Cedars of Lebanon State Park - The Park Today

The Park Today

Cedars of Lebanon State Park has 117 campsites, 11 picnic shelters, a swimming pool, 8 miles (13 km) of hiking trails, a group lodge, and a meeting hall. A small museum, the Merritt Nature Center, displays some of the forest's natural features. The park also maintains a disc golf course.

The park's eight miles (13 km) of hiking trails range in size from 0.5 to 5 miles (0.8 to 8 km). The 0.5-mile (0.8 km) Cedar Glades Trail, which begins at the park visitor center, is a self-guided interpretive trail that crosses several cedar glade habitats characteristic of glades found in the eastern basin. The 2-mile (3.2 km) Cedar Forest Trail, which begins near the junction of Cedar Forest Road and WPA Road, loops through a mixed oak-hickory and red cedar forest and passes several sizeable sinkholes and blockfields. The 0.5-mile (0.8 km) Dixon Merritt Trail begins behind the Merritt Nature Center and provides access to Jackson Cave. The 0.5-mile (0.8 km) Limestone Sinks Trail is another self-guided trail that passes several large limestone sinks. The 5-mile (8 km) Hidden Springs Trail, which starts near the picnic area, loops through multiple terrain types characteristic of the state forest, including a large limestone sink and associated dry streambed, several substantial cedar glades, and a dense stand of mixed red cedar and oak-hickory forest.

Jackson Cave is one of 18 known caves located in the state forest and the immediate vicinity. The cave's entrance is 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) high, and the cave corridor has an average width of 12 feet (3.7 m) and an average height of 6 feet (1.8 m). The cave extends approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) from its entrance to a large pool of water.