Special churches
St. John’s Cathedral in Knoxville
The city’s St. John’s Cathedral in Knoxville was built in 1826, just 35 years after the city was founded. However, today’s church is the second building of the church that lasted from 1891 to 1892. A fire in 1919 destroyed many of the original stained glass. St. John’s Cathedral is considered the oldest brick church in Tennessee.
| Contact | 413 Cumberland Ave Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 www.stjohnscathedral.org |
Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville
The Christ Church Cathedral in the city of Nashville is an episcopal church from 1894. The tower structure was not added until 1947. The church was built in the style of the neo-Gothic style from sandstone.
| Contact | 900 Broadway Nashville, Tennessee 37203 www.christcathedral.org |
Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville
The Downtown Presbyterian Church in the city of Nashville is a Presbyterian church from 1849. The church was built in the style of the Egyptian Revival, making it one of the few in the USA. The front of the church with its double tower structure is particularly impressive. Since 1993 it has been functioning as a floating hotel. The Delta Queen is the Downtown Presbyterian Church on the list of National Historic Landmarks.
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| Contact | 154 5th Ave N Nashville, Tennessee 37203 www.dpchurch.com |
Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville
The Church Street United Methodist Church in the city of Knoxville is a Methodist church from the 1930s. Although Church Street is in the name of the church, the church is not on Church Street. Church Street United Methodist Church is built in the Gothic style.
| Contact | 900 Henley St Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 www.churchstreetumc.org |
Big celebrations and events
Memphis in May
The Memphis in May festival has been taking place in May every year for four weeks since 1967. The folk festival begins with the Beale Street Music Festival, a rock, blues, soul festival on Beale Street. The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which is the largest barbecue competition in the world, also takes place as part of the Memphis in May. The conclusion of the Memphis in May is the Sunset Symphony, a free performance of the Memphis Symphonic Orchestra on the Mississippi.
| Contact | www.memphisinmay.org |
Zoos, parks and amusement parks
Overton Park in Memphis
Overton Park in the city of Memphis is a 1.38 km² park Overton Park is home to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis Zoo, a golf course, the Memphis College of Art and the Old Forest Arboretum. The beginning of the park goes back to 1901. If you are in Memphis you should not miss a walk in Overton Park.
| Contact | www.overtonpark.org |
Memphis Zoo
The Memphis Zoo has an area of approx. 310,000 m² on which more than 3,500 animals from over 500 species live. The Memphis Zoo was founded in 1906 and is now considered one of the best zoos in the United States. The Memphis Zoo is located in Overton Park, a 1.38 km² park in the city of Memphis. The zoo tries very hard to adapt the animals’ enclosures to their natural habitats. In the zoo there are Once Upon A Farm, Cat Country, Primate Canyon, Dragon’s Lair, Animals of the Night, Tropical Bird House, Herpetarium, Aquarium, African Veldt, China, Northwest Passage and Teton Trek. These are connected by a path that is approx. 3.2 km long. The highlights of the zoo include African elephants, grizzly bears and lions, Tigers, zebras, orangutans, rhinos, giraffes, crocodiles, polar bears, panda bears and Nile or hippos.
| Contact | 2000 Prentiss Place Memphis, Tennessee 38112 www.memphiszoo.org |
Nashville Zoo at Grassmere
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere has an area of approximately 810,000 m² and was opened in 1990. The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere emerged from the merger of Nashville Zoo and Grassmere Wildlife Park. The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is more than a normal zoo because it also houses a historic farmhouse from the 19th century. It is now a museum and can also be visited. The highlights of the zoo include African elephants, giraffes, gibbons and red pandas.
| Contact | 3777 Nolensville Pike Nashville, Tennessee 37211 www.nashvillezoo.org |
Knoxville Zoo
The Knoxville Zoo has an area of approx. 210,000 m² on which over 800 animals live. At Knoxville Zoo, visitors will find bears, chimpanzees, African elephants, lions, tigers, zebras, orangutans, rhinos, giraffes, and red panda bears. The Knoxville Zoo also has a large number of different snakes.
