Fairfield Glade

[cds62]

We will be staying at Fairfield Glade in Tennessee in June and where wondering what type of activities there are in the area or within a two hour drive (or slightly longer)? Our group includes two children ages 12 and 10. Are there stores such as supermarkets and outlet type malls in the area? Is Memphis too far of a drive in order to visit Graceland?
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[eschjw]

Memphis is over 4 hours away. It is about 2 hours to Nashville, but your best outlet shopping is even closer in the Pigeon Forge/Smokey Mountain area. The scenery is much better and there is Dollywood and a water park for the kids, but it can be crowded that time of year. Be sure to go early AM and mid week.
Also, Chattanooga is a great place to visit and is only 1:30 down Hwy 127. This is a beautiful drive down a rift valley to Dunlap. Take Hwy 111 over Flat Top mountain (stop at the overlook and maybe see some hang gliding) and Hwy 27 to downtown. Head to the waterfront. There are free electric buses to take you around town.
At the Glade there are several pools, horseback riding, playgrounds, crafts, tennis and golf. The Village Market is in the Glade but you have to go into Crossville to find a supermarket. There is also good hiking in the area north of the Glade. :whoopie: enjoy!

 

[EAM]

Fairfield describes the activities available at their resorts on their website. Usually there is a description of the activities for the next month or so.
Go to www.fairfieldresort.com
click on "search resorts"
Scroll down to the pull down list for "all resorts" and select Fairfield Glade and click on "go"
Click on "resort activities"

 

[Pit]

Memphis is too far. If your looking for outdoor activities, you could visit Fall Creek Falls State Park (boasts the highest waterfall east of the Rockies). Your kids might enjoy Cumberland Caverns or a trip to the local theater. If you like flea markets, there's a big one in Crossville. More info ...

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/FallCreekFalls/
http://www.cumberlandcaverns.com/
http://www.ccplayhouse.com/
http://www.crossvillefleamarket.net/CFM-Pages.htm

 

[teachingmyown]

Memphis is more than a five hour drive from Fairfield Glade (that's according to Mapquest...personally, I'd plan on it being closer to 6) so your better plan, imo, is to plan to take advantage of more local attractions as recommended in previous posts. If you don't mind a bit of driving and especially if you like historical stuff, there will be plenty to keep you busy within a 2 hours or less radius of the resort.

There are state parks, caves, mountains, science museums, theatre groups, historical parks, riding stables, bicycle trails, national quality aquariums, and more a whole lot closer than Memphis to keep you busy. You may want to consider some of the Chattanooga attractions, & some in Knoxville, maybe even Nashville, etc. if you want a couple of day trips.

 

[hvsteve1]

This is a little off-topic but, I've recently been "encouraged" to take early retirement due to my company closing my location. I live about 60 miles north of NYC and we are seriously thinking of Fairfield Glade. We plan to visit the TS to check the place out, but, what would you "locals" say life is like there? Thanks for any input.

 

[pedro47]

We visited this resort several years ago one word "awesome."

You name it and this resort has it. Plus it is a great retirement community.

 

[sfwilshire]

what would you "locals" say life is like there?

I live about an hour east of there and have considered moving that way myself. It's getting too busy here and is still a lot more peaceful there. I'm told there are still some bargains in property down there, though the Fairfield Glade area itself is quite expensive (compared to the rest of the area).

If you don't mind being about 45 minutes from a decent size town, then you'd probably like it there. There are mountains and all the other nature stuff within easy reach. Nashville isn't much more than an hour away. Crossville (the closest town) is small, but has the basics.

If you'd rather be a bit closer to city life, you might check out the Tellico Lake / Village area, which is just south of Knoxville. That is the biggest growth area for retirement communities.

I was just reading in the newspaper a few days ago about all of the Rarity * retirement communities that are going up in the next few years. One was north of Knoxville near Jellico, which wouldn't be an obvious place to me. There were others. You might try search to see if they have a website.

Also, if you want to go a bit further south, the mountains around the the corner of Georgia/North Carolina/Tennessee have tons of retirees moving in. I don't know too much about the area except that it's beautiful, but I would guess costs are pretty low.

Sheila

 

[umbluegray]

We will be staying at Fairfield Glade in Tennessee in June and where wondering what type of activities there are in the area or within a two hour drive (or slightly longer)? Our group includes two children ages 12 and 10. Are there stores such as supermarkets and outlet type malls in the area? Is Memphis too far of a drive in order to visit Graceland?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Unfortunately, Memphis is too far for a day trip. However, we would love for your family to visit the Bluff City sometime.

Although there are no resorts in Memphis, Tunica, MS is close by. Tunica is actually part of the Memphis metro area.

Memphis has many wonderful things to see and do.

The Memphis Zoo is one of only four in the US that has a panda exhibit. The zoo recently opened its $23M Northwest Passage exhibit on March 1.

As the Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock-n-Roll, you can imagine there are many music-related things to do. You can visit the most famous recording studio in the world, Sun Studio.

Planners from all over the US have come to Memphis to learn about our downtown revitalization. Downtown Memphis is the place to be. You can catch a ride on the trolley, attend a Redbirds game, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, at AutoZone Park, watch the Grizzlies or Tiger basketball at FedExForum on Beale St, see the Parade of Ducks at the famous Peabody Hotel, visit the shops & restaurants of Peabody Place, tour museums such as:

• The National Civil Rights Museum
• Dixon Gallery and Gardens
• Brooks Museum of Art
• The Peabody Place Museum
• Memphis Rock-n-Soul Museum
• The Pink Palace Museum
• The Fire Museum of Memphis
• The Children's Museum of Memphis
• Chucalissa Indian Museum

See performances of Ballet Memphis, Opera Memphis, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at the world-class Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, the Iris Chamber Orchestra at the Germantown Performing Arts Center or take in Broadway shows at The Orpheum, the South's Grandest Theatre.

You may or may not know, but the owner of the TV show American Idol, Robert F.X. Sillerman, bought Graceland. He has plans to completey redesign the area surrounding Elvis' estate.

While there are suprisingly several world-class restaurants in Memphis feature cuisine from around the globe, Memphis is known the world over for its barbeque (AKA Bar-B-Q). Ask 100 Memphians where the best barbecue is and you're likely to get 100 different answers. You almost can't go wrong regardless of where you choose to dine.

Memphis and the Midsouth has been called the Buckle of the Bible Belt. Need a church to visit? You're sure to find a place to worship that fits your beliefs.

I could go on and on and on (it may seem like that's what I've been doing). Suffice it to say, there's plenty to see and do in Memphis!

If you ever decide to vacation in our corner of the world, feel free to contact me if you want any info or if you have any questions.

Oh, and enjoy your vacation to the Great State of Tennessee!