Henry Horton Is Being Rebuilt Around Access, and the Next Phase Is Open for Comment Through December

What will Henry Horton State Park look like by the time the new lodge opens in 2027? The construction fencing near the Visitor Center is for that lodge, and it's the second piece of a larger effort. The first piece was a 1.5-mile path to the Duck River that anyone can use. The third is still a draft, and Tennessee State Parks is taking written comments on it until December 31, 2026.

For anyone near Lewisburg who treats Henry Horton as their nearby state park, this late fall and winter is unusual. The park has a construction zone in the middle of it, and the golf course and the trap range both switch to winter schedules. The camp store will also be under renovation for most of the winter. And the plan for the park's next phase is open for comment, months before the lodge opens.

The greenway came first

The Horton Greenway opened on July 11, 2025. Tennessee State Parks described it as a 1.5-mile universally accessible multi-use route with access to the Duck River. The project cost $360,000. That money came from grants through the Tire Environmental Act Program and the Recreation Trails Program, and park staff added in-kind labor.

The greenway is a short part of the park's trail system. TDEC's draft management plan puts the park's total trail inventory at 25 miles. In the plan's facility review, dated September 2026, the greenway is rated "Excellent." The 85-site campground, the three river-access points and the 18-hole golf course are each rated "Good." So the newest piece is the one that scored highest.

That matters for what comes next, because the same idea runs through the lodge.

The lodge follows the same design priorities

Tennessee State Parks broke ground on the new Henry Horton lodge on March 6, 2026 and expects it to open in the summer of 2027. The announcement describes 76 guest rooms built around universal design. Some rooms are designed for guests with visual impairments, and the pool has a zero-entry, sloped entrance so wheelchair users can get in.

The rest of the design points toward the river. Guest rooms will have balconies facing the native grasslands and the Duck River, and large windows at the entrance will frame the river behind the building. A northern porch will serve as a gathering spot. The lodge will be built with regional Southern Yellow Pine mass timber, and the grounds will use native plants. It will also have an outdoor guest terrace, a seating area with a fireplace, an outdoor amenity deck, a gift shop and a bar. A new conference center is part of the project too. It will have three meeting spaces that can open into one room with banquet seating for 200, plus a boardroom and two breakout rooms.

The construction notice on the park's page lists "accessibility enhancements throughout the park" alongside the lodge. It also warns that traffic patterns and parking may change for anyone heading to the Visitor Center, the restaurant, the cabins, the picnic shelters or the Conference Hall. Some facilities, roads, trails, campsites and river access points may be closed or limited for a while. The park asks visitors to follow posted detours, allow extra travel time and expect construction noise during the day. The park office is at 931-364-7724 if you want to check before you drive over.

Winter schedules for the rest of the park

Most of what draws people to Henry Horton is open this winter, but several schedules change around the construction. The dates below come from the park's own pages. None of those pages shows when it was last updated, so call ahead before a trip.

The state's scope of work for the camp store calls for an interior renovation, more retail space, a new electrical system, a mini-split HVAC system and new storage space. The building has a Lewisburg mailing address. The work falls almost entirely within the golf course's out-of-season stretch and is scheduled to wrap up by March 3, about two weeks before golf season returns on March 16.

The range shows the same off-season pattern. Skeet, trap, wobble trap and four archery target points remain open four days a week through February, and the only change is a 4:00 p.m. closing. Late-afternoon visits are the ones that need planning.

Programs still on the calendar

The construction hasn't stopped the park's programs. The Tennessee State Parks registration calendar and the park's own pages list these Henry Horton events for the rest of 2026:

1. October 24: Pumpkin Candy Bucket Decorating, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., plus Horton's Halloween in the Campground. The park page lists Halloween support from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
2. October 30: Food Web Fun and Mammals of Tennessee.
3. October 31: Spooky Shoot: Halloween Archery Games, and a Leaf Creatures Craft.
4. November 6: Beginner NASP Archery Class.
5. November 7: Astronomy Under The Stars, 5:00 p.m.
6. November 13 to 15: NOLS Wilderness First Aid & CPR, a three-day class.
7. November 19: Homeschool Thursdays: Art in Nature, Sessions A and B.
8. November 21: Beginner Archery for All.
9. November 27: Archery Games and Open Practice.
10. December 3: Homeschool Thursdays: People and The Environment, Sessions A and B.
11. December 5: Astronomy Under The Stars, 5:00 p.m.

Several listings don't show a start time, so check the registration page for details. Both astronomy nights start at 5:00 p.m., right around early-December sunset, which makes them the easiest evening program to fit around a workday.

The next phase is a draft, and comments are open

The draft 2026 Henry Horton State Park Strategic Management Plan picks up where the greenway and the lodge leave off. Its list of proposed projects includes a 30-site RV campground with 12 pull-through and 18 back-in sites, more playgrounds, and an ADA restroom and bath house. These are proposals, not approved projects. The plan's inventory already gives the new 76-room lodge an "Excellent" rating, but the lodge isn't open. The March announcement still puts its opening in summer 2027.

On October 13, TDEC announced public meetings on management plans for 12 state parks. The Henry Horton meeting was scheduled for October 19, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Visitor Center. Written comments are still open through December 31, 2026, through the online form linked in that announcement. The full draft is posted on TDEC's draft management plans page. TDEC says the plans cover four areas: resource stewardship, visitor experience, facilities and amenities, and operational excellence.

The comment period closes about six months before the lodge's expected opening. For the RV sites, playgrounds and bath house, that means public input is due while the golf course is still in its off-season. Anyone who has walked the greenway or camped at Henry Horton this year has firsthand experience the plan can use, and December 31 is the last day to send it.

We've watched Henry Horton grow alongside the communities around Lewisburg, and we're always glad to talk about the land and places that make this part of Middle Tennessee home. If you're thinking about property within reach of the Duck River and its parks, the team at First Realty Group is ready to help. Contact Us.