| Contact | 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive Knoxville, Tennessee 37914 www.knoxville-zoo.org |
Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park
The Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park has an area of approximately 53,000 m² and is located in the city of Chattanooga. The zoo was founded in 1937. Visitors to the Chattanooga Zoo will find snow leopards, jaguars, chimpanzees, red panda bears and many more.
| Contact | 301 N Holtzclaw Ave Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404 www.chattzoo.org |
Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga
The Tennessee Aquarium in the city of Chattanooga is the largest aquarium in Tennessee. The Tennessee Aquarium was founded in 1992 and today there are over 12,000 aquatic organisms here. The concept of the Tennessee Aquarium shows the path of a raindrop that falls in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from there to the Gulf of Mexico. You will not only learn something about the animals living in this region.
| Contact | 1 Broad Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 www.tnaqua.org |
Memphis Botanic Garden
The botanical garden of the city of Memphis covers an area of approximately 390,000 m² and was built in 1953. The botanical garden is located in Audubon Park in the city of Memphis. The garden is divided into 23 units such as rose garden, herb garden, Japanese garden, etc. In the summer, numerous concerts take place in the Memphis Botanic Garden.
| Contact | 750 Cherry Road Memphis, Tennessee, 38117 www.memphisbotanicgarden.com |
Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum
The Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum is a mix of park, museum and amphitheater. The complex is not on an island, but on a peninsula in Mississippi and can be reached by monorail. The complex opened in 1982. In addition to the 5,000-seat amphitheater that is used for concerts in the summer, visitors can also find a replica of the course of the lower Mississippi here.
| Contact | www.mudisland.com |
National parks
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in the Appalachian Mountains in the states of North Carolina and Tennessee and is the most visited national park in the USA.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
The Appalachian Trail (officially: Appalachian National Scenic Trail) has a total length of approx.3,500 km, making it one of the longest long-distance hiking trails in the world.
The Appalachian Trail runs from north to south through the 14 states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The Appalachian Trail begins in the state of Georgia on the summit of Springer Mountain (1,152 m) and ends on the summit of Mount Katahdin (1,606 m), the highest mountain in the state of Maine.
The Appalachian Trail is managed by the National Park Service of the USA.
The Appalachian Trail, as its name suggests, leads through the Appalachian Mountains, a low mountain range in the east of North America. The trail is classified as a historical hiking trail and leads through many nature reserves, including 6 national parks and 8 national forests. The trail originated in the 1920s. It was founded to offer people a change from the working life of the industrialization period. The Appalachian Trail was officially opened on August 14, 1937, but at the time this was not met with much media coverage.
Much media attention was paid to the Appalachian Trail in 1948 when Earl Shaffer ran the entire trail in one season, becoming the first Thru-Hiker. The course of the Appalchian Trail is partly based on other historical routes.
There are over 250 huts and campsites along the trail. Since the trail runs through several cities, it is quite possible to refresh your provisions on the way. Who also plans to run the entire trail in one go (thru-hike) should plan around 5 to 6 months and start in March or April.
If you tackle the Appalachian Trail, you may get to know black bears, white-tailed deer, wapitis or elk on the hike.
You should also watch out for snakes such as the copper head or the northern rattlesnake. There are also ticks, mosquitoes (mosquitoes) and black mosquitoes, which can become a major nuisance.
The Appalachian Trail was mentioned in literature in Bill Bryson’s work “A walk in the woods”. Every year 3 to 4 million people run at least a small part of the Appalachian Trail.
In Tennessee 114 km of the Appalachian Trail run, apart from the 320 km on which the trail on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. The highest section of the Appalachian Trail is in Tennessee. The trail runs through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park over Clingmans Dome. Here the highest point of the trail is reached at 2,025 m.
| Contact | www.nps.gov/appa/index.htm |
Nature reserves
Cherokee National Forest
The Cherokee National Forest is located in the eastern part of Tennessee, near the border with the state of North Carolina and is located one section north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its second section south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Cherokee National Forest covers an area of 2,653 km² and was established in 1920.
