Parks and the outdoors in Nashville

15 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Nashville.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

See
Belmont Mansion
An approximately one-hour guided tour of 16 rooms in the mansion. Also walk the grounds to examine the marble statues and cast iron ornaments in the gardens.
Mon–Sat 10AM–4PM, Sun 11AM–4PM. Closed Memorial Day$16, seniors $15, youth 13-18 $7, children 6–12 $5
See
Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park
A fascinating state park stretched out in front of the state capital building. Features a giant map of the state, monuments recounting the history of the state since prehistoric times, a carillon, and more. In the summer, the fountains are often filled with splashing kids. The park is next to the farmers market, which includes a food court, fish market, nursery, as well as the expected vendors hawking fruits and vegetables. The Nashville Business Journal's Book of Lists ranks Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park as Nashville's #1 Tourist Attraction.
Free
Eat
Cafe Nonna
Another well-liked Italian restaurant, this intimate neighborhood place keeps its menu small and its dishes impeccably prepared. With the fresh ingredients and simple preparation, you might as easily be in some Tuscan hill town. Located in Sylvan Park.
Do
Centennial Park
Features a nice duck pond, where you can get up close with the ducks and feed them, as well as a real steam engine train, dating to the 1800s and a fighter jet on a large, metal stand, to give the appearance of flight.
Do
Centennial Sportsplex
Located in Centennial Park. Featuring two indoor ice skating rinks, two pools, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and a fitness room. Call or check online for the schedules, as they vary from month to month. The Sportsplex is also a practice location for the Nashville Predators professional hockey team.
Ice skating $6 with skate rentals available for $2
Do
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art
A 55-acre (22 ha) estate built by the founders of Maxwell House coffee on the fringes of the city featuring an art museum and a beautiful botanical garden. The art museum features American and Europeans exhibits.
Tue-Sat 9:30AM-4:30PM, Sun 11AM-4:30PM. Closed on every Mon except for Memorial Day and Labor Day. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's day, as well as the second Sat in JuneAdults $10, Seniors $8, College Students $5, Children 3-13 $5, Children under 3 free. The most any family will pay is $30, thanks to an admission cap
See
Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center
This hotel is worth seeing even if you are not staying there. It is the largest non-casino hotel in the world, and is built around three enormous atria, the largest of which has an artificial river with boat rides around an island.
Do
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music radio program and concert broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville every Friday and Saturday night, and Tuesdays from March through December. It is the oldest continuous radio program in the United States, having been broadcast on WSM since 5 October 1925. The Opry has been located in the Grand Ole Opry House in eastern Nashville since 1974. From 1974 to 1997 the Opry House was part of a theme park called Opryland USA, which closed due to low attendance and was torn down and replaced by a mega-shopping mall called Opry Mills. Rumors that the Opry is haunted persist as more than 35 people closely associated with the Opry have been met with untimely deaths. These country stars have been burned to death, beaten, robbed, and shot, have been victims of car and plane crashes and have perished from alcohol and drugs.
Do
Nashville SC
The 2020 season began a new era for soccer in Nashville with the arrival of Nashville SC in Major League Soccer. The MLS team took over the name of a side that played the 2018 and 2019 seasons in the second-level USL Championship. The MLS team, which played its first two seasons at Nissan Stadium, opened the new Geodis Park in May 2022 at the former state fairgrounds just south of downtown. (It started that season on a long road trip to accommodate construction.)
From $25 to $200
Buy
Opry Mills
Former location of the Opryland USA Theme Park, includes mostly outlet stores, specialized clothes shops like Brooks Brother, Coach, Michael Kors, Vera Bradley and Forever 21, and a Regal Cinemas and IMAX.
Do
Radnor Lake
Often called "Nashville's Walden," Radnor Lake was formed when the railroad companies dammed up a small stream to provide a reliable water source for their railroad yards. Although it is in the heart of a residential suburb south of town, hikers on the miles of trails around the pond feel like they are in the heart of the wilderness.
6AM-sunset. Visitor Center Sun-Thu 9AM-5PM, Fri Sat 8AM-4:30PM
Eat
San Antonio Taco Company
SATCO
This place is always a favorite with Vandy kids, offering reliably so-so Tex-Mex food (very little meat on the tacos, and the guacamole has tons of pepper) and cheap buckets of beer. Right off the Vanderbilt campus. Stop by Ben & Jerry's next door for dessert. Caveat: towing in this area can be ruthless. Check the signs wherever you park. If you go, get the queso and chips for around $3. It's the best thing on the menu and is enough for 2.
Drink
Springwater
Located next to Centennial Park, this is one of Nashville's most reliable dive bars and often hosts underground and noisy local and touring bands. Once a speakeasy, later a hangout for Jimmy Hoffa, now host to a strange mix of local drunks, slumming Vandy kids, and musicians. Pool table, arcade games, good jukebox, good booker, a cheap beer-only bar, and a large screened-in cement block porch. Don't miss its regular Working Stiffs Jamboree.
Do
Yazoo Brewery
Yazoo Brewing Company is brewed and bottled in downtown Nashville. The Brewery offers tours only on Saturdays, when they're not brewing. You'll get to walk through all parts of the brewery and learn how the beers are made. With your admission you'll also receive a Yazoo pint glass and samples of beers during the tour.
Wed Thu 5PM, 6PM; Fri 5PM, 6PM, 7PM; Sat noon-7PM$10
Do Not mapped
Tennessee Titans
The local NFL football team plays their home games at (formerly Adelphia Coliseum and LP Field), which is across the river from downtown. Once the Houston Oilers, the team was relocated as the Tennessee Titans in 1999. A new Nissan Stadium is being built across the street and is scheduled to open in 2027.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Nashville (CC BY-SA 4.0).