Historic Tours in Tennessee: Walking Tours and Trails

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36 historic tours and trails in Tennessee: 16 walking tours and ranger programs, 10 driving trails, National Historic Trails and heritage areas, and more. 18 are free. Prices and schedules come from each operator’s own page.

Header photo: Beale Street, Memphis, in 1939; the street is a National Historic Landmark on the Memphis Heritage Trail. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF33-030638-M3.

36tours and trails
16walking tours and ranger programs
18free
10trails and heritage areas

Self-guided walking
Guided walking
Ranger-led
House tour
Boat/train/trolley
Audio/app
Ghost & history tour
Driving trail
National Historic Trail
Heritage area

Download this data: CSV · JSON · 36 tours · free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to It’s Tennessee. All open data: catalog.json.

Self-Guided Walking Tours (4)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Tennessee America 250 Trail at the Museum of Appalachia America 250-themed trail through the museum grounds	Clinton	Museum of Appalachia / Tennessee America 250	Museum admission (see official site)	March 25-December 31 (2026), 9-5 ET	See official site
Memphis Heritage Trail “Walking museum” of African American business, cultural and musical history; app and brochure	Memphis (South Memphis, Downtown; links to Orange Mound, Soulsville USA)	Memphis Heritage Trail (City of Memphis initiative)	Free	Year-round	20-block area
Bicentennial Capitol Mall Pathway of History Tennessee milestones etched in granite, 200-ft granite map, WWII Memorial, carillon, Civil Rights Memorial	Nashville	Tennessee State Parks	Free	Daily	Park-length walk
Fort Negley self-guided walking tour Union fort site, education panels, 20-minute video	Nashville	Metro Nashville Parks	Free	Park dawn to dusk; visitor center Tue-Fri noon-4, Sat 9-4	Paved paths

Guided Walking Tours (6)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Historic Rugby guided tour Free 22-minute film, then walk to the 1882 library, 1884 Kingstone Lisle, 1887 Christ Church, 1907 schoolhouse	Rugby	Historic Rugby	See official site	Visitor Centre Thu-Sat 9-5 ET, Sun noon-5	See official site
Battle of Franklin Trust battlefield and specialty tours Eastern Flank walking tour at Carnton, battlefield near Carter House, slavery and the enslaved tours, Behind the Scenes	Franklin	Battle of Franklin Trust	$29 per person (90-minute specialty tours); classic house tours $22 adults/$14 kids 6-15	Daily; specialty tours at set times Mon-Sat (e.g. Carter House battlefield tour 11 am Mon-Thu, 11 and 2 Fri-Sat)	60-90 minutes
Belle Meade “Journey to Jubilee” tour Lives of enslaved African Americans brought to and born at Belle Meade from 1807, through Emancipation and after	Nashville	Belle Meade Historic Site	See official site	See official site	See official site
Hermitage “In Their Footsteps” tour Lives of the enslaved community at the Hermitage, ending with a wreath-laying at the Enslaved Cemetery	Hermitage	Andrew Jackson Foundation	$49.95 non-member; $39.95 member	See official site	60 minutes, about one mile outdoors
Hermitage VIP Tour Skip-the-line mansion, balcony views, Jackson’s Tomb	Hermitage	Andrew Jackson Foundation	$69.95 non-member; $59.95 member	Daily within hours 8:30-6	90 minutes, max 15 guests
Historic Jonesborough guided walking tours Tennessee’s oldest town	Jonesborough	Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia	See official site	See official site	See official site

