National Cemetery

Trail leads to the Stones River National Cemetery

When you get to the cemetery you will be confronted by the wall around it. Unfortunately, there is no way in, short of jumping over the wall. I’m too old for such a maneuver, plus I doubt it is allowed. Thus, follow the wall around until you come to the entrance on Old Nashville Highway. You can visit the cemetery now if you haven’t already done so. Plan to spend about 15 minutes. When done, continue down the road to the right. The Visitor Center parking lot is on the other side, just a minute’s walk from the cemetery.

Trail to the National Cemetery

Trail to the National Cemetery

Union graves at the Stones River National Cemetery

Union graves at the Stones River National Cemetery

I highly recommend the Boundary Trail Loop because when in a historical park I like trails that add to the historical experience, and this route passes three battlefield tours stops and the National Cemetery. You have a chance to learn something and get some exercise at the same time. Including the visit to the cemetery, the hike should take about two hours.

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Last updated on March 10, 2020
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