RV Rental McKenzie, TN

The Chickasaw Indian Tribe originally inhabited the area now known as McKenzie, Tennessee. Settlers didn't start moving into the area until the early 1800s. Two families who came to the area became rivals, each naming the land they lived in, with one part called Marrieta and the other Dundas. The city became organized when the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad completed its tracks and intersected with the Memphis and Ohio Railroad in 1867. After the railroad was in place, the town grew rapidly and eventually became incorporated in January 1869. The population grew from two single families to over 500 residents in no time. 

The town was thriving until the Great Depression hit in October of 1929. However, just before World War II, the federal government began construction on a munition plant and arsenal east of Milan. The town grew steadily between 1940 and 1950, increasing the population to 1,300. The population growth rate continued to rise as the city grew, and by 2000, around 5,310 people were living in McKenzie. Today, there are over 5,456 residents. 

McKenzie has many parks and outdoor spaces to explore. The main recreational park on Como Street features a new walking trail; soccer, baseball, and softball fields; a playground; and a fishing hole. Time your visit just right to participate in the Annual Southern Fried & Sweet Tea Festival, which is generally held the last weekend of August in downtown McKenzie. It has kid-friendly activities, food vendor trucks, handmade crafts, and live entertainment. 

Learn more about the city through the Gordon Browning Museum and Genealogical Library in the historic old McKenzie Post Office Building. There you can explore the many documents, images, and artifacts that are the history and culture of Carroll County, Tennessee. 

Campgrounds Near McKenzie, Tennessee

Jackson RV Park is a locally owned trailer park offering nightly RV spaces for travelers just at the city's edge by Interstate 40. With U.S. Route 412 and the interstate right beside the park, you can easily make your way to popular sightseeing areas like Casey Jones Village and downtown Jackson. They offer full hookup access for your RV necessities, free Wi-Fi, and a dump station. You can even bring your furry friend along. 

Parkway Village is northeast of downtown Jackson, offering a transient RV section in their mobile home park community. As a guest, you'll have access to the laundry facilities, playground, swimming pool, and clubhouse. Each site offers water, electric, and sewer hookup. The RV camping area is minutes from shopping, entertainment, and more.

Chickasaw State Park has three campgrounds. The RV campground has 53 sites accommodating rigs up to 94 feet long. All sites have water and electrical hookups, but only 26 campsites offer sewer hookups. Campers will have access to a dump station, restrooms, hot steaming showers, a picnic table, and a grill. The Wrangler campground is for those traveling with horses and has 32 campsites with water and electric hookups. The other campground is for tents only.

National Parks Near McKenzie, Tennessee

Mammoth Cave National Park is 214 miles northeast of Jackson. The park lies in the rolling hills and deep river valleys of Kentucky and is more than just a cave. It's home to thousands of years of human history and a rich diversity of plants and animals. No matter what moment of the year you visit this incredible park, you'll have plenty of recreational activities to keep you busy. In winter, you can enjoy cave tours with a smaller group since there are fewer visitors during this time of the year. Explore the backcountry year-round, from hiking along quiet trails to biking a historic railroad route. Visitors enjoy fishing, stargazing, canoeing, kayaking, and boating at the park. 

Gateway Arch National Park is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson's role in launching the West, the pioneers who helped shape its history, and Dred Scott, who exercised his rights for his freedom in the Old Courthouse. Many visitors to the park take a ride down the Mississippi River on a 19th-century replica steamboat cruise. Stroll through the Explorer's Garden paved paths by the park's North Gateway area. In the Garden, you'll find several plants that once provided many uses for Native Americans. While there, explore the gorgeous Gateway Arch grounds. 

Hot Springs National Park features ancient thermal springs which come directly out of the ground at 147 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though the temperature is high, the water is cool enough to touch when it reaches the pools. You can view the springs behind the Maurice Bathhouse as it flows down the hillside or look at the most prominent visible spring at the park's Arlington Lawn area. Unfortunately, there are no outdoor soaking opportunities in the park. However, the nearby Bathhouse Row offers Buckstaff and Quapaw facilities, where visitors can submerge themselves and relax in the thermal springs. Outside of the thermal spring, the park has 26 miles of hiking trails for exploring.