Ranger-Led Programs (6)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Point Park and Lookout Mountain ranger programs “Battle Above the Clouds” site, Cravens House, views over Chattanooga	Lookout Mountain (Chattanooga)	Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP	Point Park $10 (16+); programs free with entry	Daily 8:30-5 visitor center	See official site
Red Clay guided park tour Replica Cherokee structures, Council Spring, Eternal Flame	Cleveland	Red Clay State Historic Park	Free	Scheduled dates (see park events)	See official site
Shiloh “Meet the Past” living history bus tour Living historians portray five people who experienced the Battle of Shiloh at battlefield stops	Shiloh	Shiloh National Military Park	See official site	Special dates (2026 season)	Bus tour
Port Royal “Follow Their Footsteps” Trail of Tears hike Walk on a preserved roadbed of the Trail of Tears where Cherokee detachments camped in fall 1838	Adams	Port Royal State Park	Free (optional $5/$10 donation)	Nov 27, 2026, 10-11 am	1 hour
Stones River anniversary Real Time Walks Rangers lead walks at the Slaughter Pen, Hell’s Half Acre and the Cotton Field at the hour the fighting raged	Murfreesboro	Stones River National Battlefield	Free	Annually around Dec 31 (163rd: Dec 26, 2025-Jan 2, 2026)	Walks at 10 am, 1 pm, 3 pm on Dec 31
Andrew Johnson Homestead guided tours Johnson’s Homestead at 209 South Main Street	Greeneville	Andrew Johnson National Historic Site	Free (tickets required)	10, 11, 2, 3 daily (11 and 2 on limited-staff days)	See official site; groups of 10

Historic House Tours (5)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Knoxville Historic Homes PastPort Single admission to Blount Mansion, Mabry-Hazen House, Crescent Bend, Marble Springs, James White’s Fort, Ramsey House, Historic Westwood and East Tennessee History Center	Knoxville	Blount Mansion and partner sites	$40	See each site	Self-paced
Mabry-Hazen House tours Hilltop house museum	Knoxville	Mabry-Hazen House	$10 adults; $8 students; under 13 free	Tours on the hour	See official site
Sun Studio tour The studio called the “Birthplace of Rock ‘N’ Roll”	Memphis	Sun Studio	$20 adults; $15 children 5-11	Daily, hourly at :30 from 10:30 to 4:30	See official site
Ryman Auditorium self-guided and backstage tours “Soul of Nashville” film, Opry 100 exhibit, stage photo, backstage dressing rooms	Nashville	Ryman Auditorium	Self-guided $25 + tax; backstage $42.52 + tax	Daily 9-4 (varies on show days)	About 1 hour (self-guided); about 1.5 hours (backstage)
Sabine Hill guided tours Federal-style house of the Taylor family	Elizabethton	Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park	$10 adults; $8 seniors 65+ and veterans/military; $5 ages 17 and under	Scheduled dates year-round	1 hour

Historic Boat, Train and Trolley Rides (3)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
DOE Public Facilities Bus Tour (Oak Ridge) K-25 Atomic History Center, ORNL, Y-12 New Hope Visitor Center; X-10 Graphite Reactor on special dates	Oak Ridge	U.S. Department of Energy via American Museum of Science and Energy	$20 standard; $30 special dates	2026 season ends November 20, 2026; departs 9:00 am from AMSE	About 3.5 hours
Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Historic incline up Lookout Mountain	Chattanooga	Lookout Mountain Incline Railway	See official site	Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat-Sun 9-7	See official site
Tennessee Valley Railroad excursions Vintage trains from Grand Junction Depot through Missionary Ridge	Chattanooga	Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum	See official site	Year-round; seasonal specials	Missionary Ridge Local about 65 minutes; longer trips 2-6 hours

Audio and App Tours (1)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Nashville Sites walking and driving tours Self-guided tours incl. Civil Rights Movement in Nashville driving tour narrated by Fisk professor Linda Wynn, Centennial Park, Music City North Broadway	Nashville	Nashville Sites (public history project)	Free	Year-round	Varies by tour

Ghost and History Tours (1)

Ghost tours mix documented history with legend. We list long-running operators with their own pages; the stories are theirs, not facts we have checked.

