Why this park
Our Meeman-Shelby Forest tee looks out from the Chickasaw Bluffs over cypress swamp to the Mississippi River at golden hour, drawn like an old park poster. It gathers the bluff, the swamp and the river into one picture of the place, not the view from any one spot in the park.
The park's cabins and campground sit up on the Third Chickasaw Bluff, which stands more than 100 feet above the river's floodplain. Below it, bottomland forest of oak, cypress and tupelo covers about two-thirds of the park, and bald cypress fill its sloughs. The river is out past all of that. Its channel runs two or three miles from the foot of the bluff, along the park's western edge, and the park's boat ramp is where you meet it.
The story
The park began as an editor's idea. Edward J. Meeman ran the Memphis Press-Scimitar from 1931 to 1962 and used its editorials to argue for conservation. A trip to Germany in the early 1930s to study forestry left him sure that West Tennessee's eroded land could be won back as forest. He and James O. Hazard, the state forester, picked out land on the Third Chickasaw Bluff, about a dozen miles north of downtown Memphis.
Farmers had settled the area in the 1800s. The National Park Service took up the idea in 1933, paying Shelby County to develop the site as a recreational demonstration area and sending Civilian Conservation Corps crews to start the work. The Department of Agriculture judged the land submarginal, too poor to farm at a profit, and the Resettlement Administration began buying it. Clearing began in 1935 under the Park Service's direction. The CCC men dammed a lake, cut trails, put up a group camp and planted trees. Works Progress Administration crews built cabins and an administration building. World War II stopped the work before a planned lake, pool and horse barn were built, and in 1944 the state took charge of the park.
The trees came back. As early as 1962, officials were praising how well the hardwoods had regrown, and Mack Prichard, the state naturalist, held the park up as one of the best examples of a hardwood forest returning. Meeman died in 1966. The next year, at the suggestion of the Tennessee Ornithological Society's Memphis chapter, Shelby Forest became Meeman-Shelby Forest.
Today the park is more than 90 percent forest. About 11,000 acres of it were made a state natural area in 2002, among the largest unbroken tracts of mature bottomland and bluff forest left in Tennessee. More than half the park doubles as a wildlife management area, which the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency manages.
When to go, and what to wear
Spring and fall are the easy seasons. April averages a high near 72°F and a low near 51°F, and October runs a little warmer. Both seasons bring migrating songbirds through the forest. March, April and May are the wettest months, each with close to six inches of rain, so pack a rain shell. The bottomlands flood often, and the gate on the road to Eagle Lake is closed in high water.
Summer is hot, with July highs averaging 91°F and nights near 73°F. It is nesting season: Mississippi kites overhead, cerulean, Swainson's and hooded warblers in the woods, and anhingas, great egrets and yellow-crowned night-herons near the water. For ticks and mosquitoes, the state health department advises long sleeves, long pants and light colors, so a light long-sleeve tee earns its place in July.
Winter is cool, with January highs near 49°F and lows near 31°F. Look for waterfowl on Poplar Tree Lake, and at the river's boat ramp, watch for gulls, ducks and geese passing overhead. Bald eagles, owls and wild turkeys are here all year. Dress in layers: a tee, a sweatshirt and a windproof jacket.
The bluff tops out around 350 feet above sea level, so this is Memphis weather. Small streams have cut the soft loess of the bluff into narrow ravines, and trails there climb and drop, so wear shoes with good grip.
Know before you go
- The park's address is 910 Riddick Road in Millington. Stop at the visitor center for a map, because cell service in the park is very limited.
- The Mississippi is not for swimming. Officials warn that its strong currents, eddies and submerged debris can pull even a strong swimmer under.
- More than half the park is a wildlife management area, and deer, turkey, small-game and waterfowl hunts run on set days from fall into winter. Check TWRA's dates before a walk in the woods in hunting season.
- The park rents six two-bedroom cabins, and jon boats and kayaks can be rented on Poplar Tree Lake in season. Erosion has closed One Way Road, past the campground; stay off it.
- Hours, fees and program dates change. Check Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park" and "Edward John Meeman"; Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Meeman-Shelby Forest State Natural Area and Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Strategic Management Plan 2023–2033; University of Memphis, Edward J. Meeman Biological Station Conceptual Master Plan (2018); The Living New Deal; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Meeman-Shelby Forest WMA and State Park; Lower Mississippi River Foundation, Rivergator; Islands magazine; Memphis Tourism; Associated Press (2025); NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; Tennessee Department of Health (2026).
