Park Archives | The Wildflowers

One of the very best parks in Nashville. Simple as that. It’s smack dab in the middle of Hillsboro Village, which is just an incredibly beautiful part of town. This is a kid + family park. Not necessarily the park where people are walking their dogs and setting up hammocks to hang with friends. If you want that- Sevier Park is your place. But if you have kiddos, Dragon Park is a great choice.

It’s a very unique park in that it doesn’t just have a normal slide/swing set up. It has ramps that make it a GREAT park for early walkers and kids who love to just run. Charlie was in physical therapy for a year to help her walk and this was our park where she could practice walking up and down the ramps. There is also a swing bridge that is perfect for learning balance.

There is an area at the end of the green field with many covered picnic tables that would be great for family activities.

Address: 2400 Blakemore Ave, Nashville, TN 37212 | Located in Fannie Mae Dees Park

Pros:

Big + Beautiful!
A lot of shade
Great for early walkers
Variety of activities
Many tables for parents to sit or have lunch
Super fun, colorful dragon that kids love to climb on- it’s fun to find all the hidden shapes and pictures in the dragon!
Safe and large area so it’s not close to any streets
Smaller area for younger kids to play with small slide
Close to walk to Hillsboro Village shopping area

Cons:

No easy or close bathroom options
Not the easiest parking if it’s crowded- I always park in the little parking lot behind the Ruby Event Space (it’s a church on Sundays so that would be full then). There are only a few spaces there, however. So the next option is street parking on the edge of the greenway. Not a big deal at all! But your car will not be right next to the playground if there is a potty accident, etc.

Pro-tip: The tall pole that looks like a giraffe next to the swing bridge is a mister when it’s really hot. So nice in the Nashville heat!

Charlie and I have always been park people. It’s just one of our special date places. Blazing hot, sunny, cloudy, breezy, even drizzly, we don’t care. Give us a park and we are happy. And now of course Tessa is part of our park dates and it’s been so lovely watching her love it as much as we do. When it was just me and Charlie, I would take her to a park I would say at least 2-3 times a week. Not always for a playground. Sometimes that’s just where we would go to eat lunch or dinner if Blake was out of town. It was our way of getting outside, getting out of the house and getting into nature. A lot of times we just lay on our blanket and watch the clouds roll by. Tessa was born in October, so I was majorly pregnant with her all through out that summer. And wouldn’t you know, it was record hot hot hot that summer. And I STILL took my girl to the park at least once a week- pregnant belly, out of breath and hotter than heck but it was important to me that we had those dates. And now our school/PDO schedule lets Charlie and I have one day a week- Thursdays- where it’s just us. Mama + Charlie day. So we park it up.

We have our favorites for sure- Sevier Park in 12 South is our home. It’s one of my favorite places in all of Nashville. But we also like ourselves an adventure and to go park exploring. We live in the Woodbine neighborhood of Nashville- one stop past Berry Hill and not far from downtown. There is a bright, funky, fun park not far from our house- Azafran Park. To me, it’s kind of a hidden gem. If you’re looking for colors, something outside the box, water features and not crowded, this park is for you. And! There’s a huge snail. NEED I SAY MORE??

Address: 2187 Nolensville Pike

PROS:

Unlike any other park out there! Totally unique.
Brightly colored
Great for climbing
Water Fountain/Splash Pad
Musical instrument features
Never crowded
Covered picnic bench area

CONS:

Not a lot of shade. Only shaded part is picnic area. In the summer, it is HOT.
No bathrooms
No swings
Not next to, but not far from Nolensville Pike, a busy street

Pro-tip: The “button” for the splash pad was hard to figure out. There is no sign. But if you are facing it from the sidewalk, it is on the ground in the upper left hand corner. You may have to step on it a couple of different times for it to take. Try tapping lightly. I’ve definitely been the mama stomping on it for a couple minutes with no success. But keep trying- it works! And the kiddos will love it.

Note- There is a crosswalk at Nolensville where you can safely cross to South Side Kitchen & Pub and Red Bicycle Coffee.

Nashville Guide – Dragon Park

Nashville Guide – Azafran Park