Memphis in Summer: how to fill your days with fun, activities and sunshine | Norment
This is the time of year for which many have been waiting and hoping. Now that Summer is here, don’t let it pass you by without enjoying it. Despite the heat and humidity, there is so, so much that Memphis has to offer. Afterall, Memphis is known as one of the most hospitable and most generous cities in the country. Get out and explore and enjoy our wonderful, culturally rich city.
Start with our incredible parks
The 4,500-acre Shelby Farms has options for families, singles and romantic dates. Summer is a great time for boating, and Shelby Farms, with more than 20 lakes, offers kayaking, canoeing, paddle boating, and pedal boats as well horseback-riding options, including lessons and private sunset rides. There are also bike rentals, walking and hiking trails, water spray areas for children, pavilion rentals, and outdoor paintball and laser tag opportunities. For those who just want a great meal with scenic views and beautiful sunsets, there is a fine-dining restaurant situated on Hyde Lake.
Located in the heart of the city is Overton Park, another Memphis playground for adults and children alike. The 342-acre park in Midtown is home to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the oldest and largest art museum in the state; the Overton Park Shell, where Elvis Presley gave his first paid concert in 1954; a 9-hole golf course, the Memphis College of the Arts, and two-acre Rainbow Lake.
The park’s 21-acre Greensward is among the city’s largest open areas dedicated to outdoor recreation. Summer is a great time to exercise by playing frisbee and soccer on the Greensward, to walk or jog, enjoy a picnic, fly kites, and enjoy other activities that bring you joy.
Also in the park is Veterans Plaza, which includes memorials to Memphis and Shelby County veterans who died defending the freedom of our country. The two-acre plaza is home to memorials for World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm.
Overton Park’s 172-acre Old Forest Arboretum is on the National Register of Historic Places and includes more than 300 plant varieties. It is among the last old growth forests in our state. Runners from across the city love Overton Park’s shaded forest trails, including nearly four miles of dirt trails that wind throughout the Old Forest. The park is also popular with Memphis’ vibrant cycling community, which is welcomed to the park with the Bike Gate arch at Sam Cooper and East Parkway.
The park’s most renown attraction is Overton Park Zoo, which is home to more than 3,500 animals that represent 500 different species. The zoo is a wonderful place to take your children where you both can learn and marvel as you explore 19 major exhibits that mimic the animals’ natural habitats. Among them are Cat Country, Primate Canyon, Aquarium, China, African Veldt, and Zambezi River Hippo Camp.
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Enjoy Memphis' music scene and history
Memphis, known as “Home of the Blues” and “Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” offers abundant live entertainment. While visitors take advantage of the musical splendors of the city, we as residents should join them more often on Beale Street and beyond to enjoy great music. Let’s take a stroll down Beale Street to enjoy the Memphis Music Record Shop, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, A. Schwab Dry Goods, Beale Sweets Sugar Shack, and W.C. Handy Park and its statue of the legendary “Father of the Blues.”
A short distance down Beale at Fourth Street is the W.C. Handy Memphis Home & Museum. Nearby is the Ida B. Wells statue and plaza next to the historic Beale Street Baptist Church, which once housed the newspaper office of the crusading, anti-lynching journalist.
Elvis Presley’s home in Whitehaven draws thousands of visitors to Memphis every year. Consider joining them to enjoy the nostalgia. In addition, there are several other music museums to visit, including the legendary Sun Studios where B.B. King and Johnny Cash recorded, but also Stax Museum of American Soul Music, which pays homage to where Rufus and Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, William Bell, and Booker T. & the MG’s made great music. The Soulsville Foundation also operates the Soulsville Charter School and Stax Music Academy.
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Dive into civil rights history
Further enrich your life by checking out the Civil Rights historic landmarks in our city. The world-class National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel showcases 260 artifacts, along with films, oral histories, interactive media and exhibits, including a bus similar to the one from which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man and consequently launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.
There are also Clayborn Temple, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and the adjacent I Am A Man Plaza. Both were critical locations during the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. Also important during that tumultuous strike was Mason Temple, the historic Church of God in Christ site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “Mountaintop” speech the night before he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.
These and many other historic locations can be visited on one of the numerous Memphis tours available.
This is just a sampling of the wonderful options that can be found in Memphis to keep you busy this summer. Whether you are entertaining out-of-town guests or simply want to enjoy quality summertime with your family and friends, Memphis offers a variety of warm-weather activities to experience. Enjoy the best that Memphis has to offer this summer.
Lynn Norment, a columnist for The Commercial Appeal, is a former editor for Ebony Magazine.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Norment: How to make the most of your summer in Memphis