State Parks Near McKenzie, Tennessee

Natchez Trace State Park features four lakes for fishing. The Tennessee State Parks run the 58-acre Cub Lake and 690-acre Pin Oak Lake, which supply boating and water recreation. Cub Lake has a free public swim beach, while Pin Oak has its swim beach exclusively for camping guests. If you don't have your own boat, you can rent boats at the boat dock to use in Cub Creek Lake. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency operates 167-acre Brown's Creek Lake and 90-acre Maple Creek Lake. Explore as you hike the many trails from a one-half mile up to 5.5 miles with easy to moderate difficulty. The Red Leave Trail is a moderate 40-mile overnight hike that takes you deeper into the wilderness. 

Paris Landing State Park is an 841-acre park on the western shoreline of the Tennessee River, which is dammed to form Kentucky Lake. It sits on the widest part of the lake, making it ideal for watersports like waterskiing, fishing, and boating. The park has a pro shop filled with golfing supplies, carts, and rental clubs for the challenging par 72, 18-hole golf course. The land also offers hiking, camping, wildlife observation, and picnicking opportunities. 

Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park originally began as a local park but quickly became the home of the Tennessee River Folklife Interpretive Center and Museum. The center displays the customs of people who once lived on the river, including their crafts, musseling items, and commercial fishing gear. There are also videos on the park's history, river life, and Civil War records. RV camping, swimming, hiking, fishing, and ranger-led programs are other activities at the park.

National Sites Near McKenzie, Tennessee

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial allows visitors to walk the grounds of Abraham Lincoln's childhood southern Indiana home. There are two miles of trails at the park, which form a loop of about one mile. While there, check out the two outbuildings, the historical farm, and the cemetery. Stop in at the Memorial Visitor Center to tour the memorial halls of the museum and watch the orientation film to learn more about the young boy who grew up and became the nation's leader.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways protects the river system of Jacks Fork and Current rivers. The rivers are ideal for canoeing, swimming, boating, and fishing. Besides these two popular rivers, the 134-mile stretch of the park offers many other activities for visitors to enjoy, like hiking the Ozark Mountains. The 80,000 acres of land provide many exploration and discovery opportunities while biking, horseback riding, bird-watching, and camping.

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park allows visitors to have beautiful views of the Wabash River and discover more about the critical campaign of George Rogers Clark in 1778-1779. Start your official visit at the visitor center, where a small exhibit area and a 30-minute introductory movie share the back story of George Rogers Clark. You'll find various monuments and markers on the grounds, such as the USS Vincennes monument. The park offers living history programs that teach about life on the American frontier, including historic weapons demonstrations. Fishing is allowed at the park, but you must follow all your fishing license requirements. 

National Forest Near Jackson, Tennessee

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area has a large span of land that makes up this recreational area for exploring, hiking, biking, and more. Visitors enjoy paddling across the 300 miles of scenic, undeveloped shoreline adjacent to the many inland lakes along the peninsula. The recreational area has two designated sections in Hillman Ferry and Piney Campgrounds for swimming. Lake Barkley and the Kentucky Lake hold nearly 220,000 surface acres of water and a 1.75-mile-long canal that connects them at the northern end. While there, stop in at the Golden Pond Planetarium & Observatory, where you can enjoy a variety of entertaining and educational programs.

Shawnee National Forest spans 289,000 acres and is nestled between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in southern Illinois, featuring flourishing wetlands, razorback ridges, lush canyons, and a beautiful oak-hickory forest. It has many diverse hiking and backpacking trails, including the 160-mile River to River Trail. Visitors to this area can hike, paddle, take photographs, swim, fish, hunt, run, or camp. Spring brings natural colors and smells of blooming redbuds, dogwoods, and wildflowers. In fall, the forest is filled with colorful rainbow leaves. 

Holly Springs National Forest sits in the northcentral part of Mississippi, featuring a panorama of habitat types for wildlife. It's so much more than upland hardwoods and a pine forest; it gives a home to many wildlife animals and plants. The forest and several partners strive to increase the biodiversity of this area through bottomland hardwoods and other wetlands. It is an incredible place to explore, photograph, and see.