Riverwalk

  Paved paths wind through riverside parks then up a hill to the bluff where the path continues on neighborhood sidewalks before traveling along the edge of the bluff and back down to the city. Roundtrip is about 3 miles.

  RVs will fit in the lot if  backed up over the grass or parked lengthwise across the spaces. For a longer walk follow the sidewalk and paths a mile farther north to the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. It’s okay to stay overnight in the east side parking lot but be aware that the lot is sloped and it’s a noisy location because it’s under an I-40 interchange.

The paths and sidewalks in the park and along the bluff are wide, smooth, and accessible but most wheelchair users will need assistance to complete the loop due to steep sections. Riverwalk  35.13664, -90.06248

Crystal Shrine Grotto

  The shrine is a collaboration of three men - Elliot Hinds, the man who built the Memorial Park Cemetery, Dionicio Rodriguez who was hired to create the shrine in the 1930s, and David Day, the artist who added the biblical figures in the 1970s. Working on and off for about 6 years, Rodriguez built a small pond and a dug a cave into the hillside. The inside of the cave is encrusted with five tons of quartz crystal and outside, a towering mound of concrete juts above the grass covered hill.

 

  The shrine is not accessible due to steps and uneven walkways.

   RVs will fit in the on-street parking in front and to the north of the shrine.  Shrine  35.10884, -89.87416

Dixon Gallery & Gardens

   Hugo Norton Dixon, who made a fortune as a cotton broker, and his wife, Margaret, bought 17 acres on the east edge of Memphis in 1939. Their house was built to overlook the gardens and was a showplace for the Dixon’s art collection of Impressionist and post Impressionist art. The house, art collections, and gardens were bequeathed for the public to enjoy upon the deaths of the Dixons in 1974.

  The art galleries are located in the Dixon house and feature their collection along with more recent acquisitions including a large collection of eighteenth-century German porcelain. Sculptures are located in four themed gardens.

 

        

  The museum is accessible. The cutting garden has paved paths and the woodland garden has hard packed crushed stone paths but the rest of the gardens have steps and loose gravel paths and are not accessible. The conservatory has a short steep ramp without a landing and a door that opens outward making entering awkward.

  RVs will fit in the main parking lot if parked across the spaces. If the lot is full continue south to the event lot.  Garden  35.10659, -89.919

Memphis Botanic Garden

  In 1947 the city of Memphis bought 355 acres of old plantation land for a new park on the east side of the city. The first things constructed were a golf course and a lake with 90 acres set aside for a garden There are also picnic areas, walking trails, and an outdoor concert venue.

  The garden started with the planting of 2,500 irises in 1953 and now has 23 themed gardens and is constantly being added to and improved. One of the newest additions is a wonderful Children’s Garden with many different play areas.

         

 

   

  The main paths are wide and paved. Most of the garden is fairly level and accessible. We especially enjoyed the open expanse of the Japanese Garden.The Asian Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Azalea Garden, and some of the other smaller areas are not accessible due to gravel paths and steps.

       

  RVs will fit in the lot if backed up over the grass or parked lengthwise across the spaces.  Garden  35.11013, -89.91759

Pickwick Dam Campground

    The campground is located below the Pickwick Dam which was built in the 1930s by the Tennessee Valley Authority as a part of a New Deal project to provide electricity, improve river navigation, and prevent flooding.  The tent sites sit along the riverbank with a good view of barge traffic but few of the other sites have a river view. The sites are roomy but fairly close together with no foliage between the sites. The accessible sites are clustered together along one loop with paved paths to a centrally located restroom. They’re very well designed with wide concrete parking pads which extend under the tables, fire rings, and grills.

    The TVA is a federally owned corporation. I’m not sure exactly what that means however it affects the campground discount for senior and access pass holders. The discount is between 25 - 30% instead of the normal 50%.  Campground  35.06592, -88.26579

Shiloh National Military Park

  Corinth, Mississippi, as an important railroad hub of the Confederate Army, was heavy fortified. It was the focus of the  Union Army led by US Grant who set up camp in the countryside 22 miles north of the town near Shiloh Methodist Church in April 1862. Rather than wait for the Union Army to advance to Corinth General Johnson, the Confederate commander, marched 44,000 men north to ambush them. The surprise attack was foiled when a Union patrol discovered the Confederates early in the morning of April 6. Two days of fighting in the fields and woods resulted in heavy casualties with almost 24,000 Union and Confederate men killed, wounded, or missing. The Confederates retreated to Corinth which fell to the Union in late May 1862.  

  The park has small visitor center with a 32 minute award-winning interpretive film. A ten mile self-guided driving tour takes visitors through the battlefields and past memorials, cannons, and interpretive signs. The park brochure gives details of the action at each numbered stop. An interpretive trail loops through the mounds of a Native American village that was deserted around 1300 AD.  Artifacts found during archeological excavations are displayed at the Tennessee River Museum.

        

  The museum is accessible. The trail through the mounds is narrow and rough and is not accessible.

       

The parking lot has long RV spaces.  Park  35.15134, -88.3218

Tennessee River Museum

    Native Americans, the Civil War, the steamboat era, and the pearl button making industry are covered in this small but nicely done museum. The exhibits include many well preserved artifacts.

        

     
   The museum is accessible except for a replica of a steamboat pilot house where a short video can be viewed.

  The rear parking lot is large enough for any RV. An accessible entrance with a ramp and buzzer is located near this lot. Museum  35.2246, -88.25105

Nashville Fairgrounds RV Park

   An overpriced ($35.00!) space on blacktop is never our first camping choice but it was the best option to dump our waste tanks, fill the fresh water, and give our batteries some extra charge. The nearest truck stop dumpsite is over 20 west west of Nashville, the Corp of Engineers campgrounds (which we always love) don’t open until April or May, and the private campgrounds average $80.00 a night so the fairgrounds won out.

  The sites are full hookup and located in two lots, one on Walsh Road and on Smith Ave. We stayed at the one on Walsh. No one comes around to collect the fee and there isn’t any information about the office location so you have to call for directions.

The spaces are all back in and are not very long so tow and towed vehicles must be unhooked and parked on the opposite side of the lot.  Fairgrounds  36.13168, -86.76413

The Parthenon

   From the late 1880s to the 1930s world fairs or expositions were a very popular way to showcase the latest inventions and technological advances and also provide entertainment and education about foreign cultures. The first one in the US was held in Philadelphia to celebrate the country’s centennial. The Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897 was a smaller, local exposition but it still had exhibits from 19 states and 16 foreign countries. The exposition covered 132 acres with buildings copying the classical Greek architectural style of the Chicago Fair of 1893. 

   After 6 months the exposition ended and all of the buildings, which were built of built of plaster, wood, and brick and not meant to last, were demolished except for the beloved Fine Arts Building, a full sized replica (in it’s original undamaged state) of the Parthenon in Athens. Twenty years later it was in such bad condition that it had to be completely rebuilt using poured concrete. It now houses a couple of art galleries, an exhibit about the exposition, and a giant gold leaf covered statue of Athena that was completed in 1990. The fairgrounds became a public park with a small lake and 1.5 miles of paved walking trails.

       

        

                   

  The Parthenon is accessible but the narrowed ramped hallways where the exposition exhibit is located gets crowded making it hard to view the displays. The walking trails are fairly level and accessible.

  RVs will fit in the parking lot if backed over the grass or by parking lengthwise across the spaces. There are also parking spaces along 27th Ave. Parthenon  36.15008, -86.81424