Nashville Scavenger Hunt

48 free finds from Capitol Hill to the Cumberland River and a full-size Parthenon.

Nashville Scavenger Hunt

TeamMeet at (place and time)

  1. Stay with your team on public lawns, plazas, sidewalks and paths.
  2. Keep back from the river and the lake, and cross streets only at marked crossings.
  3. Buy nothing, take nothing and climb nothing.
  4. Photograph nobody outside your team without asking.
  1. The view down the hill to the mallStand on the north side of the capitol and write one thing you can see at the far end.
  2. A pile of broken old columns kept on purposeThe Charles Warterfield Reliquary holds limestone pieces taken off the capitol in the 1950s restoration, near the north end of the grounds. Count the pieces.
  3. A president's tomb on the capitol lawnJames K. Polk, the 11th president, and Sarah Childress Polk are buried on the northeast grounds. Write the year on the tomb.
  4. A statehouse with no domeThe Tennessee State Capitol is one of 11 state capitols without a dome. Write what sits on its roof instead.
  5. A word carved over a capitol doorWrite it down.
  6. A round tower like a lantern on the capitol roofThe cupola copies an ancient monument in Athens. Count the columns around it.
  7. A magnolia with big glossy leavesMagnolia, cedar, maple and hickory all grow on the grounds. Tick the magnolia, then name one of the others.
  8. A fountain at each end of the east gardenThe terraced east garden has a round fountain at either end of its plaza. Write whether both are running.
  9. Eight stone columns across one capitol porchThe north and south porches have eight Ionic columns each; the east and west have six. Say which porch you counted.
  10. A tulip poplar, Tennessee's state treeSeveral grow on the capitol grounds. Sketch one leaf; it is shaped like a tulip.

Next step On a campus? The college huntTurn it into a photo hunt

How it works

A statehouse with no dome, a map of Tennessee underfoot and a full-size Parthenon: this Nashville scavenger hunt holds 48 finds in four areas, each free to see.

Read the full guide

Start on Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill opens first. Walk down its north steps to The Bicentennial Mall, then south to Downtown and the river. Parthenon and Vanderbilt sit two miles west. Choose an area in the menu, then press Print this list.

Proof on paper

Most finds ask for a name, a count or a year, so teams prove a find by writing it. The note under each is the judging rule.

Tips
  • The mall's carillon plays on the hour and the Answer Bell on Capitol Hill rings back. Be between them at the top of an hour.

Questions and answers

Can you do a free scavenger hunt in Nashville?

Yes. Every find here is seen from lawns, plazas, sidewalks and park paths. Museums and music halls are ticked from outside, and nothing needs a ticket or a purchase.

Is this hunt good for kids?

Yes, with an adult in every team. The Bicentennial Mall suits them best: a map to stand on, a floating stone globe and fountains to splash in. Keep back from the riverbank and the lake edge.

Does it go to Broadway?

No. Lower Broadway is lined with bars, so this list stays on Capitol Hill, the mall, the riverfront and the park, where a family group can walk all day.

More tools

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All 48 finds

Capitol Hill 12

  • A fountain at each end of the east garden The terraced east garden has a round fountain at either end of its plaza. Write whether both are running.
  • A limestone wall built in the 1800s The capitol went up between 1845 and 1859 from limestone quarried nearby, built by artisans, convicts and enslaved workers. Describe how the wall feels.
  • A magnolia with big glossy leaves Magnolia, cedar, maple and hickory all grow on the grounds. Tick the magnolia, then name one of the others.
  • A pile of broken old columns kept on purpose The Charles Warterfield Reliquary holds limestone pieces taken off the capitol in the 1950s restoration, near the north end of the grounds. Count the pieces.
  • A president's tomb on the capitol lawn James K. Polk, the 11th president, and Sarah Childress Polk are buried on the northeast grounds. Write the year on the tomb.
  • A round tower like a lantern on the capitol roof The cupola copies an ancient monument in Athens. Count the columns around it.
  • A statehouse with no dome The Tennessee State Capitol is one of 11 state capitols without a dome. Write what sits on its roof instead.
Show all 48 finds (41 more)

Capitol Hill, continued

  • A steel tower that holds one bell The Answer Bell, near the capitol's northwest corner, rings back each hour after the carillon below. Be there on the hour and listen.
  • A tulip poplar, Tennessee's state tree Several grow on the capitol grounds. Sketch one leaf; it is shaped like a tulip.
  • A word carved over a capitol door Write it down.
  • Eight stone columns across one capitol porch The north and south porches have eight Ionic columns each; the east and west have six. Say which porch you counted.
  • The view down the hill to the mall Stand on the north side of the capitol and write one thing you can see at the far end.

