Trail Reflections
This park was preserved to remember a battle. But it also preserves something quieter and just as important—
the chance to walk, to breathe, to reflect, and to begin again. Long after the cannons fell silent, life continues
here. And for those willing to walk the trails, it offers not only history—but grace.
Karen has been walking the trails of Stones River National Battlefield for more than three decades. A former
marathon runner turned devoted hiker, she writes about landscape, memory, and the ways nature sustains us
through life’s most difficult seasons.
By Karen Havill Bingham
Recently I was asked to write a few stories about the trails at Stones River National Battlefield for this website.
The park exists because of the Battle of Stones River, of course—but it isn’t the history that draws me back, day
after day.
Thirty-five years ago, I began coming here to train for marathons on the park roads and trails. Twenty-three
marathons and many injuries later, I stopped running and began hiking instead. Over time, the Battlefield
became my soul place.
It sustained me through the end of a 25-year marriage. It steadied me through the deaths of my parents. The
woods and fields here have witnessed all my emotions—howls, sobs, and a thousand moments of joy. The
beauty here comforts, and at times, overwhelms me.
I often write about that. I take photographs. Almost exactly four years ago, during a tumultuous and uncertain
season much like now, I walked and wrote this.