The Ultimate Guide to Memphis Downtown Bass Pro Shops!

Just for you, my fellow home schoolers! Here’s how to make and enjoy a wonderfully interactive, extremely engaging, educationally fun field trip out of one “simple” visit to your very own Bass Pro Shops, specifically the Memphis Downtown Bass Pro Shops. Make that SIXTEEN (16) activities to take advantage of during your visit. Enjoy! :) See video here!)

1.  Beautiful Scenery EVERYWHERE
(inside and out)

• 1st -  it’s housed alongside the Mighty Mississippi River.
• 2nd -  a series of expressways and interstate overpasses serpentine and wind all around and above your entrance ride into the front lot, intriguing views.
• 3rd - it’s in the “old Pyramid Arena” building, thus it’s truly colossal in every way.
• 4th - Landscaping, shrubbery, trees and flowers are nicely preened and presented.
• 5th - the inside takes on a whole new giant meaning with openness, lighting, artificial and real trees, plants, animals.

• 6th - there’s even a super tall, 28-story freestanding elevator in the center with beautiful blue lighting! (#8 below)

---

2.  Big Cypress Lodge
If you’re wanting to stay in the first-time Bass Pro Shops hotel, then downtown Memphis is your place to be! Big Cypress Lodge offers 103-rooms and almost every room has a private screened-in porch with a rocking chairs and a wonderful view of the “swamp” below. Guests also receive access to all the the Pyramid offers, including rides on the elevator to "The Lookout" up top (#8 below).

---

3.  Giant Aquarium & Fish Feeding Daily
Yep! It’s giant alright, as is everything else here, and its inhabitants are just as colossal. If you’re available at 10:00 am or 3:00 pm any day, you can even watch these big fish get fed.

---

4.  Live Fish Ponds & “Swamp”
All around the main (front) entrance are fish ponds underneath and alongside the board walks and trails. Huge catfish, medium fish, even baby fish EVERYWHERE! You may even see free-roaming ducks waddling from one pond to another.

---

5.  Alligator Tank
There are four small alligators in a tank of their own, surrounded by tall, thick glass and mesh-roped covering. Don’t let the glass fool you because they are still alligators with long, scaly, whippable tails, long sharp teeth and claws… though they appear overly bored…

---

6.  Shops Galore!
Shop ’til you drop! There’s a shop for just about EVERYTHING! Shoes, clothes, toys, sunglasses, camping gear, fishing gear, boats, ropes, even firearms! There are all kinds of each of these items. This place is magnanimous!

---

7.  Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center
According to Ducks Unlimited, this is “an interactive wetlands education museum showcasing the history of waterfowling and wetlands conservation.” Guests can “learn more about the incredible wildlife found along the Mississippi Flyway… and learn to identify different waterfowl species, chat with experts, and marvel at the craftsmanship of the largest collection of waterfowl decoys along with taxidermy, calls and sporting art.”

---

8.  The Lookout at the Pyramid
This "28-Story Freestanding Elevator & Glass Observation Deck" is THE highlight of the Memphis Downtown Bass Pro Shops! The ride up is exciting, and the VIEW UP TOP!? Phenomenal! The glass floor beneath your feet is optical illusionary, but looking out across the city for miles is SOOOOOOOO beautiful!!!

---

9.  The Lookout at the Pyramid Restaurant
The restaurant inside the pyramid way up top is a “unique 28th-floor American spot with arty, industrial accents, an aquarium bar & observation decks.” We've not eaten here yet, but when you make the journey to the Lookout, you can walk inside the restaurant, and the window views are SOOOOO splendid, fun, unique...as if dining amongst the clouds.

---

​10.  Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl & Grill
“Uncle Buck” provided 13-lanes for bowling, and several tables for eating, designed just right for a wonderful family, fun-filled outing. You can always simply skip the bowling part and just dine-in.

---

11.  Arcade Target Games
Test out your aim via the artificial guns at laser-lit targets. With each target you hit, something “happens” in the target scene before you. Should you shoot the target on the lamp in the room on the deck, it will light up; or if you shoot the latch on the door, it will fly open (or shut). Each quarter renders about 25 shots or so.

---

12.  Historic Photos
Along the walls and in the halls here and there are wonderful, historic, informative, black and white photos of Memphis and Tennessee history. There's no specific pattern of the locations of the photography other than wherever there are walls and space, so a nice, fun "treasure hunt" for photo frames is fun! Educational opportunities are everywhere here, including history!

---

13.  Souvenir Store
Yes, much like other tourist locations, Memphis’ Bass Pro Shops is no exception to housing wonderful keepsakes and memorabilia, but multiplied here! Typical magnets (pictured), caps, pencils, and more, you’ll find here, too. So don't forget about the souvenirs.

---

14.  General Store
Just like the old school, creaky wooden floors and barrels of edible goods, this General Store keeps the tradition in fool swing. Candies of all kinds, shapes, flavors, colors, quantities are ready for your purchase and immediate consumption. They even carry syrups and jams and all kinds of “country goods.”

---

15.  Valet Parking
Should you fancy nice, sweet, good ole valet parking, it’s yours for the enjoyment (at least for hotel/lodge guests)! Even at the Downtown Memphis Bass Pro Shops, y'all! :)

---

16.  FREE Parking
Should you NOT fancy valet parking, then parking is free for you on the front and/or the back of the Pyramid (as we still call it), or the Memphis Downtown Bass Pro Shops. Not many downtown locations offer FREE parking, so this is always a perk that we often forget about until we arrive. Parking is FREE here!

---

There you have it! Sixeen quick, straight-to-the-point reasons you, too, will absolutely LOVE visiting the downtown Bass Pro Shops in Memphis, Tennessee. Won’t you come?

Tell us in the comments section below how you enjoy Bass Pro Shops adventures! Does your Bass Pro Shop offer anything different? How often do you visit?

Be sure to follow and friend us on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram and YouTube to find additional ways we travel and make educational adventures out of least expected places.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.
​Henry Ford

Experience the new ArtEase! "Ultimate Guide to Downtown Memphis Bass Pro Shops" video here! (or click thumbnail)

---

---

Looking for MORE Educational fun?
Enjoy these VIDEOS below!

6 Ways to Explore Your Welcome Center

10 FREE Library Treasures

12 Ways to Explore Your Airport

Or, explore the articles below.