Shelby Farms Dog Park - Memphis

The city of Memphis, Tennessee is one of those cities that everyone knows about, but relatively few people have been to. It's a small city of less than one million, but it casts a long shadow, as an old southern expression says. Memphis was the home of Elvis Presley, and the birthplace, or one of the birthplaces, of the blues. The city was also a conflict zone in the Civil Rights battle of the mid-1960s. It was the place where Martin Luther King was assassinated, after all.

There's a lot to see and do in Memphis, both educational and ridiculous. You can go to the National Civil Rights Museum, you can visit Graceland and see several stores worth of Elvis-themed kitsch. You can go to Mud Island and learn about the history of the Mississippi River, you can get a good stiff drink and some of the best barbecue in the world on Beale street, and you can get a hotel room at a giant pyramid that is now the home of a large sporting goods store. So there's a lot to do in Memphis.

If you go to Memphis with your dog, you have to visit Shelby Farms Dog Park, which they call The Outback, which is 100 acres of doggie entertainment. There are miles and miles of trails, some paved, some left primitive, across a rolling landscape that includes grassland and forests. There are four small lakes for your dog to swim in and plenty of water fountains for you and your dog. There are benches throughout the park, both covered and open. 

In the middle of the park, at Hyde Lake, you will find a dog-friendly kitchenette, where you can pick up a drink or a snack, for you and for your dog. There are loungers and a boat launch area, even swinging benches. The enormous off-leash space is only partially fenced. The area welcomes hikers, joggers, cyclists, and horses. Before you go, you need to have a strong grasp of your dog's temperament when it comes to unusual stimuli.