Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center

Three hundred-odd acres against the foot of Lookout Mountain, ten minutes from downtown, run by a nonprofit. Ten miles of trail connect to National Park land and carry on to the top of the mountain, and a wide three-mile gravel loop can be walked, run or ridden.

There is no admission price, and that is not a figure this page is withholding - they do not publish one. Access is open to all and donations are welcome. The Nature Playscape, five acres of it, is explicitly free, and it is the anti-playground: you will not find metal and plastic here.

They keep critically endangered red wolves, a bobcat, sandhill cranes and a bald eagle - but the wildlife sanctuary opens to the public only during guided programmes, so turning up unannounced will not get you a wolf.

The name misleads everyone. It has nothing to do with horses: a riding is an old English word for a landscape laid out as a series of views that unfold as you pass through it.

Canoe access has reopened after more than a year closed, the boardwalk having been wrecked by emerald ash borer damage. On accessibility they are honest rather than reassuring: the main loop is gravel, no ADA claim is made, and visitors who cannot explore on foot are welcome to drive through the property.