St. Louis to Memphis Area

Aloha All,

I will be driving from St. Louis to Memphis, TN and have the full day to do so and no desire to hurry on the straight route. Any routes, side roads, places to stop, view must-sees, small towns for small visits that you would suggest? Since I will be staying the week in Memphis, and ideas within an afternoon's reach from there I would probably save for that time. So places closer West, East, SW, and SE to St. Louis would likely be the best to take advantage of on this day trip.

I will also have two or three opportunities to take a day trip out of Memphis. I am interested in final destination points of interest, and/or scenic or interesting routes to take, and/or activities to participate in.

I'm an active outdoors person, love to hike, picnic, enjoy sports, and taking in our nations' natural beauty with my camera. I also enjoy visiting historical places and museums.

Any suggestions in Memphis itself would be great appreciated too.

TIA,
rené

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Originally Posted by ReneHawaiiOregon

I will be driving from St. Louis to Memphis, TN and have the full day to do so and no desire to hurry

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Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! You have homes in both Hawaii and Oregon -- that must be nice!

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So places closer West, East, SW, and SE to St. Louis would likely be the best to take advantage of on this day trip.

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I hope you are going to the Arch! Downtown St. Louis is pretty fun too and the farmers market in Soulard is fun to stroll around in. And, of course, no visit to St. Louis would be complete without a savory "Concrete"! What I would recommend is to pick up SR-3 (which is more or less the River Road) and follow it all the way to KY and then just keep following the River Road. Lots of fun town and historical locations as you make your way south.

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I will also have two or three opportunities to take a day trip out of Memphis. I am interested in final destination points of interest, and/or scenic or interesting routes to take, and/or activities to participate in.

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It is about 190 miles from Memphis to Hot Springs NP in Arkansas. I would suggest you go hiking in the hills and then take "the treatment" the NPS bath house. You haven't really bathed until you have had a professional bather do it for and to you! "I've been bathin' for seventeen years," said Amelia as she scrubbed Megan's back. "And my mother was a bather, too." Yes, bathing can be a career if you live in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Besides, Arkansas is a gorgeous place to hike and explore -- just watch for those nasty little chiggers!

Happy Planning!

Mark

My wife was born and raised in St. Louis, so once when we were visiting, I had a day to kill while she went shopping and luncheoning with her old girlfriends. Two places I can recommend along the river as you work your way down to Memphis are Mastodon State Historic Site just south of St. Louis and right off I-55 and the town of Ste. Genevieve a little farther south. Both were eminently tranquil and interesting places (for different reasons, of course), but I think you'd find them worth the stop.

AZBuck

Thank you Mark and AZBuck for your ideas.

I am interested in taking the river road SR-3 down. But I'm confused as to where it's path is after Cairo. Does it not go all the way to Memphis? Is it called something else, or change names after 61? Is there a way to look it up on Mapquest? Any links you can provide would be greatly appreciated. The greatriverroad.com seems to only cover the byway area or I'm just not understanding what this road entails.

rené

Yes, I have the best of both words living in the PNW and the Islands; endless roads and destinations to explore - circular roads to revisit and feel very connected to. Warm sun and tradewinds for year-round enjoyment of favorite activities - seasonal changes for a more vast array of outdoor actiities to anticipate annually. 360 directions to explore on the road - virtually 365 of sunshine on the beach. It's all great! I'm looking forward to contributing to this forum.

The Great River Road is actually a number of different roads, so you'll have to do some research and navigating to make it work best for you. And SR-3, being an Illinois state highway, comes to an end at the southern tip of the state, in Cairo. If you're using MapQuest, try just getting a map of Cairo, IL and then using the zoom and pan functions to see which roads go where. You'll have to zoom in to find the smaller back roads, and zoom out to get a synoptic view of where they're going.

AZBuck

Thank you for the further info, links and explanations WRT the Great River Road. I'm getting what it is now. I did some more searching based on that and came up with this link...

http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2279/travel.html

I wish they had more suggested itineraries to offer, but the map and it's links are a great place to start to do one's homework from for a personally planned one. Thank you so much for your suggestion to venture on this route. I'm really looking forward to what I find along it.

mahalo
rené

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Originally Posted by ReneHawaiiOregon

Thank you for the further info, links and explanations WRT the Great River Road. I'm getting what it is now.

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René, That link is pretty good, with some pretty maps. But several of the regulars on this board have traveled along parts of hte GRR and I can tell you that you need to "chill" when following this route. I have never met anyone who didn't get lost as least once or twice while driving on this "road" -- It is well worth it and you will discover some cool stuff -- but it is an... interesting challenge.

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I'm really looking forward to what I find along it

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And we are looking forward to what you find and SHARE with us upon your return!

Mark