What to see between Memphis and Talladega, AL?

April 13, 2025 5:52 PM

We (partner, me, 12 yr old son from Boston) are spending a few days in Memphis and then driving to visit family in Talladega, AL.

I'd like to have a destination or two along the way. I know Tupelo is en route, but we're doing Graceland in Memphis and not sure more Elvis is a draw for my crew.

I've considered going less direct and checking out Muscle Shoals, but can't tell if there's enough there. We like history, food, music and have a super physically active kid. A museum isn't ideal. But a small town to walk around with a few interesting things to see, would work.

One caveat, must be OK to be obviously queer.

I'd gladly take any Memphis recs (we'll be in a Midtown rental) as a bonus.

posted by jdl to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

Huntsville isn't too far out of the way - there is a big spaceflight museum there that might be fun for a kid.
posted by kickingtheground at 6:04 PM on April 13 [5 favorites]

stax: soulsville usa
posted by HearHere at 7:03 PM on April 13 [3 favorites]

Shiloh National Battlefield in on the way, and pretty cool, if you are into that kind of thing.
posted by Windopaene at 7:03 PM on April 13 [2 favorites]

Is on the way.

And I am totally into that kind of thing, and it does a wonderful job of showing the ebb and flow of the battle. Which was pretty crazy.
posted by Windopaene at 7:10 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Stax museum, although that's in Memphis, not on the way. I found it interesting even though I was not very familiar with the music.
posted by madcaptenor at 6:07 AM on April 14 [1 favorite]

If you eat meat, I'd do a food tour in Memphis because you can squeeze in lots of great local food relatively quickly. Memphis is an amazing food town: ribs, pulled pork, smoked wings, its own gumbo variation, deep-fried burgers, etc.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:23 AM on April 14 [1 favorite]

This is so close to Talladega that you might be just ready to go ahead and get there but Barber Motorsports Park and Musuem is really neat. It has a huge collection of motorcycles and is a race track too so you can often see people racing around while you're there.
posted by dawkins_7 at 1:20 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

I have too many Memphis reccs to type here, but please let me know if you’re looking for anything specific and I can point you in the right direction! The food here is incredible, it would be hard to even give you a list bc there’s just too much good stuff to eat. I second Stax and also highly recommend the Natl Civil rights Museum. We also have some of the best Vietnamese food, which many ppl doing know. Tuyen’s and Sen Trang are my favorites.

I’m happy to share my number via DM in case you want someone to text while you’re here to be like “where can we find the best fill-in-the-blank?” or “We want to do something with X vibe.” Memphis is kind of a hole-in-the-wall city, meaning the best stuff is off the beaten path of what you’ll find online (although the online stuff has gotten better in recent years).

It looks like Oxford, MS may be a tad bit out of your way but it’s a cute town with lots of history (home of William Faulkner), culture, and great food!
posted by a.steele at 5:46 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

Both my thoughts have been mentioned, so I'll just second them: Barber Motorsports Park and Museum IS really neat (and at least a long time ago had a pretty good AAA discount on admission); and Oxford, MS is likely your best bet as a place to stop that is both a pretty small town (the hub of town you're looking for is called the Square; University of Mississippi also has a very pretty campus and a nice green space called the Grove) and will feel safe to be visibly queer in. Looks like it would add about a half hour to your drive to drop down Hwy 7 in Holly Springs, then leaving Oxford pick up Hwy 6 (US 278) to cut back over to I-22. You could shave a few more minutes by taking I-55 south all the way to Batesville and then taking 6 over to Oxford and beyond back to I-22, but I think the Hwy 7 drive is prettier. Or I guess I should say I thought it was 25 years ago when Memphis to Oxford was a route I drove often enough to have an opinion.
posted by solotoro at 8:18 AM on April 15 [1 favorite]

Oh, I forgot to mention: Memphis has one of the best zoos in the country! Definitely worth checking out if it's not already on your list, especially for active kiddos.
posted by a.steele at 8:34 AM on April 15 [1 favorite]

Ooh good one!

The Memphis Zoo is indeed amazingly good. I think it's generally considered top three in the entire US. And anyway, its entire vibe is realistic habitats that animals can live semi-naturally in that are still readily observable for visitors.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:48 PM on April 15 [2 favorites]

If you do stop in Oxford, go to Square Books.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:08 PM on April 16