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Hermitage Ghost Tours Lantern-lit evening tours of the grounds	Hermitage	Andrew Jackson Foundation	$60 non-member; $55 member	Seasonal, evenings	See official site

Driving Trails (7)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Civil War Trails markers in Tennessee Roadside interpretive markers at Civil War sites	Statewide	Civil War Trails with Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and TN Civil War NHA	Free	Year-round	“over 400 trails markers across the state”
Natchez Trace Parkway and National Scenic Trail (Tennessee) Old Trace corridor; 20-mile hiking/equestrian section south of Nashville	Nashville area south to Alabama line	National Park Service	Free	Year-round	444-mile parkway (whole); Highland Rim trail section about 20 miles
Tennessee Music Pathways People and places significant to Tennessee music history, incl. a bluegrass pathway	Statewide	Tennessee Department of Tourist Development	Free	Year-round	Statewide
U.S. Civil Rights Trail – Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville, Clinton) Trail sites incl. National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis); downloadable Tennessee itinerary PDF	Memphis; Nashville; Clinton	U.S. Civil Rights Trail (state tourism partners)	Free (sites vary)	Year-round	Three Tennessee trail cities
Shiloh battlefield tour road Self-guided drive past battle sites, Pittsburg Landing and the national cemetery	Shiloh	Shiloh National Military Park	Free	Daily 9-5	See official site
Fort Donelson tour road Fort, river batteries, Dover Hotel, national cemetery	Dover	Fort Donelson National Battlefield	Free	Gates 8-4:30 (winter) to 8-8 (summer); walkers/cyclists daylight	See official site
Cades Cove Loop Road Historic log cabins, churches and mill	Great Smoky Mountains NP (Townsend)	National Park Service	Free; parking tag required to stop over 15 min ($5 daily)	Sunrise to sunset; closed to vehicles Wednesdays typically May-Sept	11-mile one-way loop; allow 2-4 hours

National Historic Trails (2)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Route of the 1780 Kings Mountain campaign; Overmountain Men mustered at Sycamore Shoals September 25, 1780	Sycamore Shoals (Elizabethton) and route through VA, TN, NC, SC	National Park Service	Free	Year-round	330 miles; 80+ miles walkable; Commemorative Motor Route
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (Tennessee routes) Routes of the 1838-1839 Cherokee removal; Tennessee sites include Red Clay, Cherokee Trail of Tears State Park (Blythe Ferry), Port Royal and David Crockett State Park (Bell’s Route)	Southeast to Middle and West Tennessee	National Park Service with partners	Free (sites vary)	Year-round	Multi-state; nine states

National Heritage Areas and Corridors (1)

Tour or trail	Where	Run by	Price	When	Length
Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area Only national heritage area covering an entire state (designated 1996); focuses on 1860-1875; Heritage Center in Murfreesboro with free exhibits	Statewide	MTSU Center for Historic Preservation (coordinating entity)	Free	Year-round	Whole state

What We Could Not Verify

Some former websites for Tennessee history places and events, including the old Alex Haley Museum, Exchange Place and Secret City Festival sites, now show for-sale or unrelated pages. We link the official state or operator pages instead, or leave the place unlinked.
The Tennessee State Capitol tour page did not show tour days, times or booking rules when we checked on October 20, 2026, so Capitol tours are not listed.

We re-check these when the source pages change. Spot something we missed? Use the corrections page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best historic walking tours in Nashville?

Free choices include the Nashville Sites app tours, among them a Civil Rights Movement driving tour; the self-guided paths at Fort Negley, a Union fort site; and the Pathway of History at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. The Ryman Auditorium self-guided tour costs $25 plus tax. (source: Nashville Sites; Tours (Ryman Auditorium)).

How can I tour Oak Ridge’s Manhattan Project sites?

Book the Department of Energy public bus tour from the American Museum of Science and Energy. It costs $20 ($30 on special dates), lasts about 3.5 hours and is open only to U.S. citizens 10 and older with original photo ID. The 2026 season ends November 20, 2026. (source: DOE Public Bus Tours (American Museum of Science and Energy)).

Which National Historic Trails cross Tennessee?

This page lists 2: the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, which follows the 1838-1839 Cherokee removal through nine states, and the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which follows the 1780 Kings Mountain campaign from the Sycamore Shoals muster ground. (source: Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (NPS); Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (NPS)).

Last checked October 20, 2026 by the It’s Tennessee editors against each operator’s, agency’s or organizer’s own page.

Sources

Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “Historic Tours in Tennessee: Walking Tours, Trails and Ranger Programs”, itstennessee.com/history/historic-tours/ (updated 2026-11-01). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.