Lucius Burch SNA is located in Shelby Farms along the Wolf River and is most easily accessed from Walnut Grove Road near the bridge over the river. Unpaved hiking and biking trails afford good river views, and  gullies and exotic invasive plants, such as privet, illustrate some of the effects of channelization and urbanization. The Shelby Farms Park Visitor Center at Patriot Lake off Farm Rd. can provide more detailed information.  For more information or a map, visit the Tennessee State Natural Areas website.

The Germantown Greenway is a 2-mile paved trail in the Wolf River Nature Area, which can be accessed from Humphreys Blvd. between Kirby and Riverdale,  between Riverdale and Germantown Pkwy., or from Germantown Pkwy. at Chik-Fil-A or the Wal-Mart parking lot. The trail includes interpretive signs, benches, butterfly gardens, and wetlands. Thanks to the efforts of WRC and community leaders, the Wolf River Greenway will one day extend 15 miles west to the Mississippi River and 15 miles east to Collierville-Arlington Rd.  For more information or a map, visit the Germantown Parks website.

The trailhead for this unpaved, 2-mile trail with river views is located on Wolf River Blvd. just east of Germantown Pkwy. Look for the kiosk next to a gravel parking lot. For more information or a map, visit the Tennessee State Natural Areas website.

Peterson Lake Nature Center encompasses a 0.7 mile long boardwalk from Peterson Lake, a natural oxbow,  through forest and wetlands to the banks of the Wolf River. At the end of the boardwalk, you can see part of the Wolf River restoration project, i.e., one of the  rip-rap weirs created by the U.S. Corps of Engineers to stop the degradation of the river caused by channelization. Deer and other wildlife are frequently seen along the boardwalk, and there are abundant cypress, tupelo, and other trees. To get to Johnson Park, follow Bill Morris Pkwy. (385) to Byhalia Rd., go left or north, and stay on Byhalia Rd. which will dead-end at Johnson Park.  Keep driving past the play areas and the lake. The road makes a small loop and becomes a parking lot.  Look for the Peterson Lake Nature Center sign and the beginning of the boardwalk.  For more information, visit the Collierville Parks website.  For a map to Johnson Park, click here.

Collierville’s newest park contains over 2,000 acres of woods and wetlands along both sides of the Wolf River. The 5-mile crushed limestone trail is open 7 days a week from dawn to dusk and can be accessed at the Collierville-Arlington Rd. bridge where there is a gravel parking lot on the north side of the river. The park can be accessed at its western end from Bethany Rd. Eventually, the trail will extend for 8 miles to Houston-Levee Rd. The farm fields north of the woods are now open for hiking and biking. The map below shows a trail on the farm roads. There are two parking areas off Collierville-Arlington Rd.,one on the north side of the bridge, and one farther north at the main trailhead. On the map, TR-1,2,4,5,6 all represent the tributary weirs. There is no hunting and no ATV (four-wheeler) use allowed.  Day-use only. The County sheriff’s deputies have begun checking the parking areas after dark.   

Take Hwy 57 east 6 miles past Collierville and turn left or north on Route 194 in Rossville.  The entrance to the Clark Preserve is .25 miles north of the Wolf River Café and Rossville Square. Go over the bridge and turn into the parking lot on your right. A short unpaved trail along the Wolf River leads from the parking lot to a boardwalk through a first-class wetland with tupelo and cypress trees. The Clark Preserve is owned by The Nature Conservancy.  For more information or a map, visit the Tennessee State Natural Areas website.

This boat ramp at Bateman Bridge offers access to the Wolf River. There is no trail, but wading is possible here because the bottom of the river is sandy and the river is usually fairly shallow. Shoes are recommended. Take Hwy 57 east through Moscow and take a right onto Bateman Rd., just over the top of a hill. Follow the road downhill and turn left into the parking lot before the bridge. 

                                                                                                                         Moscow, TN, and Bateman Bridge Map (pdf)

Take Hwy 57 east to LaGrange. Turn right or south onto Main St. at the General Store. This road becomes Yager Rd. Drive 1.5 miles, passing the boat ramp and crossing the bridge over the  Wolf River, and turn right onto Beasley Rd.  Drive 1.3 miles to the trailhead on your right.  Look for a gravel parking lot on your left. The 0.5 mile Mineral Slough trail and boardwalk traverses a fine stretch of bottomland hardwood swamp characteristic of the Wolf River floodplain. The Ghost River is a section of the Wolf River in which the river seems to disappear, widening into a broad, vegetation-filled swamp. It is a popular destination for paddlers and has been named one of the best wetland canoe trails in the country.  For more information or a map, visit the Tennessee State Natural Areas website.

This is a beautiful hike to the source of the Wolf River, a large spring-fed pond about .25 miles from the trailhead, in the hills of Benton County, Mississippi. Exit Bill Morris Pkwy. (Hwy 385) at Hwy 72 and turn right or south. Go 37 miles on Hwy 72 to Tower Rd. in Benton Co., MS. That’s 15 miles past the junction of 72 with MS Hwy 7 (TN Hwy 18), and less than a mile west of the Benton-Tippah county line. Turn right or south on Tower Rd. and bear right where it forks at the fire tower. Look for the Baker’s Pond trailhead parking area. You can continue past the Baker’s Pond outlet on a trail to an old cemetery.

                                                                                                                                        Baker's Pond Map (pdf)