Famous for its championship 18-hole golf course, Henry Horton also has a wide variety of nature-related activities that draw visitors to play along the Duck River Blueway, the longest stretch of free-flowing river in Tennessee, or observe wildlife and wildflowers along hiking trails. Anglers come for the bass, red-eye and catfish, and canoe floats, festivals and celebrations are available year-round, with other programs on request.

The park’s Karst topography provides for dramatic landscapes of exposed rock outcroppings, sinkholes and fissures, oak and hickory forests and cedar glades. Wildlife in the park includes several endangered species.

The park has a rich history, beginning with the arrival of Andrew Jackson and his troops, who cut through the dense undergrowth on their way to the Battle of New Orleans. In mid-1840s, widow Adeline Wilhoite bought 1,100 acres of what is now the park and began farm and mill operation with her two young sons, who were later called to war. One son, Jacob, was killed in the battle of Chattanooga. Adeline, thru great hardship, travelled in wagon to retrieve Jacob’s body; he is buried in cemetery on east side of 31A inside the park. The other son, John, returned to help manage operations. He married, and named his youngest daughter after his mother, Adeline. Adeline, too, grew up on the property and later met and married Henry Horton, who became governor of the state from 1927-1933.