In my continuing effort to introduce more trail running into my life, I took on the trail system at the Ellington Agricultural Center, which is the headquarters for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.  There are a few smaller connector trails, but the main attraction is the 1.6-mi Rogers Walk/Eagle Trail loop circling the property.  Although you see trail signs with both names at various points, it’s all the same loop,

I actually started by parking at Whitfield Park and accessing the trail via the Seven Mile Creek Greenway, which added an additional mile to my overall total for the day.  I saw several people doing the same, so it seems to be a universally popular option.  I personally recommend if you start from that location, that when you reach the trailhead for Rogers Walk/Eagle Trail, that you go to the right and move counter-clockwise.  You’ll have more of a gradual incline that way, but it means you can avoid an incredibly steep section at almost the very beginning and just have a steep downhill as you’re wrapping up instead.

Although there are a few road crossings along the way, the trail is well-marked and there are many signs with maps along the way to avoid any confusion.  It’s also a very pretty trail, which sounds like a cliché of sorts, but where else do you have a trail in a metropolitan area that passes past an Iris Garden, streams, meadows, and log cabins?