These glades are typically flanked by thick stands of red cedar, a type of juniper tree that can survive in soil layers too thin to support most large wooded plants.

[2] These streams empty into the Stones River's J. Percy Priest Lake impoundment, which is located a few miles west of the park.

Cedars of Lebanon State Forest is underlain by Ordovician period limestone, formed roughly 460 million years ago from calcareous ooze deposited by a primordial sea that once covered Middle Tennessee.

Weathering of this rock has led to the creation of karst formations such as joints, underground streams, caves, and sinkholes, which are common throughout the park and forest.

[3] The forest is located in a flat section of the Central Basin characterized by thin soil layers where the limestone bedrock is often exposed.

Flowering plant species living in the glades include the formerly[5] endangered Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis), the Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa), Limestone flame flower (Phemeranthus calcaricus), Gattinger's Prairie Clover (Dalea gattingeri), Glade Phlox (Phlox bifida), and Nashville Breadroot (Pediomelum subacaule).

"[7] The town of Gladeville was established in 1852 just west of the modern state forest boundaries and grew into a sizeable hamlet until the outbreak of the American Civil War.

In the cedar flats of Wilson County, small farmers were struggling with depletion of the already-thin soil layer caused by poor farming tactics.

In 1935, as part of the New Deal, the federal government initiated a plan to resettle farmers living in badly eroded lands to allow the devastated forests to recover.

Research conducted by Elsie Quarterman of Vanderbilt University led to the forest's designation as a National Natural Landmark in 1973.

Cedars of Lebanon State Park has 117 campsites, 11 picnic shelters, 8 miles (13 km) of hiking trails, a group lodge, and a meeting hall.

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.