We will spend the final day of our trip hiking the banks of the Wolf River. The headwaters of the Wolf River are approximately 100 miles east of Memphis at Holly Springs National Forest (Mississippi). The river winds its way north into Tennessee then west until it empties into the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis just north of the Pyramid. There are many established trails along the river. The blue squares on the map below mark public access points to the river. Many of the trails along the river are maintained by the Wolf River Conservancy, a local environmental group whose goal is to establish and protect public greenway along the entire length of the river.
Memphis Map
The Wolf River is a valuable resource for Memphis and the surrounding counties. It provides the area with areas of wildlife habitat, flood control, wetlands, aquifer recharge areas and places for recreational activities. Larry Smith, executive director of the Wolf River Conservancy will be our guide for this trip. As a part of the mission of the Wolf River Conservancy, programs of educational significance are available to any group either in the classroom or in the field.
In the morning of our trip, we will spend about an hour in the hotel meeting room viewing a slide show presented by Larry Smith. This slide show will give us an overview of the river and its significance to the citizens of west Tennessee. We will then travel by vans to several different river access points. We will hike one trail and we will get out and view several other significant points along the river. During our tour, we will be visiting areas within Shelby County (Memphis and surrounding areas), but will not see the most rural sections of the river.
Our first stop along the river will be at its mouth at the north end of Mud Island; here it empties into the Mississippi River. We will stand overlooking the Mississippi River and walk along the greenway trail which runs from the Wolf River mouth downstream towards Mud Island Park. Here we will review information discussed in our Mud Island tour. We will talk about the Mississippi River and its tributaries and how the use of these rivers can affect the Gulf of Mexico and the so called Dead Zone. We will spend about an hour at this site.
We will then drive east along I-240. The interstate has several river overlooks where you can see the river winding its way through the middle of the city. We will stop at some of these overlooks, as time permits. We will exit the interstate at Walnut Grove Road and travel east until we reach Germantown Road. We will turn right or south on Germantown Road and travel about 2 miles until we see Chick-fil-a on the left. We will stop for lunch here and begin the second half of the day by walking behind Chick-fil-a to the Wolf River Nature Trail (East Trailhead--right side of map).
In the morning of our trip, we will spend about an hour in the hotel meeting room viewing a slide show presented by Larry Smith. This slide show will give us an overview of the river and its significance to the citizens of west Tennessee. We will then travel by vans to several different river access points. We will hike one trail and we will get out and view several other significant points along the river. During our tour, we will be visiting areas within Shelby County (Memphis and surrounding areas), but will not see the most rural sections of the river.
Our first stop along the river will be at its mouth at the north end of Mud Island; here it empties into the Mississippi River. We will stand overlooking the Mississippi River and walk along the greenway trail which runs from the Wolf River mouth downstream towards Mud Island Park. Here we will review information discussed in our Mud Island tour. We will talk about the Mississippi River and its tributaries and how the use of these rivers can affect the Gulf of Mexico and the so called Dead Zone. We will spend about an hour at this site.
We will then drive east along I-240. The interstate has several river overlooks where you can see the river winding its way through the middle of the city. We will stop at some of these overlooks, as time permits. We will exit the interstate at Walnut Grove Road and travel east until we reach Germantown Road. We will turn right or south on Germantown Road and travel about 2 miles until we see Chick-fil-a on the left. We will stop for lunch here and begin the second half of the day by walking behind Chick-fil-a to the Wolf River Nature Trail (East Trailhead--right side of map).