Just 14.4 miles from Downtown Memphis, sits a hidden gem that many Memphians and visitors typically forget about. 
Located right in the heart of Shelby County is 4,500 acres of green space with a 6.5 mile urban trail also known as Shelby Farms. This urban park is over 5x larger then Central Park in NYC (843 acres)! Shelby Farms has a variety of things to do and see from bike trials, disc golf, horseback riding, lasertag/paintball, BMX, buffalo, off-leash dog park, the incredible playground, and not to mention the various events happening throughout the year.
People tend to forget everything that Shelby Farms has to offer. They constantly have different events going on. 
Currently, they are in the process of enhancing the park, adding new amenities, more adventures, while providing a healthier ecology. Primarily this renovations take place around Patriot Lake. They plan to expand Patriot lake from 52 acres to 80 acres, providing a numerous amount of benefits, not only to us humans, but also the plants and animals that call this area home. A new and improved Visitors Center is also in the works that will allow more educational space, cafe, gift sho p, and more. A “farm to table” (the newest trend – Check out some other restaurants in the area that specialize in this concept here) will be added too! Who thought they could add more to make it better.
Now just because, it looks semi chaotic off of Walnut Grove, doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy the park…hello, there’s over 4,000 more acres to enjoy without the construction.
Here are some upcoming events: 
December 19-28 – 6-9PM – Starry Nights (KEY: Get your tickets online first! Here’s the link!
December 20 – 3:30-6PM – Shelby Farms BMX
December 21 (Bi-weekly) – 11:30AM-12:30PM – Play in the Park (Dogs!!)
December 21 (Bi-weekly) – 2:30-3:15PM – Walk in the Park
December 21 – 3-5PM – Ugly Sweater Run
December 27 – 3:30-6PM – Shelby Farms BMX
January 3 – 9AM-12PM (Monthly on 1st Saturdays) – Whistle While You Work
January 3 – Tree Planting Day
For Shelby Farms Event Calendar click here!