We randomly decided to check this place out after being here for nearly a year, just to see if it would be worth brining any future visitors to go see. Sadly, it won't be on the list of "sites to see." Let's run it down: Pro's: - Interesting info about the river, and the history in the area - Museum gives a good chronology of the area, and walks you through the Native American tribes of the area, the numerous European 'explorers', into the civil war and steamboats era, and finally where we are currently at - Kids will enjoy the walk through a replica steamship, ironclad, etc. Con's: - It was built in the late 70's, and maybe updated in the mid-80's... it's aged, and it's showing it - The "river walk" that everyone speaks about was a bit nasty... my kid would not be wading in that thing - The "monorail" (reminds me of that Simpson's episode where a guy rips off Springfield by selling it a monorail) is a bit ridiculous, and it was actually broken when we tried to ride it back... and guess what, the walk over the bridge (which is covered from the heat), was great, and a much better way to make the 500 yard trek between parking area and museum - Slavery... kind of a big deal... kind of a huge part of Memphis' history... kind of ignored completedly in the museum... oversight much? Yes. I don't know who runs it, because it needs a complete overhaul... but of all the things to see in Memphis as a local or visitor, this one can be skipped entirely. read more

Mud Island River Park was our first stop on "The Firm" Day. (Totally unplanned, but it worked, and was on the 20th anniversary of the movie!) We rode the monorail over, which was fun, and then waked through the museum, which wasn't quite as fun... The best part, though, was the park itself. It was beautiful, peaceful and had a wonderful location on the river. The scale model of the Mississippi was really cool! Make sure you wear flip-flops so you can go wading! We'll definitely go back, probably with a picnic. I can't recommend this spot enough! read more

This was really a fun experience. The model of the river they have laid out is amazing. It really gives you a sense of how the river flows and what the Mississippi is all about. This is a most educational tool so be sure to bring your kids to see this. A great way to spend a few hours read more

Wow, sad. I was so looking forward to the tram. Closed. Mud Island is in disrepair. Nothing open. No museum. No gift shop. No paddleboats. I'm visiting town for first time and I was looking forward to this, but a lot of walking for a lot of nothing except view of Mississippi River. read more

The price is steep for what the park offers...which isn't much. I'm not sure if I simply went on a bad day or if this place is always dead but there were no rentals/activities to be found despite the signage advertising these things, the water in the fountain was very dirty, and the cafe didn't offer anything worth buying. The 3 stars are for the friendly employees and the monorail ride as well as the concept behind Mud Island which, in theory, is a good one. There is definitely work to be done. This place definitely has potential. read more

Very disappointed. First thing, the monorail is not in operation this year. So, as long as you're healthy, you can walk across. Then, went through the museum. No guided tours, but still $10 per person. This was very sad since you really didn't get any of the history other than what the walls told you. Most of it was dimly lit and not very well kept up. I have heard people talk about Mud Island o we the years, but I guess they have allowed it to run down. read more

What a missed opportunity for Memphis. The river replica itself is great fun for kids and very informative for adults. The museum is pretty cool and mostly well-done. But the overall feel of the place is that it's old and run-down. It just feels neglected and the addition of shining new homes just up Mud Island accentuates the feel that you're in a Soviet bunker system. Staff don't tend to be helpful either. It's also rather poorly marked, so if you don't know where to park or where you're going, you could get lost and end up at the semi-creepy ruins of the old Memphis Belle pavilion. And as other people have pointed out, don't bother trying to buy any concessions here. $4 for a Sprite?? This ain't a football game and that's highway robbery. Again, a missed opportunity here for good food and more of a tourist attraction than the current mixed bag. read more

This is a nice local spot to do a few things- learn the history of the Mississippi River in the museum, understand the importance of the Mississippi River on the River Walk, and attend a concert. Honestly, it is a little old and not as well kept as you would like and it's not the Smithsonian, but Memphis is not DC. Memphis is a river town and you can definitely come here to learn about the river. My boys love to go and walk on the sky bridge and walk on the river walk. What is more fun to a kid than taking off your shoes and running in and out of water! When we go we walk the river walk until the end, grab some ice cream and rent a peddle boat. You can do all of this for $5.00. The only thing you have to pay for is the peddle boat. If you walk across the bridge there is no fee to enter the river walk. Museum admission includes the monorail fee so ride the monorail if you are going to the museum. One visit to the museum is plenty, so when we go back we skip the museum and enjoy other parts of the park. One bonus, it has a great view of the Mississippi. read more

Don't waste your time the place is deserted. We only saw maybe 10 people at the whole place. The best part was the Memphis sign.

