This 200-acre walk-through zoological park is home to the rare and beautiful. You'll encounter cougars, black bears, Bengal tigers, zebras, cheetahs and playful river otters. Kids can even go a bit wild on the Jungle Gym playground. The Croft Center, named for the sisters who left the estate to Grassmere, houses the Unseen New World exhibit and a variety of reptiles. There is also a working farm exhibit and a petting zoo.
The Historic Edgefield district, known for its Victorian houses and artists' bungalows, is home to one of the city's oldest parks. Sloping terrain, tiny Lake Sevier, and old trees provide peaceful seclusion at the Shelby Park and Golf Course. Come in the daytime for a picnic or to feed the ducks. Trails are available for rollerblading and cycling in addition to softball, tennis court and playground facilities to keep you entertained. The park is also home to two sprawling golf courses and a community center for gatherings.
Just north of Nashville in Kingston Springs is the winding Harpeth River. Enjoy this natural waterway and the wildlife that lives in the protected reserve along its banks by canoe. At Tip-a-Canoe, paddlers can get in the water at a reasonable price for a four hour trip. Pack a lunch, grab some friends, and make a day of it. A shuttle will transport you and your party to and from the launch area.
Few cities in the landscape of America's music culture have a more pronounced influence than Nashville, the nation's original capital of country music. Located on the Cumberland River, this musically charged city has a storied past that begins at the very end of the American Revolution, continuing to the Civil War, where it was the first capital overtaken by Union forces. After the end of the war, the city's position along an Ohio River tributary made it even more of a transit hub, and the population boomed within from 1860 to 1900. The city is most famous for its country music history, the original home to the Grand Ole Opry and the site of numerous recording studios that launched the careers of figures like Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. Then again, Nashville flirts with a modern culture, evident from its prized contributions to the visual arts in the Frist Center and the LeQuire Gallery. Home to hot chicken and historic Germantown, a district with a renewed spirit that accommodates culinary treasures and retail pundits, Nashville is so much more than its country music origins.