Overton Park is the home of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis College of Art, and the Overton Park Municipal Golf Course. The park by itself is a lovely place to visit. There are trails for hiking and biking, tennis courts, a playground, picnic area, and huge, shady trees to relax under.The rainbow-painted amphitheater, once the location of concerts by Elvis Presley and ZZ Top, is now seldom used, but still a good place to sit and ponder the glories of music gone by.

Memphis Botanic Garden is a collection of gardens that covers over 96 acres (39 hectares) in East Memphis. The lovely Japanese garden, with its bridges, ponds and goldfish is a favorite with visitors, who come for the candlelight evening tours in the summer. In the spring, the Ketchum Iris Garden glows with a myriad of colors, while the Municipal Rose Garden is at its best in May, June, and September. There is even a Sensory Garden that is designed to appeal to all five senses.

Raccoons wander freely around this nature preserve and educational facility. The Lichterman family after whom the center is named willed their land to the city years ago, and portions of the block have since been developed into a shopping center, St. Francis Hospital and an apartment building. However, this 65-acre park still provides sanctuary for local wildlife. Children can see here how injured animals are treated and prepared for return to the wild. While the original Lichterman home that housed exhibits and administrative offices burned down a few years ago, most of the facility has been restored.