Parks & Outdoors in Memphis

For a city known for barbecue and blues, Memphis is surprisingly green — one of the biggest urban parks in the country, old-growth forest inside Midtown, a redesigned riverfront, and a growing web of paved greenways you can bike for miles. Most of it is free.

Here's the guide, by type — big parks, the riverfront, trails and greenways, gardens, and the state parks on the edges of town — verified at each park's own site in July 2026, with what's free, what costs, and the few spots with current closures so you're not surprised at the gate.

The big parks

• Shelby Farms ParkEast Memphis / Cordova

  One of the largest urban parks in the country — 40+ miles of trails, Hyde Lake with boat and pedal-boat rentals, a treetop adventure course, disc golf, and the buffalo herd. Free to enter. Our full Shelby Farms guide has the details.

• Overton ParkMidtown

  342 acres in the heart of Midtown with over 8 miles of trails, including the 126-acre Old Forest — protected old-growth woods that are a Tennessee State Natural Area — plus the Overton Park Shell, the golf course, and the zoo. Free. See our Overton Park guide.

• Tom Lee ParkDowntown riverfront

  The 31-acre riverfront park reborn in a 2023 redesign — the Sunset Canopy, a huge Life on the River playground, the elevated Memphis Flyway walkway, and wide-open Mississippi views. Free, open 5am–8pm. Named for Tom Lee, who pulled 32 people from a capsized steamer in 1925 though he couldn't swim.

Walk the Mississippi

• Big River CrossingDowntown, on the Harahan Bridge

  The longest public pedestrian and cyclist bridge across the Mississippi — nearly a mile of boardwalk on the old Harahan Bridge, from downtown into Arkansas, with a nightly LED light show over the river. Free, open 6am–10pm daily.

• Mud Island River ParkDowntown / Mud Island

  The signature free feature — the five-block scale model of the Mississippi River (the River Walk) — is open, along with the park grounds and the MEMPHIS sign. Heads up: the pedestrian bridge is closed for construction and the old monorail and museum aren't running while a new attraction is built. More in our Mud Island guide.

Trails & greenways

Paved, mostly flat, and free — bike or walk for miles.

• Shelby Farms GreenlineMidtown → Shelby Farms → Cordova

  The paved rail-trail spine of the city — a flat, tree-shaded route that runs from Midtown out to Shelby Farms Park and Cordova, connecting to the Wolf River Greenway. The easiest long ride or run in Memphis. Free, dawn to dusk.

• Wolf River GreenwayDowntown → Germantown/Collierville

  A 12-foot-wide paved path along the Wolf River — 14 miles open of a planned 26 — that will eventually link Mud Island to Shelby Farms, Germantown, and Collierville. Includes a 270-foot suspension bridge over the river. Free, sunrise to sunset.

• V&E GreenlineVollintine-Evergreen (Midtown)

  A 1.75-mile natural-surface rail-trail through the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood — creeks, public art, a Level I Arboretum, entirely volunteer-built and maintained. The quiet, local counterpoint to the paved greenways. Free.

Gardens & nature centers (the paid ones)

• Memphis Botanic GardenEast Memphis, 750 Cherry Rd

  96 acres and 30 specialty gardens, plus the My Big Backyard children's area and the Live at the Garden concert series. $12 adults, $7 kids 2–12, members free — 9am–6pm in summer.

• Lichterman Nature CenterEast Memphis

  A 65-acre urban nature preserve and arboretum (run by MoSH) with about three miles of trails, a lake, and daily wildlife encounters — snakes, turtles, opossums at noon. Ticketed (around $9 adults); open Wed–Sun. Check their site for current hours and price.

State parks & the forest

• Meeman-Shelby Forest State ParkNorth of Memphis, on the bluffs

  13,000 acres of bottomland forest on the Mississippi bluffs with 20+ miles of hiking trails, a campground, lakes, and cabins. Free to enter. Note: the swimming pool is closed, and the One Way Road past the campground is closed for erosion. Full details in our Meeman-Shelby guide; staying the night anywhere near the city is the camping guide's department.

• T.O. Fuller State ParkSouthwest Memphis

  A 1,600-acre park with 8+ miles of trails near the Chucalissa archaeological site — including a rare recycled-tire walking trail. Historically significant: one of the first state parks in the country open to Black citizens. Free to enter.

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