In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From Nashville via Savannah, Shiloh and Pickwick Landing to the Pinson Mounds, on to Jackson and Kentucky Lake, then to Reelfoot, the earthquake lake, and over the Chickasaw Bluffs to Memphis: around 1,100 kilometres of river country between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi.
The spirit of the route
West Tennessee is the land between two rivers. To the east, the Tennessee River, dammed by the TVA into wide reservoirs, flows north; to the west, the Mississippi rolls south beneath clay bluffs. In between lie cotton and soybean fields, hardwood forests, creek bottoms full of bald cypresses and small county-seat towns with brick squares. The route leads to one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, where peach trees now blossom, to earthen mounds built long before Columbus, and to a lake that an earthquake tore out of the ground in 1811/12. From the sliding door you see mist over Pickwick Lake in the morning, herons among the cypress knees at Reelfoot Lake in the evening, and in winter bald eagles perch in the bare treetops. It is a slow, honest region: catfish on Friday, rockabilly on the car radio, a cricket concert after sunset.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Nashville to Pickwick Landing State Park (approx. 245 km)
- The drive
- Nashville is only the starting point here: take the TN-100 to the northern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway near Pasquo and follow the Parkway for around 120 kilometres to the southwest – two lanes, 50 mph (80 km/h), with no commercial traffic, billboards or petrol stations. The full length of the Parkway is covered in the CampingSpirit guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway; this route uses only the section up to the US-64 interchange (around milepost 370). Then head west on the US-64 via Waynesboro and over the Tennessee River bridge to Savannah, and from there south on the TN-128 to Pickwick Dam. Pure driving time around 4 hours; fill up in Nashville or Franklin before the Parkway.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Meriwether Lewis Monument on the Parkway (milepost 385.9): grave of the expedition leader Meriwether Lewis, who died here in 1809, with a deliberately broken column and a stretch of the old Trace to walk.
- Tennessee River Museum in Savannah: small regional museum on the history of the river – fossils, Mississippian-culture finds from the Shiloh area, steamboats, the freshwater pearl and button industry, and the Civil War on the river. Good preparation for Shiloh; check opening hours beforehand.
- Cherry Mansion in Savannah: brick house on the bluff where General Ulysses S. Grant had his headquarters in April 1862 when the attack at Shiloh began. Privately owned, viewable from outside only.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Pickwick Landing State Park near Counce: Tennessee State Parks campground on Pickwick Lake with water and electric sites, a bathhouse with showers and a dump station; the main campground (48 sites) was recently closed after storm damage – check the current status before you go. Open was the separately located, basic Bruton Branch Primitive Campground with 33 sites without hookups, many right on the lake. Reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com; check site length when booking. Alternative: the TVA campground below Pickwick Dam on the riverbank, with electric hookups.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): On the Natchez Trace Parkway lies the free NPS Meriwether Lewis campground (no hookups, no reservations, limited length of stay) – an option if you set off late from Nashville. Overnight stays along the Parkway outside campgrounds are prohibited; on the Tennessee River there is no public land for free camping on this stage.
- Insider tip for campers
- The road across Pickwick Dam (TN-128) offers the best view of the lock and the tailwater; stop only at the signed parking areas on the shore. On the Parkway, water and toilets are available at only a few rest areas – fill your fresh water in Nashville.
2Stage 2: Pickwick Landing State Park to Shiloh National Military Park (loop) (approx. 70 km)
- The drive
- Take the TN-57 and TN-22 around 25 kilometres north to the Shiloh battlefield; hilly country with woods and fields, little traffic. Inside the park, a signed tour route of around 20 kilometres follows narrow, winding park roads to the key sites; motorhomes are allowed, but the pull-outs are short – if you are towing, leave the trailer at the visitor center. Return to Pickwick in the evening. If you want more, drive around 35 kilometres to Corinth in Mississippi to the Civil War Interpretive Center, which belongs to the same park.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Shiloh National Military Park: on 6 and 7 April 1862, around 110,000 soldiers faced each other here; with some 23,000 killed, wounded and missing, it was the costliest battle of the war up to that point. Visitor center with a film, then the tour route to Shiloh Church, Hornet’s Nest, Bloody Pond and Pittsburg Landing on the river. A place of mourning – keep quiet, stay on the paths, do not touch relics; metal detecting is prohibited.
