Best Things to Do in Hendersonville, TN

Willow and Oak is at 126 Stadium Drive, which makes Hendersonville our neighbourhood as well as our address. This is the guide we give people who ask what there is to do here.

Hendersonville sits on the shore of Old Hickory Lake in Sumner County, roughly 18 miles north-east of downtown Nashville — about 25 to 35 minutes depending on the traffic. It is close enough to the city to be easy and far enough to feel like somewhere else.

The lake

Old Hickory Lake is the defining feature of the town and the reason a lot of people move here. Fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, boats, or simply sitting near the water. There are multiple access points around Hendersonville.

We have written a fuller guide to the lake separately.

The parks

Sanders Ferry Park, 513 Sanders Ferry Road, is around 70 acres on the lake shore. An 18-hole disc golf course, a basketball court, a model airplane field, an ADA-compliant fishing pier and a boat ramp, plus walking paths and picnic areas.

Drakes Creek Park, on E. Main Street and Conway Twitty Lane, is the community hub — athletic fields, walking tracks, playgrounds and picnic areas. It hosts free outdoor concerts and festivals through the year, and it is where the annual tree lighting and Christmas parade happen.

There is more on both in our parks guide.

The history

Historic Rock Castle is an 18th-century limestone house on 18 acres beside the lake. Construction began in 1784 and finished in 1796; it was the home of Revolutionary War general Daniel Smith. Guided tours run most of the week and the grounds are worth the visit on their own.

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center occupies Monthaven Mansion, an antebellum house dating from around 1860 that served as a field hospital during the Civil War. The centre has been a non-profit since 2017 and runs exhibitions and art classes.

Hendersonville is also where Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash are buried, at Hendersonville Memory Gardens. People come from a long way to visit.

More on all three in our piece on historic Hendersonville.

Shopping and eating

The Streets of Indian Lake, 300 Indian Lake Blvd, is a 500,000-square-foot open-air shopping centre — shops, restaurants and a cinema, and the closest thing the town has to a central gathering point on a Saturday.

For coffee and for food, we have written up local favourites separately.

A day that works

If you are visiting and want a straightforward plan:

Morning — Coffee somewhere independent, then Historic Rock Castle while the grounds are quiet.

Midday — Lunch on Main Street, or at the Streets of Indian Lake if you would rather combine it with shopping.

Afternoon — Sanders Ferry Park for the lake, or Monthaven if the weather has other ideas.

Evening — Dinner in town. Hendersonville keeps earlier hours than Nashville; do not leave it too late.

If you are moving here

The questions people ask us most: yes, the lake really is the centre of life here from about May. Yes, the commute to Nashville is manageable — 18 miles, 25 to 35 minutes, worse at peak. And yes, Drakes Creek Park genuinely is where the town gathers for its Christmas parade.

Common questions

How far is Hendersonville from Nashville?

About 18 miles north-east of downtown, typically 25 to 35 minutes.

What is Hendersonville best known for?

Old Hickory Lake, and being the town where Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash lived and are buried.

Is there much to do with children?

Drakes Creek Park is the obvious answer — playgrounds, fields and space, plus free concerts and festivals through the year.

What is there on a rainy day?

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, and the Streets of Indian Lake.

Where is the best place to see the lake?

Sanders Ferry Park is the most direct public access.

A note from us

We are an aesthetics practice, not a tourist board, and the reason we write these is simple: most of our patients live here. If you are coming in for an appointment and making an afternoon of it, this is what we would tell you to do with the rest of the day.

Details verified September 2026. Places change their hours and their menus — check before you set out, and tell us if something here is out of date.