Beckitx

We will be visiting Tennessee in August. We are interested in any state or national parks or hiking areas near Memphis or Nashville.

Thanks in advance,
Becki in Tx.

gatlinburglover

What about The Great Smoky Mountains National Park,Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.They are on the East side of Tennessee.

Gatlinburg is a nice little town nestled in the mountains and you can walk up and down the strip.There are some great restaurants,good shopping and a small town feel.I would spend as much time that you can in the park.Go up to Cades Cove its an 11 mile loop that you can drive it has alot of history,old churches and old homestead's and grist mill.You might also see alot of Black Bears,Deer,Wild Turkey's Etc.You can also drive over the mountain and explore Cherokee,NC or go to Asheville to the Biltmore Estate and even drive some of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is over 800 trails in the Smoky Mountains to hike on.There is also alot of shows to choose from and Ripleys Aquarium in Gatlinburg is a very nice attraction to go to.You can take the Tram up to Ober Gatlinburg and ride the chair lift or go down the Alpine slide,there is also a ice skating rink up there too.


Pigeon Forge is a little more spread out than what Gatlinburg is.It also has Dollywood which is a nice theme park to visit and great shows there too.And not to mention a ton of other attractions and restaurants in the area.There is alot of cabins and chalets you could rent.Some have really nice mountain views and hot tubs and pool tables and its nice to kick back in your cabin and enjoy peace and quite while looking at the beautiful mountains.




http://www.gatlinburg.com/default.asp




http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm




http://www.discoverthesmokies.com/

Beckitx

Eastern Tennessee is farther than we wanted to go, though I am sure it is nicer. Is there nothing like it near Memphis? If there isn't we may skip Tennessee altogether.

spirobulldog

All of these are in Arkansas, but worth a weekend trip or camping trip.

Mount Magazine-good hiking and great lodge
Petit Jean- The best state Park in Arkansas- awesome
Buffalo National River-The upper portion is the best

Hike Glory Hole Falls near the Upper Buffalo as well

I would recommend Mount Magazine in the fall(however this year colors might not be great due to little rainfall, this is also a great place to visit in June during the Butterfly period- tons of them)

The rest of the places I listed are best visited in March, April, or May when the waterfalls are running. They would be at zero right now. 2 or 3 hiking books by Tim Ernst are fantastic for these places. I've hiked most of them.

jent103

The geography of Tennessee is such that East Tennessee is mountains/very hilly, Middle Tennessee has some rolling hills, and West Tennessee is flat as a board (generally speaking). So there's nothing like the Smokies near Memphis.

I'm most familiar with Nashville. If you want to do some hiking in town, Radnor Lake and Percy Warner Park both have good trails and are right in town. The trails aren't anything major for experienced hikers (I think the longer one at Percy Warner is 4.5 miles?), but are lovely.

Outside of town, you might look at Fall Creek Falls about an hour or so east of Nashville. Montgomery Bell State Park west of town may have something too. If you want to kayak, there are some companies that work the Harpeth River, southwest of Nashville. I don't know specific names off the top of my head, but I can ask some friends.

nlg

Fall Creek Falls State Park is a great park not too far from Nashville. Plenty of hiking trails and beautiful water falls-there is also a lodge and a restaurant.

gatlinburglover

There is also Reelfoot lake and park in the north west corner of TN. Great lake for fishing,picnicing etc.Great place to see Eagles. Heres some links.

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/ReelfootLake/

http://www.reelfoot.com/