- Shiloh National Cemetery above the Tennessee River: thousands of graves of Union soldiers, many unnamed. A quiet walk between the rows of stones is the most moving part of the visit.
- Shiloh Indian Mounds: long before the battle, a Mississippian-culture settlement stood here; platform mounds and burial mounds lie on the bluff above the river and are protected as a National Historic Landmark. A short loop trail leads there; do not climb the mounds themselves.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Second night at Pickwick Landing State Park or at the TVA campground at Pickwick Dam. There is no campground in the Military Park itself, which closes at dusk.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Overnight stays are prohibited in Shiloh National Military Park and its parking areas. No public land for free camping in the surrounding area.
- Insider tip for campers
- No entrance fee is currently charged at Shiloh; check nps.gov whether surcharges for visitors without US residence apply at this park. Watch the film at the visitor center first – without it the meadows and patches of woodland are hard to read. In the evening on Pickwick Lake: the state park boat ramp is a good spot for sunset.
3Stage 3: Pickwick Landing State Park to Natchez Trace State Park (approx. 185 km)
- The drive
- Take the TN-22 north to Adamsville, the US-64 west to Selmer and the US-45 north to Pinson and Jackson; well-built highways through fields and pine forest, 55–65 mph. From Jackson take the I-40 around 50 kilometres east to the TN-114 exit at Wildersville and into the park. Pure driving time around 3 hours. Plenty of supermarkets and petrol stations in Jackson – stock up for the next few days.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park: one of the largest Middle Woodland mound complexes in North America, around 2,000 years old. Saul’s Mound, a good 20 metres high, is considered one of the tallest prehistoric earthen mounds in the USA; a staircase leads to the top. The museum itself is built in the shape of a mound; check opening hours, and walk on the mounds only on marked paths.
- Casey Jones Village in Jackson: around the home of engineer Casey Jones, who died in a train wreck in Mississippi in April 1900 and lives on as the hero of a song, stand a railroad museum, an old general store with a restaurant, and railway cars. Large car park right on the I-40, suitable for motorhomes too.
- Rockabilly in Jackson: Carl Perkins, who wrote “Blue Suede Shoes”, grew up in the area. In the centre, a large rockabilly mural on North Church Street commemorates him and other musicians. The International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame has given up its former museum building; ask beforehand whether and where it currently shows exhibits.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Natchez Trace State Park near Wildersville: large forest and lake park (not to be confused with the Parkway) with several camping areas, including Pin Oak Campground on the lake of the same name with full-hookup sites, lakeside sites with water and electric, basic tent sites and a separate equestrian camp (Wrangler Camp). Bathhouses and dump station; reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com. Some park facilities are being renovated – check the status before you go.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Pinson Mounds and Casey Jones Village are open during the day only; in Jackson, overnight stays on the street are not permitted. In Natchez Trace State Forest around the park, camping is allowed only at designated sites and at backcountry sites with a permit.
- Insider tip for campers
- Pinson Mounds lies off the US-45 on a narrow access road; the museum car park is adequate for motorhomes but tight for long rigs with trailers. Natchez Trace State Park has an extensive network of horse and hiking trails – if you stay at Pin Oak Lake, you will often see white-tailed deer on the shore in the morning.
