Free & Cheap Things to Do in Murfreesboro

History & Military Sites

Civil War battlefield commemorating the December 1862–January 1863 Union victory that broke Confederate momentum in Middle Tennessee. The 570-acre park includes a self-guided 6-stop driving tour, walking trails to monuments and earthen redoubts, a free visitor center museum, and the Stones River National Cemetery with nearly 6,900 graves.

Address: 3501 Old Nashville Hwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129

Tip: Start at the visitor center for the 28-minute orientation film. The park also administers Lunette Palmer at Fortress Rosecrans — the largest Civil War earthen fortification ever built — three miles north.

History & Culture

An open-air pioneer village representing roughly a century of early Tennessee life from the 1830s to the 1930s. Twenty reconstructed structures include a working gristmill, blacksmith shop, one-room schoolhouse, doctor's office, general store, wedding chapel, and the World's Largest Cedar Bucket. The on-site museum houses 2,000+ artifacts.

Address: 312 S. Front St, Murfreesboro, TN 37129

Tip: Open Tuesday–Saturday year-round with extended spring/summer hours (April–October) plus Sunday afternoons. Call ahead during wedding season — the village occasionally closes for private rentals.

Family Fun

A children's science museum paired with a 20-acre urban wetland reserve. Permanent galleries include a flight simulator, two-story superslide, working farmer's market, a real train depot, water-works exhibit, and an aquarium of native Tennessee fish. The outdoor wetland boardwalk loops past great blue herons, turtles, and beavers — one of the country's few urban wetland preserves.

Address: 502 SE Broad St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

Tip: Half-price admission Tuesday 4–7 pm in summer. The wetland boardwalk is free and open dawn-to-dusk separately from museum admission — worth a stop even without going inside.

History & Culture

A National Register antebellum house museum built around 1815 — Confederate general John Hunt Morgan was married here during the 1862 Battle of Stones River. Self-guided tours cover both the Maney family rooms and a substantial "From Enslavement to Legacy" interpretation of the lives of the enslaved laborers who built and ran the plantation.

Address: 901 N. Maney Ave, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

Tip: Reserve a tour slot online (Tue–Fri at 10, 11, 2, 3). Group rate $10/person with 10 or more. Allow 45 minutes; the second floor is stairs-only with a video alternative.

History & Culture

The boyhood plantation of Confederate scout Sam Davis, hanged at 21 in 1863 for refusing to betray a courier. The 168-acre site preserves the 1810 Greek Revival main house, slave quarters with substantive interpretation of the enslaved community at Davis Farm, smokehouse, kitchen, and family cemetery. About 12 miles north of Murfreesboro in Smyrna.

Address: 1399 Sam Davis Rd, Smyrna, TN 37167

Tip: Closed all of January for annual restoration; reopens February 2. Last guided tour begins at 3 pm. Easy combine with a Nashville drive — Smyrna is right on I-24.

History & Culture

The first school in Rutherford County (founded 1809), where future president James K. Polk briefly studied. From 1884 it became the first formal school for African-American students in the area. Exhibits include an Underground Railroad section, U.S. Colored Troops/Civil War room, Heritage Classroom, and Holloway High School room covering the segregation-era school's legacy.

Address: 415 S. Academy St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

Tip: Open only Friday and Saturday 10 am–4 pm (rentals the rest of the week). Easy combine with a Public Square walk three blocks north.

Shopping & Strolling

The civic and commercial center of Rutherford County since 1811, anchored by the iconic Rutherford County Courthouse. The square and surrounding Main Street district hold 90+ locally-owned restaurants, antique stores, music shops, and boutiques in a walkable historic core — Murfreesboro was Tennessee's state capital 1818–1826, and the courthouse has stood since 1859.

Address: 1 Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

Tip: Friday Night Live free concerts every Friday spring–summer; the Main Street Farmers Market runs Saturday mornings during the growing season. Free street and lot parking surrounds the square.

Parks & Nature

Over 17 miles of paved trails, bridges, and boardwalks across seven greenway sections following the West Fork and East Fork Stones River. The 10.5-mile Stones River Trail (the system's spine) connects Thompson Lane to Barfield Crescent Park through limestone bottoms, hardwood forest, and cedar glades — wood ducks, herons, deer, and the occasional bobcat. Three kayak launches and two off-leash bark parks dot the system.

Address: Manson Pike Trailhead, Murfreesboro, TN 37129

Tip: Trailheads open daylight to half-hour before sunset year-round (Gateway Island Trail until 10 pm). Free printable trail maps available at the Murfreesboro Parks office, Stones River Battlefield Visitor Center, and the Rutherford Chamber welcome center.