Visitors to Radnor Lake enjoy wildlife native to Middle Tennessee, including river otters, beavers, mink, muskrat, bobcat, coyote and the white-tailed deer.

Efforts to preserve the Radnor Lake area began in 1923 when the executive vice president of L&N Railroad declared the site a "Wildlife Sanctuary" at the request of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.

Executives with the railroad and their friends (The Sportsman's Club) used the sanctuary for fishing, but a reverence for the beauty of the area was present even then among L&N families and neighbors who lived in the surrounding hills.

Radnor Lake has several miles of hiking trails, featuring varying difficulty levels.

In addition, the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center is home to injured-non releasable birds, including a great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, black vulture, golden eagle, and bald eagles.