Knoxville, Tennessee: Some Free and Cheap Things to Do

I’ve enjoyed six visits to Knoxville, Tennessee within the last year and a half. The city features a surprisingly nice variety of things to do—many free or cheap places to visit—including:

• The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
• Market Square and Krutch Park
• World's Fair Park and the Sunsphere
• The Museum of East Tennessee History
• The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
• McKay's Used Book Store
• James White's Fort
• Blount Mansion
• The Mast General Store
• The Knoxville Museum of Art

Below I discuss the features mentioned above and mention a few of the other things to do in Knoxville.

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture

It is free to visit The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on the University of Tennessee campus. The museum includes a nice selection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, as well as some from Native Americans, early U.S. history, the Civil War, and more recent times. Much of the museum emphasizes East Tennessee history.  

Persons interested in history will likely enjoy devoting a few hours for a self-guided tour of this facility, as I did. The museum also contains a gift shop.

Market Square and Krutch Park

This area in downtown Knoxville includes a park with water features, trees, and art/sculptures. The park also includes some tables, chairs, and benches. Market Square contains a variety of restaurants and shops. It is a nice place to shop, eat, view art/sculptures, and relax.

At certain times on certain days it includes free music for entertainment, and on a couple of Wednesdays in 2017 when I visited, there was a Farmer’s Market. This area seems to offer something for persons from young children to senior citizens.

You can enjoy browsing Market Square free of charge as I did. The photos below show some of the area's features.  

This small waterfall in Krutch park adds nicely to the atmosphere. Photo taken October 11, 2017.

This pond, greenspace, paved pathway, and sculputures are part of Krutch Park. Photo taken October 11, 2017.

This fountain that children can play in is on the edge of Krutch Park near Gay Street. Photo taken October 11, 2017.

This inscription in the pavement in Krutch Park tells about Charles Krutch who made the donation that made the park possible. Photo taken October 11, 2017.

This bell in Market Square has a long history that is discussed in the plaque in the picture. Photo taken July 26, 1017. 

World’s Fair Park and the Sunsphere

World’s Fair Park includes some nice walking trails, an amphitheater that is used for various purposes, and the Sunsphere. You can take an elevator up to the Sunsphere’s observation deck and walk around in a circle for a marvelous 360 degree view of Knoxville.

Visits to the park and  its Sunsphere observation deck are both free of charge. The Sunsphere and amphitheater were originally created for the 1982 World’s Fair that was held in Knoxville. They still remain, in a nice park setting. I loved the great 360 degree view of Knoxville and its surrounding area from the Sunsphere observation deck.

The Sunsphere in World's Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee. Photo taken October 5, 2016

A sign at one of the entrances to World's Fair Park. Photo taken October 5, 2016.

The Museum of East Tennessee History

The Museum of East Tennessee History features a nice variety of artifacts from Native American Indian and colonial days up to near the present about east Tennessee history. The admission charge is only $5.

If you like learning history, you’ll probably enjoy devoting at least a couple of hours for a self-guided visit to this museum. I would love to have spent perhaps double the two hours or so that I was there. The wide variety of exhibits impressed me.

Its exhibits include Native American exhibits, an old wagon used in the days before automobiles, Civil War artifacts, and exhibits related to the TVA and atomic energy. A gift shop is located near the museum entrance.

This fiddle from the 1600s is one of the exhibits at the Museum of East Tennessee History. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

This old time clock possibly from around 1890 is one of the exhibits at the Museum of East Tennessee History. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

This plaque about a Cherokee visit to London is one of the exhibits in the Museum of East Tennessee History. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

This Cadillac from 1902 or 1903 is one of the exhibits at the Museum of East Tennessee History. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is in Knoxville. It contains exhibits relating to the history of the sport from the late 1800s to the present. Outside, it features what is called the largest basketball in the world. The museum includes a gift shop.