4Stage 4: Natchez Trace State Park to Paris Landing State Park (approx. 155 km)
- The drive
- Take back roads southeast to Parsons on the Tennessee River, then the US-641 north across the I-40 and through Camden to Paris; from there the US-79 to Kentucky Lake. Hilly woodland, later wide fields; two and four lanes, 55–65 mph. Pure driving time around 2.5 hours. Petrol stations in Parsons, Camden and Paris.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Parsons and the Tennessee River Valley: small river towns on the dammed Kentucky Lake with tackle shops and boat ramps. On the east bank lies Mousetail Landing State Park, a quiet park with a riverside trail and a campground – an alternative if you want to stay a day on the river.
- Paris: county-seat town with a brick square and a replica of the Eiffel Tower, around 20 metres tall, in Memorial Park. In spring the town celebrates its reputation as catfish capital with a big fish fry festival.
- Kentucky Lake at Paris Landing: the longest TVA reservoir on the Tennessee River, with wide expanses of water, a marina and a beach; the US-79 bridge leads to Land Between the Lakes. This area is covered in the CampingSpirit guide to Land Between the Lakes and Paducah.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Paris Landing State Park: Tennessee State Parks campground on the west shore of Kentucky Lake with water and electric sites, bathhouse, dump station, plus a marina and beach. Reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com; book early in summer and on holiday weekends.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): There is hardly any public land for free camping on this stage. Basic camping is tolerated on some TVA shoreline tracts unless signs prohibit it; the rules vary from tract to tract – check with the TVA beforehand. Boat ramps and ramp parking areas are off limits.
- Insider tip for campers
- The TVA manages the water level of Kentucky Lake by season: in winter it is several feet lower, and ramps and beaches fall dry. After heavy rain, on the other hand, the river can overflow its banks and flood shoreline trails and ramps – check TVA levels and notices before you set off.
5Stage 5: Paris Landing State Park to Reelfoot Lake State Park (approx. 185 km)
- The drive
- Via Paris, take the US-79 west to McKenzie, country roads to Greenfield, then via Martin and Union City the TN-22 west to Reelfoot Lake. The land grows ever flatter, fields to the horizon, lines of cypresses along the creeks. Two lanes with little traffic, mostly 55 mph. Pure driving time around 3 hours. Do your big shop in Union City – around the lake there are only small stores.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Big Cypress Tree State Park near Greenfield: this was the site of a bald cypress around 1,350 years old, considered the largest tree east of the Mississippi until lightning killed it in 1976. A barrier-free boardwalk around 350 metres long leads into the seasonally flooded bottomland forest.
- Discovery Park of America in Union City: large museum of natural history, technology and regional history with outdoor grounds; car park suitable for motorhomes, check opening hours.
- Reelfoot Lake Visitor Center near Tiptonville: exhibition on how the lake was formed, boardwalk into the cypress swamp. The musician Carl Perkins was born near Tiptonville.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Reelfoot Lake State Park operates two campgrounds: South Campground near Tiptonville on the south shore with 86 paved sites with water and electric, bathhouses with showers, laundry and a dump station, and the smaller Airpark North Campground on the north shore with 14 sites with water and electric (30 A), 10 tent sites and a bathhouse. Reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com; South Campground is in high demand during the spring crappie season.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): At Reelfoot Lake and in Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge, overnight stays outside the campgrounds are prohibited; parts of the refuge are closed in winter to protect waterfowl. No legal free camping at the lake.
- Insider tip for campers
- Some facilities at the lake are being renovated – check the status of the day-use areas before your visit. Bald eagles winter at the lake – the state park offers guided tours during this period; dates and registration through the park. In summer, head out on the boardwalk early in the morning: later it gets hot, and in the evening the mosquitoes come out.
6Stage 6: Reelfoot Lake State Park to Fort Pillow State Historic Park (approx. 125 km)
- The drive
- From Tiptonville take the TN-78 south through the flat floodplain to Dyersburg, continue on the US-51 via Ripley to Henning and take the TN-87 west to the bluffs above the Mississippi. The last few kilometres are narrow and winding and lead through woodland up onto the clay bluff. Pure driving time around 2 hours. Petrol and shopping in Dyersburg and Ripley; nothing at the fort itself.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Reelfoot Lake in the morning: the shallow lake was formed when the New Madrid earthquakes in the winter of 1811/12 caused the land to sink and water poured into the depression. Between the trunks of the bald cypresses the surface is often mirror-smooth; the traditional Reelfoot boats with forward-facing oars can still be seen at the landings.
- Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center in Henning: the boyhood home of the author of “Roots”, now a state historic site; Haley is buried there. Check opening hours.
- Fort Pillow State Historic Park: earthworks on the first of the four Chickasaw Bluffs above the Mississippi. On 12 April 1864, Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the fort; many Black Union soldiers were killed after trying to surrender. The interpretive center puts this massacre in context – a place that calls for quiet and respect. Hiking trails lead to the reconstructed breastworks.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Fort Pillow State Historic Park: small wooded campground on the bluffs with 15 sites with water and electric, 6 sites with electric (20 A) and water spigots nearby, and 9 basic tent sites; two bathhouses with showers, a dump station at the entrance, no sewer hookups. Check the permitted vehicle length when booking. Reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Fort Pillow State Historic Park, stay overnight only at the campground. The Wildlife Management Areas on the Hatchie and the Mississippi permit camping only where expressly designated; the access roads are often under water during floods.
- Insider tip for campers
- The roads in the floodplain between Reelfoot, Dyersburg and the bluffs are low-lying; when the Mississippi floods in spring, side roads may be closed. If in doubt, stay on the US-51 and check notices from the state road agency TDOT before setting off.
7Stage 7: Fort Pillow State Historic Park to Memphis (approx. 110 km)
- The drive
- Take the TN-87 back to Henning, the US-51 south via Covington to Millington and country roads into Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park on the bluffs; from there it is around 30 kilometres to downtown Memphis. Two to four lanes, 55–65 mph, heavy traffic from Millington on. Pure driving time around 2 hours. Memphis is the destination, not the subject, of this route.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park: bottomland forest with bald cypresses and tupelos at the foot of the Chickasaw Bluffs, lakes and a viewpoint over the Mississippi lowlands.
- Memphis: end point with Beale Street, Sun Studio and the National Civil Rights Museum. If you are heading further south, you will find the continuation in the CampingSpirit guide to the Mississippi Blues Highway (Highway 61) and in the guide to the lower Great River Road.
- Big River Crossing: pedestrian and cycle path on the Harahan Bridge across the Mississippi to Arkansas, with views of the skyline.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park near Millington: campground on the bluffs with water and electric sites, bathhouses and a dump station; reservations via reserve.tnstateparks.com. In the south of the city, T. O. Fuller State Park offers another public campground with hookups.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Memphis, sleeping in your vehicle on streets and in public car parks is prohibited. There is no legal free-camping option in the metro area.
- Insider tip for campers
- Take care of water and dumping at Meeman-Shelby before entering the city. Downtown parking garages have height restrictions; leave the motorhome at the campground and take a taxi or ride-share. Do not leave the vehicle overnight with valuables in view.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- Tennessee State Parks allow camping only at designated sites; backcountry sites only with a permit. West Tennessee has no National Forest and hardly any public land for dispersed camping. Cities such as Memphis and Jackson prohibit sleeping in vehicles on streets and in car parks.
- TVA shoreline tracts: basic camping is allowed on some tracts, but not on many; observe signs and TVA rules. Wildlife Management Areas of the state wildlife agency TWRA permit camping only at designated sites, often only during hunting seasons.
- Interstate rest areas are for resting; observe the posted maximum parking time. Supermarket and department store car parks only with the store’s express permission.
- Reservations: Tennessee State Parks via reserve.tnstateparks.com; check booking windows and fees on the site. Entry to the state parks is free; you pay for the campsite. TVA and NPS campgrounds have their own systems; the NPS Meriwether Lewis campground on the Parkway is free and cannot be reserved.
