Cookeville, Tennessee: Hidden Hollow
Built by Arda Lee as his vision of what an amusement park should be. Arda is gone but his park lives on.
- Address:
- 829 Hidden Hollow Rd, Cookeville, TN
- Directions:
- East of town. Follow Poplar Grove Rd to Mt Pleasant Rd, then turn left onto Hidden Hollow Rd.
- Hours:
- Open by appt. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 931-526-4038
- Admission:
- Adults $4, Children $3
Results 1 to 5 of 5...
Visitor Tips and News About Hidden Hollow
Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.
This place looks like it was a lot of fun for kids many years ago, but it is pretty run down now. My 2 year old is easily entertained so she enjoyed the bounce house and walking around, however I would not let her on any of the playground equipment. It was in such disrepair; the metal was rusted, the wood caved in.
[Connie Johnson, 07/10/2017]
Charming and alluring, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Almost like a place you might visit in your dreams.
[Tabitha Pullum, 04/10/2016]Hidden Hollow has been re-opened! The new owners have since added miniature golf to the list of attractions. They have a catch and release fishing lake, petting zoo, swimming, and many swing sets and play areas for kids.
[Suzanne, 05/16/2008]
My fiance and I drove here from Nashville. It was always a favorite stop of mine during my travels down I-40. We were thinking it might be a good place to hold an outdoor wedding. Sadly, there was a sign saying that Hidden Hollow is closed, and the land will be auctioned off sometime in May. She cried. It was a long, quiet drive back home. As the sign says: "There never was and probably never will be another Hidden Hollow."
[Clay Kriese, 05/07/2007]Arda Lee had a vision from God in the late '70s to build a park in Cookeville on his 86 acres of land, and he got real serious about it. Problem was he had no money or materials. So he was known to bum around the city and outlying farms and various other shifty places to acquire odd junk materials for free or for trade. He built this really shifty "resort" with a wedding chapel, petting zoo, filthy man made pond, a mill wheel in the creek, etc., etc. After he built all of this himself with only his beat up Chevy pickup, he made a display of the Chevy on a rock outcropping on the side of the hill with a sign that reads, "This truck built Hidden Hollow after its owner had a vision from God. Washed only by rainwater", or something like that. Admission is really cheap or free if he likes you, and its usually populated with some crazy characters who take their kids to swim and play.
He has the most outrageously shady drive-thru Christmas light display, but he leaves them up year-round without plugging them in.
[Jonathon Fagan, 12/18/2004]Nearby Offbeat Places
Mural of Ronald Reagan, a Great American, Cookeville, TN - 4 mi.
Ellie the Pink Elephant, Cookeville, TN - 5 mi.
Bicycle Arch, Cookeville, TN - 5 mi.Latest Tips Across Roadside America
Catch up on the latest discoveries from the road.
Explore Thousands of Oddball Tourist Attractions!
Unique destinations in the U.S. and Canada are our special obsession. Use our attraction recommendation and maps to plan your next road trip.
Arda Lee was 88 when he died in 2004. His daughter Jeannie and her husband, Jimmy Richardson, kept Hidden Hollow going for a few years, but they have apparently packed it in.