This huge basketball outside the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is supposed to be the largest basketball in the world. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

If you are interested in women’s basketball, you will likely enjoy visiting this facility for a couple of hours. Its admission price is $7.95 for adults. The tour begins by watching a video about the history of women’s basketball that a staff member starts. After that, it is a self-guided tour.

The Hall of Fame includes basketball courts on the lower level where you can practice your skills at shooting, dribbling, etc. And tips on proper procedures are posted there to help you practice more effectively. I just shot a few free throws, but persons more interested in developing their skills could practice multiple skills on the courts. During my Wednesday afternoon visit, there were only a few other visitors there.

At one location in the facility, you can sit as if in a locker room and watch part of taped coaches’ locker room talks to their teams from at least four coaches, including Tennessee’s Pat Head-Summitt, Connecticut’s Luigi “Geno” Auriemma, and Georgia's Andy Landers. You use a touch screen to select which talk to listen to. I listened to parts of talks by the three coaches I just mentioned. That was a highlight of the tour for me.

At the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, you can also see a nine-door car that was one of those used by the All American Red Heads women’s professional basketball team in its travels.

This nine-door vehicle is one of those used by the All American Red Heads women's professional basketball team in its travels. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

This photo shows the exterior of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Photo taken May 10, 2017.

I especially enjoyed visiting this facility, because I am a basketball fan. Those not interested in basketball would probably not enjoy it as much. If you just want to see the huge basketball, you can see it free of charge outside the museum.

McKay's Used Book Store
For those of us who love to read and still prefer printed books to ebooks, it's nice to visit a quality used bookstore. McKay's has three locations in Tennessee, but the one in Knoxville was the first. In addition to a large, nicely organized collection of used books, McKay's features a significant amount of music, games, etc. McKay's buys and sells. Furthermore, the bookstore even has a bin outside the store with free books—some of which seemed appealing the day I visited.

James White's Fort
According to the James White's Fort website, this fort in the downtown Knoxville area dates to 1786 when the original log cabin was built, and is where Knoxville was founded. Educational and entertaining self-guided tours are $7 for adults. The fort includes a gift shop.

The fort is located across the street from the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame that I discussed earlier, and it is only a block from Blount Mansion, which I discuss in a later section of this article.

A few pages of typed information is given to those touring that nicely describe the buildings and their contents. I enjoyed devoting about two hours to a leisurely tour of the site. The main house and kitchen are the original structures, as are some of the furnishings. Many other furnishings were added that while not original date to the same time period. The photos below show some of the facilities and contents.

This sign briefly describes the nearby James White's Fort. Photo taken October 11, 2017. 

This photo shows the main house of James White's Fort. The logs are originals according to building curator Robert McGinnis. Photo taken October 11, 2017.  

This is the fireplace and mantel in the main house of James White's Fort. Photo taken October 11, 2017.

This desk belonged to the James White family according to the information on the sheets given out for the self-guided tour. The sheets describe it in more detail.  Photo taken October 11, 2017.   

This clock belonged to the James White family according to the information on the sheets given out for the self-guided tour.  The sheet describe it in more detail. Photo taken October 11, 2017. 

Blount Mansion
Persons interested in learning about Tennessee history of the late 1700s will probably enjoy touring Blount Mansion. The mansion served as the home of the territorial governor (William Blount) and his family, as well as being the capitol of the territory.

Guided tours start each hour on the hour with a charge of $7 for adults. The tour begins with about a ten-minute video.

I arrived there on Wednesday, July 26, 2017, a bit late for the 2 p.m. tour, but since no one else was there, I got to take the 2 p.m. tour instead of waiting for the 3 p.m. one. My tour guide Emily provided me much information about Blount Mansion and the history of the area. She patiently answered my questions. The tour took about an hour including my taking a few minutes afterward to browse exhibits in the visitor center room where the video was shown at the beginning of the tour, as well as browsing the small gift shop.