A small part of the Cherokee National Forest is also in North Carolina. The Cherokee National Forest is home to numerous natural attractions such as the Ocoee River. The canoe slalom competitions were held on this river in 1996 during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
This was the first nature course to be used at the Summer Olympics to run canoe slalom competitions. The former stadium, the Ocoee Whitewater Center, can still be found here today. The Cherokee National Forest also runs 150 km of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
But there are many more hiking trails in the Cherokee National Forest, such as the John Muir National Recreation Trail. Furthermore the Big Frog Mountain with the surrounding Big Frog Wilderness and the extremely beautiful Watauga Lake. Due to the numerous fast-flowing rivers in the Cherokee National Forest, the area is considered an excellent trout fishing area.
| Contact | www.fs.usda.gov/cherokee |
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, a 122 km tributary of the Cumberland River, and the former Blue Heron coal mine. The area has a high density of rock gates (natural bridges).
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area covers an area of approximately 507 km² and was established in 1974. The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is located in the US states of Tennessee and Kentucky. The reserve is administered by the National Park Service. The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area attracts over 600,000 visitors annually.
| Contact | www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm |
Cedars Of Lebanon State Park
The Cedars Of Lebanon State Park is located south of the city of Lebanon. The protected area is also a state forest and covers an area of approximately 3.64 km². The area that got its name from the cedar trees also has many karst formations, including 18 caves. One of these caves is the Jackson Cave, which with a length of approx. 300 m leads to an underground lake. The park has camping and picnic facilities and a total of 13 km of hiking trails.
| Contact | 328 Cedar Forest Road Lebanon, Tennessee 37090 |
Lone Mountain State Forest
The Lone Mountain State Forest is located in the southeastern part of Tennessee and covers approximately 15 km². The name of the protected area comes from the mountain Lone Mountain, which is actually not spectacular at a height of 770 m, but because of its isolation it towers above the surrounding landscape. Here you will find approx. 25 km of hiking trails. The most popular leads to Coyote Point on the top of Lone Mountain and offers a wonderful view as a reward.
Standing Stone State Forest
The Standing Stone State Forest is located in northern Tennessee and covers an area of approximately 45 km². The planting and protection of the area date back to the 1930s, when poorer farmers were to find employment during the Great Depression. In the Standing Stone State Forest there is also the Standing Stone State Park, which covers an area of approximately 3.5 km². There are a total of 13 km of hiking trails and campsites, as well as the Standing Stone State Lake, which gave both State Park and State Forest the name.
| Contact | 1674 Standing Stone Park Hwy. Hilham, Tennessee 38568 |
Obed Wild and Scenic River
The protected area of the Obed Wild and Scenic River includes parts of the Obed River and its tributaries Clear Creek and Daddys Creek. Since the river is protected as a National Wild and Scenic River, it is managed by the National Park Service. The area is considered an ideal white water rafting water and is very popular with fans of this sport. Other activities in this protected area include climbing, hiking and bouldering.
| Contact | www.nps.gov/obed/index.htm |
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is located in northwest Tennessee and southwest Kentucky. The area has the status of a national recreation area. Here the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River run very close together and the island that forms between these two rivers is the protected area.
Since the rivers have been dammed, the Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake reservoirs have been located here, which is why the area is called Land Between the Lakes. The area has been protected since 1963 and covers an area of 688 km².
| Contact | www.lbl.org |
Other natural beauties
Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville
The Cumberland Caverns are located in or under the city of McMinnville. This cave system is approximately 44 km long and the second longest cave in Tennessee. The main entrance to the cave system was discovered in 1810. The caves can be visited on a tour. There are day and night tours. In addition to the usual sights of a cave system, in the Cumberland Caverns you can also admire the Hall of the Mountain King, an approx. 180 m long, 46 m wide and 43 m high cave room. This is one of the largest in America.
