Murfreesboro, TN

Barfield-Crescent Park and Wilderness Station is a popular 430-acre park in the southern part of Murfreesboro. It offers picnic shelters, baseball and softball fields, three Little League baseball fields, regular baseball field, four multi-use fields, 7 miles of paved and dirt hiking trails, 13 campsites, two kids’ playgrounds, classrooms for environmental education, an 18-hole championship disc golf course, and a very active wilderness station. The station’s goal is to offer families a chance to learn more about the wilderness around them through programs such as campfire talks, interpretive hikes, river explorations, and much more. The programs include topics such as Wild Things, Puppets on the Porch, Tales and Trails, and others. The hikes along the TreeMendous Tree Trail have 12 stations, which offer information about the plants hikers can see as they pass by.

401 Volunteer Rd, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37128, Phone: 615-217-3017

Batey Farms is a historic family farm built in 1807 on a Revolutionary War grant, located in the Blackman community, Rutherford County, about 6 miles from Murfreesboro. It is still owned and run by the 8th generation of the family and is a popular place for the locals and visitors to get fresh produce. The family operates a hog, hay, and row crop farm, and grows strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, sweet corn, and other seasonal produce. You can come to the farm and pick your own corn, shop at their farm shop, which is open every day, or look for their produce, including wonderful sausages, bacon, and pork burgers at the Murfreesboro Saturday Farmers Market.

5331 Baker Rd (Store) 3250 Wilkinson Pk (Berries), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, TN 37129, Phone: 615-995-4025

Today a lively cultural center and a museum, Bradley Academy was the first school open in Murfreesboro. It was built in 1806 for the education of white males only. From 1884, women and African American students were also allowed to attend. After the original building was destroyed, the existing structure was built in 1917, and opened in 1918 as a school for African American students. Today, the Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center serves as a community center and museum and houses the original classroom, a Civil War exhibit, and an exhibition on early settlers to the county of Rutherford and the city of Murfreesboro. The Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center has a spacious auditorium, which also serves as a dining area, a meeting room, and a theatre for concerts and plays.

415 S Academy St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130, Phone: 615-867-2633

Historic Cannonsburgh Village, located on 6 acres in downtown Murfreesboro, is a reconstruction of Murfreesboro, then called Cannonsburgh, as it looked from the 1830s to the 1930s. Representing a typical Southern village of the times, Cannonsburgh Village has a one-room schoolhouse, a gristmill, a telephone operator's cabin, a caboose, the university house, the wedding chapel, the Leeman House, a museum, a general store, a doctor's office, a well, a blacksmith's shop, and other facilities that comprised the village in which the early pioneers lived. Among many curious items of their daily lives is the World's Largest Cedar Bucket. Visitors are free to roam on their own or take a guided tour.

312 S Front St, Murfreesboro, TN 37129-3558, Phone: 615-890-0355

Discovery Center is the Murfreesboro’s most popular children's museum and nature center. Open in 1986, Discovery Center consists of a hands-on interactive and educational museum and a living, breathing wetlands. The center’s permanent exhibits include: 5 Senses, about exploring human senses using huge models of the nose, eye, ear, tongue, and hand; Creation Station, which uses clay, paint, chalk and much else to unleash kids’ inner artist; Farmers’ Market, which shows the trip food makes from the fields in which it grows to our table. Discovery Center’s 20-acre wetland protects and showcases native rare wetland plants and introduces wetlands ecosystem to the visitors who walk along the raised boardwalks.

502 SE Broad St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130, Phone: 615-890-2300

Fortress Rosecrans was built in January 1863 by the Federal Army after the Battle of Stones River in order to fortify Murfreesboro. The fortress became one of the largest earthen fortifications the Union built during the Civil War and was named after General William S. Rosecrans, the commander of the Army of the Cumberland. The army abandoned the fortress after the end of the war in 1866. The fortress is now a part of the Stones River National Battlefield and has remains at three locations in Murfreesboro: Parts of the southern wall and the remains of Lunettes Palmer and Thomas are found on Old Fort Street; the earthworks of Redoubt Brannan are on West College Street; and the remains of Lunette Negley are located on private property, which is now Medical Center Parkway.

Golf Ln, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, Phone: 615-893-9501

General Bragg Trailhead on West College Street is one of several trailheads leading to Murfreesboro's Stones River Greenway System. The trailhead has a picnic pavilion with restrooms, a kids’ playground, and a water fountain. There is a fairly large parking lot just next to it. The trailhead offers access to some really nice scenic parts of the Greenway. There is a spur trail that starts at the side of the pavilion, leading to the Stones River National Battlefield, adding 1.5 miles to your hike. If you start your walk at the Thompson Lane Trailhead or Fortress Rosecrans Trailhead, once you reach General Bragg Trailhead you will be about halfway on the Greenway, 1.5 miles in both directions.

West College Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37129

The Hazen Brigade Monument is located in the Stones River National Cemetery, the resting place of 6,850 soldiers who died during the Battle of Stones River in 1862–1863. It is the oldest monument to the Civil War that is still located in its initial place. The brigade, led by Col. William B. Hazen, was known for its crucial role in the Battle of Stones River, on its very first day. The brigade's efforts stopped the Confederate Army’s advance and prevented it from pushing the Union Army back to Nashville. As soon as the battle was over, Colonel Hazen and Col. Isaac C. B. Suman decided to build a monument in honor of the soldiers who had lost their lives during the battle and their men worked on its construction over the next 6 months. They buried 45 of their brigade’s soldiers within the monument’s stone enclosure.

3501 Old Nashville Hwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129-3094, Phone: 615-893-9501

Created in 1974, 2,600-acre Long Hunter State Park comprises four sections: Bryant Grove, Couchville, Baker’s Grove, and Sellars Farm. The park is a popular spot for a number of different recreational activities, such as fishing, nature observation, and hiking. It has two launch ramps for boats on scenic J. Percy Priest Lake as well as a meeting facility, a small visitor center, a group camp, and a simple backcountry campsite. There are over 20 miles of walking and hiking trails through different habitats and terrain, from pleasant, slow strolls to more challenging and longer jaunts. There is also a paved, self-guided arboretum trail as well as the more than 5-mile-long Volunteer Trail along the shore of the lake. Sella's Farm State Archaeological Area is a Native American mound, one of very few in Tennessee, which is protected by the government. It was occupied from 900 AD to about 1500 AD.

Murfreesboro's Stones River Greenway System, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, (website link)

Located in a lovely old building in downtown Murfreesboro is Mayday Brewery , a place where locals love to hang out on Thursday and Friday, not only for their great craft beers, but also for the live music and great atmosphere. The popular tap room is located just next to the brewery in a large brick-lined room with a high ceiling, big communal tables, local art on the walls, and a line of revolving beers on tap. Every Monday is a special themed event featuring costumes, live music, and special a batch of beer. The tour of the brewery is available on Saturdays. There is always some food truck parked in front, so nobody will go hungry.

521 Old Salem Rd, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, Phone: 615-479-9722