Most of the current furnishings of Blount Mansion are not the original pieces. My tour guide said the original pieces were probably sold to pay off debts. But the furnishing are items from the same time period. The main part of Blount Mansion dates to the 1790s, with additions added in the early 1800s.

Even children would probably enjoying seeing some of the items from a couple of centuries ago and learning what they were used for. You can learn more about Blount Mansion on its website, BlountMansion.org.

The Mast General Store
As the name indicates, the Mast General Store is a general store. The Knoxville location only opened about a decade ago, but the Mast General Stores' origin dates back to the late 1800s.

If you have not visited a Mast General Store and happen to be in Knoxville, I urge you to consider taking at least a few minutes to browse this store on Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. It  offers a large selection of clothing from underwear to winter coats, but much, much more. It includes food, toys, books, knives, and a wide assortment of unusual things that you don't find in typical stores.

Prices seemed a bit steep to me, so I didn't buy anything. But it was fun to browse. 

This photo shows the entrance to the Mast General Store in Knoxville. 

The Knoxville Museum of Art
This museum features a wide variety of paintings, as well as some sculptures and other art forms. I enjoyed taking about 50 minutes to quickly browse through the three-story museum and its garden outside on Wednesday, October 11th, just before its 5 p.m. closing time. The museum's website notes that it features "the art and artists of East Tennessee."

There is much to see. Probably my favorite piece was a construction made up of spools of sewing thread that represented the Mona Lisa upside down. It was unrecognizable to me at first. But a staff member pointed out a clear globe a few feet from the art piece that when looked through showed a nice depiction of the famous Mona Lisa upright. Standing back at a distance I then could recognize the upside down figure without looking through the globe. That impressed me most.

I am not a huge art museum fan, but I enjoyed taking a short self-guided tour. One room of the museum features hands-on activities for young children.

Visiting the museum is free, though I'm sure they are happy to receive donations. The museum is conveniently located near World's Fair Park.      

More Information and More Places to Visit in Knoxville (and the Area Near It)
Knoxville contains many other places I would love to visit, but haven’t yet. These include:

• The Tennessee Theatre (price varies depending on the event): The theatre's website states that it is the "Official State Theatre of Tennessee." This historic facility apparently features plays, concerts, movies, etc.
• the Girl Scout Museum at Daisy's Place (free): Girl scouts would probably especially love touring this facility.
• Ijams Nature Center (free): The nature center's website indicates this is a beautiful park for hiking, etc.,  just a few miles from downtown Knoxville. I hope to visit it sometime.
• the University of Tennessee Gardens (free): The website of the gardens states that they are "the official botanical gardens of the state of Tennessee," so their collection is probably impressive.
• Zoo Knoxville ($19.95 for adults): I think even kids would enjoy visiting this zoo. Although the $19.95 price is a bit high for my budget, it is probably worth it considering the cost of caring for the animals, etc.     
• Neyland Stadium (the University of Tennessee football stadium): This huge stadium is one of the largest in the United States.  
• and some other things.

More information about free and cheap fun things to do in Knoxville can be found on the VisitKnoxville website.

Knoxville is also less than fifty miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Numerous other attractions are also located near the national park in towns like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville.
 
Free Trolleys and Bus Service

Free trolleys travel around downtown Knoxville and to the University of Tennessee and back. Three routes exist. The blue and green routes travel near many nice downtown sites. The orange route goes to UT. I took some rides on all three routes and was pleased at how frequently that they ran.

Most of the Knoxville tourist sites I mentioned in this article are located near a trolley route. Free maps are available that show the routes. You can also look at the PDF map linked to here. Many of Knoxville's attractions are within walking distance of each other, too.

Knoxville’s regular city buses cover a wider area of the city at a reasonable rate of $1.50 per ride or $4.00 for a single-day pass. I took some rides on them, too.

Final Thoughts
I urge persons who live in Knoxville (or who visit it) to take time to experience many of the nice attractions in the area.

NOTE: This article was last revised on October 15, 2017.