The Bicentennial Mall 12

  • A curved wall of sayings about rivers The Rivers of Tennessee Wall stands behind the fountains. Copy one river's name from it.
  • A granite map of Tennessee you can walk on The Tennessee Map Plaza is 200 feet long, with the rivers polished to shine. Stand on one city and write its name.
  • A granite pillar for each decade Pylons along the west walkway mark every decade from 1766 to 1996. Find the one for the decade a grandparent was born.
  • A marker for mile zero The Zero Milestone sits just south of the map. Write what is on it.
  • A path lined with names of Tennessee musicians It circles the Court of Three Stars, with room left for names to come. Write the first name you read.
  • A round plaza shaped like the three stars on the state flag The Court of Three Stars is paved in red, white and blue granite. Stand in the middle of one star.
  • A steel railroad bridge crossing the park The 300-foot trestle still carries a working rail line. Stay off the tracks; write whether a train crossed while you watched.
  • A stone globe that floats on water The World War II memorial's globe weighs 18,000 pounds and turns on a film of water. Push it gently; write the country on top.
  • Fountains that each stand for a river The Rivers of Tennessee Fountains are 31 jets, one per major river. Count the ones running. In warm weather children splash here; an adult watches.
  • Four granite stools, two black and two white They remember the Nashville sit-ins of the civil rights movement. Tick them quietly, then say why the colors matter.
  • Tall columns that hold 95 bells The carillon has one bell for each of Tennessee's 95 counties, set in 50 columns. It plays each hour; write what time you heard it.
  • Two lantern-shaped towers beside an outdoor stage They flank the stage of the sunken Tennessee Amphitheater. Count the windows on one.

Downtown and the river 12

  • A 1910 hotel tied to women winning the vote The Hermitage Hotel on 6th Avenue is a National Historic Landmark for its part in the final victory of the 19th Amendment. Tick it from outside.
  • A brick tabernacle turned music hall Ryman Auditorium was built as a gospel tabernacle and later housed a famous country radio show from 1943 to 1974. Tick it from the sidewalk.
  • A concert hall dressed like a Greek temple The Schermerhorn Symphony Center opened in 2006. Count the columns across its front.
  • A diamond-shaped radio tower on a museum roof It copies a real radio tower built south of Nashville in 1932. Sketch its shape.
  • A long walking bridge over the Cumberland River The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge spans 3,150 feet, one of the longest walking bridges in the world. Walk to the middle.
  • A roof that sweeps up like an old car's tail fin The Hall of Fame's arch was drawn to suggest the tail fin of a 1959 car. Point to the tip.
  • A stone train station with a tower Union Station opened in 1900 in the Romanesque Revival style. Write what is on the tower's face.
  • A towboat pushing barges on the Cumberland Count the barges it pushes.
  • An old post office that is now an art gallery The Frist Art Museum fills the city's historic post office building. Tick it from the sidewalk.
  • The Cumberland River from the riverfront It runs 688 miles to the Ohio River. Keep back from the edge; write which way the water moves.
  • Front windows shaped like piano keys They face the street on the Country Music Hall of Fame. Count the dark keys.
  • The tallest building in Tennessee A 33-story tower finished in 1994, 617 feet tall. Count the spires on its top.

Parthenon and Vanderbilt 12

  • A bandshell left from the 1897 exposition It, the lake, the sunken gardens and the Parthenon were what remained when the park opened in 1903. Write if anything is on its stage.
  • A campus that is also a tree museum Vanderbilt's campus is a national arboretum with about 190 kinds of trees and shrubs. Find a tree with a name tag and copy it, or sketch a leaf.
  • A full-size copy of the Parthenon Built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and rebuilt in concrete between 1925 and 1931. Tick it from the lawn.
  • A hall rebuilt with one tower after a fire Kirkland Hall burned in 1905 and came back with a single 170-foot tower. Write how many towers it had before.
  • A lake named for a pioneer settlement Lake Watauga was made for the 1897 exposition and named for a settlement on the Watauga River. Keep back from the edge; count the ducks.
  • A long lawn with columns at its head, on the Peabody side Peabody's campus across 21st Avenue borrows its classical look from the University of Virginia. Count the columns at the top of the lawn.
  • A shade tree too wide for two people to hug Try it gently with your team; write how many arms it took.
  • A statue that once stood by the Parthenon The statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt was moved from the exposition grounds to campus. Write what he holds or wears.
  • Carved figures in the Parthenon's roof triangle Write one figure or shape you can make out.
  • The columns down one long side of the Parthenon Count them from end to end.
  • The original campus gates on 21st Avenue They still stand from the first campus. Write what they are made of.
  • Sunken gardens in Centennial Park Walk down into them and write one flower color.

How this list was compiled: Written for this page in September 2026: 48 finds on foot in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on the Bicentennial Mall, in Centennial Park and on the Vanderbilt campus, sorted by area, all scored from public lawns, plazas, sidewalks and paths with nothing bought and no ticket. Nothing was copied from another list; no bar, honky-tonk, brewery or song title is on it. Levels are our judgment. Names, dates, sizes and places in the notes were checked on 2026-09-24 against English Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by Tennessee_State_Capitol, Bicentennial_Capitol_Mall_State_Park, John_Seigenthaler_Pedestrian_Bridge, 333_Commerce, Ryman_Auditorium, Country_Music_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum, Schermerhorn_Symphony_Center, Frist_Art_Museum, Union_Station_(Nashville), Hermitage_Hotel, Cumberland_River, Parthenon_(Nashville), Centennial_Park_(Nashville) and Vanderbilt_University. Licence: own work