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The Volunteer State offers an exceptional array of recreation and entertainment opportunities. Whether one wants to walk in Memphis and take in the former home of Elvis, croon along with country music stars in Nashville, hike the Chimneys of the Great Smoky Mountains, or enjoy a multitude of scenic, historical, or cultural attractions, Tennessee captivates the imagination.

Numerous museums preserve and interpret the legacies of Tennessee. In Harrogate, the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum resides on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University and houses a large collection of President Lincoln and Civil War era paraphernalia such as books, manuscripts, pamphlets, photographs, paintings, and sculptures. The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore recounts the life and cultural contributions of Sequoyah, a member of the Cherokee tribe of eastern Tennessee who created a writing system for the tribe. Science buffs will appreciate the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, complete with exhibits and programs depicting the fascinating history of the Manhattan Project with paraphernalia describing the dawn of the Atomic Age. The Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville is home to a limestone mansion and formal gardens in the style of 18th century England; highlights among the art collections include American and contemporary painting and sculpture, English and American decorative arts, silver, and the most comprehensive collection of Worcester porcelain in the country. Music fans should not miss the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, which tales the story of country music’s history over the course of two centuries, and features such interactive attractions as historic country video clips, recorded music, and schedules of live performances and public programs. The Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) in Knoxville is a 53,200 square foot (0.005 square kilometer or 0.49 hectare) facility featuring a range of exhibitions and emphasizing significant regional artists from various eras; some highlights include art by Charles Burchfield, Robert Longo, Loretta Lux, and more. The Carroll Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City houses a wide selection of works of fine art. The Tennessee State Museum occupies approximately 120,000 square feet (0.011 square kilometers or 1.14 hectares) with over 60,000 (0.006 square kilometers or 0.6 hectares) devoted to exhibits preserving World War I mementos and other state collections. The National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History in Chattanooga celebrates those who served in the military. Rail enthusiasts should enjoy the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, home to the largest operating historic railroad in the Southeast, offering scenic train rides and a walking tour through its working repair shop. Sports enthusiasts benefit from two fine museums celebrating athletics. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville is a 7,200 square foot (0.0007 square kilometer or 0.07 hectare) facility showcasing interactive games, strength training apparatus used by Olympic swimmers, and exhibits and theaters educating the pubic about different kinds of sports. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women’s basketball, and features theaters, exhibits, and artifacts celebrating the history of women’s basketball. Elvis fans should not miss Graceland in Memphis, the 14 acre (0.06 square kilometer or 5.7 hectare) former estate of the "King of Rock n’ Roll", featuring exhibits, authentic clothing, artifacts and personal mementos including gold and platinum awards of Elvis. The Hermitage in Nashville preserves the restored 1837 mansion, gardens, and the tomb of President Andrew Jackson, along with collections of books, swords, and personal and family items. The Parthenon in Nashville is located in Centennial Park, and is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Greece that serves as Nashville’s art museum; the permanent collection focuses primarily on paintings from 19th and 20th century American artists.

Tennessee offers several opportunities for enjoying the performing arts. Orchestral music lovers will enjoy any of the state’s many orchestras, such as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (MSO), founded in 1952; the Nashville Symphony in Nashville, founded in 1920; the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) in Knoxville (performing for over 70 years); the East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra in Chattanooga; and the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in Middle Tennessee. Fans of the stage will enjoy watching performances at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, the historic Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, and the International Storytelling Center in Jonesboro, home of the world-renowned National Storytelling Festival. Music lovers can also indulge in Tennessee’s magnificent musical heritage of Memphis blues, Elvis Presley, and country music at the Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol and its current Mecca at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Tennessee prides itself on its long and storied history, as evidenced by a remarkable number of historic sites located throughout the Volunteer State. Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton marks the site of the first permanent European settlement outside of the 13 original colonies, as well as the first majority-rule system of American democratic government, known as the Watauga Association. Sycamore Shoals was also a frontier hub for Virginian and North Carolinian settlers and as a trading post with Cherokee Indians. Fort Nashborough preserves the site of a reconstructed 1779 fort overlooking modern Nashville, which was designed to protect and shelter early settlers. The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, extending through North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, commemorates the route of patriot militia as they tracked down the British during the American Revolution, and eventually became victorious at the Battle of Kings Mountain. The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville preserves the old homestead and honors the life of President Andrew Johnson. Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Dover was the site of the North’s first major victory of the Civil War against the South. Shiloh National Military Park in Shiloh preserves the site of a bloody 1862 battle in the Civil War. Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro commemorates one of the most devastating conflicts of the Civil War, the Battle of Stones River, during which the Union gained major military and political gains. The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area in Murfreesboro depicts the story of the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction, and includes national battlefields historic houses, museums, cemeteries, churches, towns, and neighborhoods intimately associated with Tennessee’s Civil War heritage. The Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail extends across several eastern states, and commemorates the tragic journey, as well as the bravery and survival, of the Cherokee people as they were removed from their ancestral lands to reservations in the 1840s.