Love this venue! It's a little tough getting there, and the monorail type tram thing that is the only option besides walking a giant pedestrian bridge. But, the river, the skyline, and I-40 as a backdrop is very romantic and awesome. As a lot of venues, they quit serving concessions way to early. Acoustics were great and a memorable time was had by all. read more

I liked it! I'd kind of like to only give it three stars because we went during the week and most things were not open. We couldn't do paddle boats and the monorail was not running. But besides this we walked the whole river thing which was "interesting". My husband and his friend put floating logs int he water and follow them until the reached the end. Nice walk from the city. read more

I've been to Mud Island since I've been a wee little kid. The museum section is.. epic. There is so much to see. They outline the history of the river by social/cultural, historic, and geographic history. It is pretty amazing and thorough. The model scale of the river is absolutely fun to wade in and try to navigate. Some years ago, the "Gulf of Mexico" used to be a swimming pool. Now it is pretty dirty and swampy which is.. oddly (and unfortunately) appropriate. There is also a giant fountain to reward you if you went on an extremely hot day. Food and drinks are way overpriced. Bring your own. I suppose you could walk the pedestrian bridge and enjoy the park for free, but no museum. read more

I was kind of dreading partaking in this. I know. I think an angel dies somewhere when you admit this. I just have little to no interest in a down-sized Mississippi river in a park. I don't understand where the excitement lies whatsoever for adults. However, I can see where kids would enjoy themselves. The museum was interesting, but again, for some reason, this whole experience did not tickle my fancy. If you're a big history buff and you happen to have kids with you, this will be right up your alley. And the monorail, in my opinion, was the best part of this experience. If you're choosing between this and more time on Beale or at another museum, like the Pink Palace -- choose the latter options. read more

Here for Alison Kraus and I cannot believe the loop of music while waiting ... literally 5 songs that are from 1940...come on guys!

Very nice park. The scale model of the mississippi river is pretty cool. From pictures that if seen it looks like you can splash in the water a bit, but in reality you can only dip your feet in. So thats the only reason why I took one star off. And the gates close at 4! So dont be last minute trying to catch the monorail. Bring water if its hot!! We were the last people there and im glad I bought water when I could because when we were leaving from the paddleboat area the lady selling drinks was gone! It was 3$ a bottle I dont care if it was $20, if you arent used to memphis heat bring water. read more

Mud Island Park - Museums Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

People have consistently rated things OTHER than the park itself. So far as parks on the bank of a river go, this one is quite nice. Yes most things in Memphis get built and then poorly maintained over the years. This is certainly the case with this park BUT the ambience of Mississippi and the cool river map and picnic areas on the island are nice and usually not over populated like most rivers. I always walk over the monorail as it's part of the experience. The monorail costs but the walk over is free. It does close early, but it's a nice river complement that's certain. Worth a lunch picnic in spring and fall for sure! read more

I came to the river park specifically to kayak...to rent a kayak and go kayaking on the river. This not only did not happen but the staff were extremely misinformed about services leading to a waste of my time and disappointment. Here is my story....I originally drove up to the parking lot on the island. The attendant there rerouted me to park in downtown but assured me they were renting kayaks. Even told me the price. So I went back to the downtown entrance and walked to the entrance on Front Street. There were signs up advertising kayak and other adventure rentals. I asked an employee about renting kayaks and he directed me to the other side of the pedestrian bridge (mud island side). So...I walked all the way across the bridge. All the while seeing signs for adventure rentals (including kayaks!). Well....when I got to the other side I found out that they not only do not rent kayaks anymore, but they are doing no more adventure rentals....that means no bikes no canoes - nothing. This whole thing must have wasted at least 45 minutes to an hour of my time. It was very frustrating how misinformed the employees were (not to mention how unfriendly they were), as well as annoying that the park has numerous signs advertising rentals. One would expect that they would have addressed these false advertisements prior to opening this season. What really made this terrible is that I had a friend in town. We could have kayaked else where but we kept moving forward with mud island rentals because no one knew the correct information until we were already over on mud island ready to rent. I would have been even more heated had I had to pay for parking or paid for the museum entrance fee (something a tourist might do). For the satisfaction of tourists and any locals wishing to visit - they should really get their systems together. It looks poorly on us here in Memphis to have a place where there is consistently wrong information and rude employees. Get it together river park! I don't know what else they offer here, but I'd proceed with caution if visiting here! read more

So it $6 to park and they don't take cards. Oh and the monorail is not working so we have to walk across. So I paid $6 dollars to walk a mile. Welcome to Memphis. You would think that the parking attendant would have mentioned that the monorail was not working or they could have hung a sign up. Talk about the worst customer service ever. read more

