Shelby Farms Park
An estimated 3 million people visit Shelby Farms annually, a 4,500-acre outdoor sanctuary located in eastern Shelby County, a short drive or a long bike ride from downtown Memphis. One of the largest urban parks in the nation, you can explore its wooded hiking and biking trails, horseback riding, fishing, and off-leash dog park. Thanks to a $70-million capital campaign, there’s even more to see here now. The 65-acre Patriot Lake provides calm waters for canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), while kids find hours of entertainment in the Woodland Discovery Playground, which contains six “play nests” filled with rope nets, sand pits, and multi-person slides. See the park on horseback via Shelby Farms Stables, which offers everything from 20-minute pony rides ($29) to 2-hour trail rides ($100). The Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course includes a Tarzan swing and zip line across the lake (roughly $60 for adults, $55 kids ages 10–15). Picnic sites and shelters are also available, as is a disc golf course and fields designated for kite flying and model-airplane flying. But by far the most surprising feature of Shelby Farms is its herd of live buffalo. Visitors can observe two dozen buffaloes from the fence line, which runs along the paved Chickasaw Trail.
An estimated 3 million people visit Shelby Farms annually, a 4,500-acre outdoor sanctuary located in eastern Shelby County, a short drive or a long bike ride from downtown Memphis. One of the largest urban parks in the nation, you can explore its wooded hiking and biking trails, horseback riding, fishing, and off-leash dog park. Thanks to a $70-million capital campaign, there’s even more to see here now. The 65-acre Patriot Lake provides calm waters for canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), while kids find hours of entertainment in the Woodland Discovery Playground, which contains six “play nests” filled with rope nets, sand pits, and multi-person slides. See the park on horseback via Shelby Farms Stables, which offers everything from 20-minute pony rides ($29) to 2-hour trail rides ($100). The Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course includes a Tarzan swing and zip line across the lake (roughly $60 for adults, $55 kids ages 10–15). Picnic sites and shelters are also available, as is a disc golf course and fields designated for kite flying and model-airplane flying. But by far the most surprising feature of Shelby Farms is its herd of live buffalo. Visitors can observe two dozen buffaloes from the fence line, which runs along the paved Chickasaw Trail.
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