Tennessee’s agricultural heritage remains important today, and can be appreciated through many agritourism options. Wine aficionados can appreciate any of the Volunteer State’s wineries. Famous distilleries are also open to the public, such as the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, the oldest registered distillery in the U.S.; Prichards’ Distillery in Kelso; and the George Dickel Distillery. Tennessee abounds in farms open for visiting, and reaps the benefits of those farms at several farmers markets throughout the state.

The Volunteer State is home to a multitude of enjoyable, family-friendly attractions to suit all ages. Animal lovers can revel in a number of zoos, including the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park, the Knoxville Zoo in Knoxville, the Memphis Zoo, and the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. At Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, families can explore this scenic 3,500 acre (14.1 square kilometer or 1,416 hectare) park featuring a 44 acre (0.2 square kilometer or 17.8 hectare) lake, a nature center and museum, a planetarium, and habitats for raptors, wolves, deer, and other animals on display. Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium is an extraordinary aquarium housing over 12,000 animals including fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, invertebrates, butterflies, and other animals, and showcases River Journey and Ocean Journey aquatic habitats.

East Tennessee now proudly showcases its unique natural history at the new Gray Fossil Site in Gray, a 33,000 square foot (0.003 square kilometer or 0.3 hectare) facility featuring on-site Miocene era fossils in a museum with interactive exhibits, a classroom, and research areas. Tennessee boasts several interactive museums for children, such as the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge in Oak Ridge, the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, the Hands On! Regional Museum in Johnson City, the Hands-On Science Center in Tullahoma, and the Children’s Museum of Memphis.

Few states offer such scenic beauty as Tennessee, particularly with respect to its all-seasons wonder. Tennessee is home to some of the highest mountains east of the Mississippi River, over 8,000 documented caves, rivers either tame or wild with whitewater, incredible plant and animal diversity, and trails throughout. Among the amazing number of cave systems in the Volunteer State, several are open for public touring; notable examples include Forbidden Caverns in Sevierville, Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Ruby Falls at Lookout Mountain, and the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, billed as the world’s largest underground lake. Tennessee’s state parks provide unparalleled outdoor recreation opportunities. Among these, Fall Creek Falls State Park is comprised of 20,000 acres (81 square kilometers or 8,094 hectares) of land across the rugged Cumberland Plateau, and is home to Fall Creek Falls, the highest waterfall in the eastern U.S., at 256 feet (78 meters). Roan Mountain State Park covers over 2,000 acres (8.1 square kilometers or 809 hectares) of southern Appalachian forest at the base of Roan Mountain, a 6,285 foot (1.9 kilometer) mountain in the Unaka chain; hiking, fishing, and historical tours figure among its attractions. Reelfoot Lake State Park, in the far northwest corner of the state, boasts one of the greatest hunting and fishing preserves in the nation. The lake covers 25,000 acres (101.1 square kilometers or 10,117 hectares), 15,000 acres (60.7 square kilometers or 6,070 hectares) of which are water, and is home to an incredible array of bird species, and offers campgrounds, fishing piers, and picnic areas. The beautiful Cherokee National Forest extends from Chattanooga to Bristol along the North Carolina border of East Tennessee, and covers approximately 640,000 acres (2,590 square kilometers or 258,999 hectares) as the largest piece of public land in the state; it contains an amazing species diversity of plants and animals, in addition to many campgrounds and picnic areas, 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) of trails, cold water streams, seven whitewater rivers, and plentiful wildlife viewing opportunities. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail also passes through Tennessee on its path from Maine to Georgia. Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, shared between Kentucky and Tennessee, covers 125,000 acres (506 square kilometers or 50,586 hectares) of the Cumberland Plateau, and protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries; gorges and sandstone bluffs mark some of the rich scenic beauty. The Obed Wild & Scenic River in Wartburg, along the Cumberland Plateau, is protected for future generations to enjoy. The Natchez Trace Parkway extends through Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and is a 444 mile (715 kilometer) parkway commemorating an ancient trail between the Mississippi River to salt licks in central Tennessee; driving, hiking, and other outdoor recreation opportunities abound. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, shared between Tennessee and North Carolina, is the nation’s most visited national park; the mountains are so named for their perpetual drapery of blue haze, and the park is world renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life and its remnants of historic Southern Appalachian mountain culture.

Tennessee is proud of its reputation as a sports lover’s state. Football fans can rejoice in the NFL team, the Tennessee Titans for pro football, although arguably the University of Tennessee’s Volunteers, or Vols, capture the most attention. Basketball fans can enjoy the Memphis Grizzlies, baseball fans can cheer several minor league teams such as the Tennessee Smokies, and hockey fans can cheer the Nashville Predators. Additionally, Tennessee is home to five world-class, 18-hole golf courses, in addition to many other courses. Tennessee is also famous for its motor sports; several tracks provide thrilling backdrops for racing fans. Among these are NASCAR SpeedPark in Sevierville, Memphis Motorsports Park, Nashville Superspeedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway.

With so many recreational and entertainment opportunities within the Volunteer State, Tennessee offers diversions for everyone to enjoy.

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