- Federal lands: at US national parks, visitors without US residence sometimes pay higher fees and surcharges at heavily visited parks; check current amounts on nps.gov. Shiloh and the Natchez Trace Parkway currently charge no entrance fee.
- Wildlife: ticks (including the lone star tick) and chiggers are everywhere in grass and woodland from spring to autumn; check yourself after every hike. Mosquitoes are intense at Reelfoot, Pickwick and in the bottomlands in summer. Cottonmouths and copperheads occur along shores and in swamps.
- Apps: iOverlander, Campendium, The Dyrt and Recreation.gov; Park4Night is not widely used here.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Dump stations: at the state park campgrounds of Pickwick Landing (main campground, check status), Natchez Trace, Paris Landing, Reelfoot Lake (South Campground), Fort Pillow and Meeman-Shelby Forest; check beforehand at Reelfoot’s Airpark campground. The NPS campground on the Parkway has none.
- Drinking water: from taps at campgrounds; tap water is drinkable. On the Parkway and at Shiloh only at a few spots.
- Empty grey water and chemical toilets only at dump stations; draining into lakes, creeks or swamps is prohibited.
- Propane: petrol stations, hardware stores and campgrounds fill US cylinders; European cylinders are generally not refilled.
- Electricity: state park sites mostly 30, sometimes 20 or 50 A; Bruton Branch, tent sites and the campground on the Parkway have no electricity.
- Fuel and shopping: large supermarkets in Nashville, Savannah, Jackson, Paris, Union City, Dyersburg and Memphis; around Reelfoot, at Shiloh and on the bluffs only small stores.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits: Interstates in Tennessee mostly 70 mph (113 km/h), 55–65 mph in urban areas; highways such as the US-45, US-51 and US-64 mostly 55–65 mph; Natchez Trace Parkway 50 mph, less on some sections. Much slower in the military parks.
- Tennessee has a hands-free law: you may not hold your phone while driving. Move-over law for emergency vehicles and roadside assistance on the shoulder.
- Tolls: there are no toll roads on this route. Time zone: the entire route, including Corinth, is in Central Time.
- Tornadoes: West Tennessee lies in one of the most tornado-prone regions of the USA outside the Great Plains, with a peak from March to May and a second season in late autumn and winter; tornadoes here often come at night and in rain, barely visible. Receive National Weather Service warnings via app or weather radio, at night too; in a tornado warning, leave the motorhome and go to a sturdy building or bathhouse.
- Heat and thunderstorms: from June to September, 32–36 °C with high humidity is normal, and violent afternoon thunderstorms build up with lightning, hail and gusts. On open lakes, head for shore immediately in a thunderstorm.
- Flooding: the Mississippi usually rises in spring, when the Hatchie, Obion and Forked Deer flood their lowlands; roads in the floodplain are closed. The TVA lakes are regulated, but after heavy rain shoreline areas on the Tennessee River can flood too. Never drive through flooded roads.
- Emergency: 911. Mobile coverage good in towns and along the Interstates, patchy in places at Shiloh, at Reelfoot and on the bluffs.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Repellent with DEET or picaridin, long light-coloured clothing and mosquito screens for door and windows: Reelfoot and the bottomland forests are mosquito country in summer.
- Tick tweezers and permethrin-treated socks: ticks and chiggers wait along every trail from Shiloh to Fort Pillow.
- Weather radio with alert function (NOAA Weather Radio) or a severe-weather app with wake-up alarm: tornado warnings here often come at night.
- Binoculars: for bald eagles at Reelfoot Lake in winter, herons in the cypresses and barges on the Mississippi.
- Folding kayak or inflatable canoe: Pickwick, Pin Oak Lake and the cypress waters at Reelfoot are ideal paddling waters, and rentals are not available everywhere.
- Printed park map of Shiloh or an offline map: reception on the battlefield is weak, and the tour stops are numbered.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
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