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Activities
Home » Tennessee » Knoxville Restaurants and Activities » ActivitiesKnoxville offers a variety of activity options sure to please any age group from the Cradle of Country Music Walking tour to the many galleries and museums.
The Knoxville Trolley Lines provides free transportation to several downtown attractions. Just look for the red trolley buses.
The following are just a few of the activities you won’t want to miss when you visit Knoxville:
• If fishing is your choice of activities, there are over 800 miles of trout streams in Knoxville.
• There are more than 60 miles of marked dogwood trails that weave throughout the city’s neighborhoods. There are free bus tours of the dogwoods during the city’s 17 day Dogwood Arts Festival which occurs in the month of April. There is also food, art, and music at the Dogwood Arts Festival.
• Concord Park - A 500-acre park where you can enjoy a picnic lunch at one of the picnic shelters, volleyball, swimming, walking trails, fishing, a yacht club, junior golf, and baseball, soccer, and softball fields.
• Candy Factory and Victorian Houses – Beautiful Victorian houses line the street leading to the historical candy factory. Check out the galleries, studios, and gift shop.
• Cradle of Country Music Walking Tour – A self-guided tour that begins at the East Tennessee History Center downtown. This tour highlights the beginnings of country music in Knoxville. Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Roy Acuff, and many others are highlighted.
• East Tennessee Discovery Center – A children’s science center full of hands-on fun including a planetarium, life science exhibits, physical science exhibits, a natural history exhibit, a world culture exhibit, and much more. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
• Fort Kid – An elaborate play structure built during the 1991 Bicentennial Celebration. The kids will have a great time on the slides, rides, and swings.
• James White Fort – Located in downtown Knoxville, directly across the street from the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. James White was the founder of Knoxville and his home from 1782 is still standing. Tour this historic fort and get a glimpse into the daily lives of early settlers through a hands-on approach. The fort consists of seven log houses, a guest house, smoke house, blacksmith shop, loom room, and museum. See the period furniture, tools, and memorabilia from this historic period. Free trolley rides are available to the James White Fort from the World’s Fair Park and the University of Tennessee Campus.
• Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame – Located in downtown Knoxville, directly across the street from the James White Fort. Just look for the basketball at one end of the building. You can’t miss it because it weighs 10 tons and is 30 feet tall and on the other end is a basketball made from bricks that is embedded into the ground. Spend time looking through all types of memorabilia such as rule books, balls, trophies, uniforms, and lockers that depict the history of women’s basketball. Watch videos of past players describing what women’s basketball used to be like. Downstairs you can even shoot some hoops and measure your vertical leap. Free trolley rides are available from the World’s Fair Park and the University of Tennessee. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is closed on Mondays. Admission is $7.95 for adults, $5.95 for seniors and children ages 6 to 15. Children under the age of five are free.
• Knoxville Zoo – Home to over 800 exotic and domestic animals, a petting zoo, and a bird show. The zoo is 80 acres of well maintained exhibits that you and your children will enjoy. New to the Knoxville Zoo is the Clayton Family Kid’s Cove where the kids get a chance to play in the water, slide through a waterfall, practice milking a cow, build a sandcastle, get up close to beavers and birds, and much more. Admissions to the zoo is $14.95 for adults and children over the age of 12, $10.95 for children 3 to 12 and children two and under get in free. If you get to the zoo after 3:00 p.m., the next day is free. There is a $3.00 charge for parking. To get to the zoo, take Interstate 40 to exit 392 and then follow the signs directing you to the Knoxville Zoo.
• Star of Knoxville – Visit the Tennessee Riverboat Company off of Interstate 40; exit 388A Business Loop. Take a sightseeing cruise aboard the Star of Knoxville which is a Mississippi-style paddle-wheeler that is full of fun and festive entertainment. Sightseeing cruises along the Tennessee River last for 1 ½ hours. There are also lunch and dinner cruises, murder mystery cruises, and gospel and country cruises. Daytime cruises are $12.50 for adults and $7.95 for children, lunch and brunch cruises are $22.95 for adults and $12.95 for children, dinner cruises are $27.95 to $34.90 for adults and $17.50 for children.
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