So much fun! You can rent a bike or scooter and take it over the pedestrian bridge and ride it all around at Mud Island! It was so cool to see the history of the Mississippi River and we finished up with a great picture by the huge Memphis sign! All for free (well, besides the price of the scooters)! read more

Check to see what days it is closed. We decided to walk as the monorail was not working . As we started our walk, we talked with a couple who were coming back from Mud Island. They reported that everything was closed. Prior to going to checked our info which indicated it was open.. our info was not accurate. read more

It is a scale model of the Mississippi river. Enjoyable to take the walk. Really enjoyed being on the island during the 4th of July fireworks. read more

My bf and I decided to visit this place since we were in Memphis. Parking was $6. The whole package for the park, monorail, and museum was $10 per person. The monorail really is not worth it if you can walk. It's a nicer view anyways. The park itself was decent, but some things needed attention. I would not walk in the riverwalk because it looked filthy. I enjoyed the museum, and the riverboat was pretty cool. We rode on the swan paddle boat- not worth $5 per person since you can only paddle about 100 feet around. This is a cute place to take children, but it's not worth a second visit. read more

This is always a fun experience with children. We visited the museum as well. It was interesting but very run down. Overall the park, and especially the snack shop, was very run down. We used the tram, which is enclosed. There was no air conditioning as it was broken. It was more pleasant to walk across the bridge. Will return but will take a picnic. read more

This is one of the first tourist attractions that I visited with my children in Memphis. At the time, 1997, this was well maintained and very nice. I since have returned with friends from out of town and I was very disappointed. It has not been kept up and it is expensive to even get in. I have not visited in several years but I hope it returned to the way it should be. Since Memphis doe snot have many attractions that people can take friends from out of town, this should be kept up and maintained as best it can be. Let this be an excellent example of what Memphis is really about. read more

Great venue!!! Interesting walk across the river to get to the venue. Seen Joe Walsh there is it was amazing. I will definitely be coming back. read more

We thought this was cool and fun. Although the monorail was not working and there is poor signage. But the park is neat- it was fun to walk in, through and over the "river" and to learn about different spots. The topographic perspective was really cool too. Pedaling in a swan on the "Gulf" was fun even with the wind blowing us around (kind of ironic since we are here because of Gustav!) My only complaint (if that's what you want to call it) is, where is Minneapolis, much less Lake Itasca??? Also, bring a picnic as the consessions are expensive (bottle drinks only and they are $3.) read more

We have only had the chance to go here once, but my kids loved it. They have a scaled down Mississippi river that the kids can walk thru while getting their feet wet. The sky tram to there was a lot of fun and I recommend doing it at least once for the experience. read more

It's only $10 for all admission and monorail. The outside river view is gorgeous and the water way model is very cool. The museum is very tired and many areas are breaking down. It's a great idea and low cost so give it a try but please please put a little money into upgrading the place. read more

The admission was decent if the attractions were better! Most of the staff was rude. The museum was not worth the money. The best part was the music section, which was way too small! Walking in the scale of the Mississippi was fun, but we were rushed. Near closing, there were no announcements or any information from the staff. Thank goodness I happened to check the time. If not, we would probably have been locked in. Would not go back! read more

I have been to mud island park once out of three tries. I have been disappointed with the limited hours. I would just like to walk the river and enjoy the park. Unfortunately it is hard to do as it is limited to 10am-5pm. read more

Well, let me start out by saying that my friends and I had never been here and it is so beautiful!! I cannot believe I have taken this long to see this part of my city. I loved to see downtown from the walkway that leads to the park! Aside from the good stuff, my friends and I went down there to go kayaking and get out on the river. Online it says they offer kayaks and paddle boards for rent. When we tried to call (for a few days straight) not one person answered the phone, the voicemail box was full, and we never got a call back. So, we went down there to investigate and try to get some more information- turns out, they do not offer kayaks or paddle boards for rent at all... though the website still says it. The only thing they offer are paddle boats, which is fun but not what we were looking for. So, anyone who is looking to kayak on the river through Mud Island River Park, unfortunately it is not an option anymore. read more

We really enjoyed the museum here. You can walk over to the park or ride the monorail. It's $10 to ride and see the museum. The museum itself is pretty neat. They take you on a tour of a mock steamboat ship which is pretty cool. The mock Mississippi River is fun to walk down and see all the cities that it connects through. At the end they have pedal boats you can ride which is fun! It is a neat place to take the kids and fun for adults as well. read more

I don't have too many regrets in my life, but this would definitely be one of them. First off, it was hotter than Satan's ass crack and this is no exaggeration. The so called "gondola" that you rode was similar to a toaster oven that slowly baked you alive. This was already enough enjoyment for my day, let alone the "mud park". Let me just say there's a reason general admission is free. It was like walking around the most depressing place in the world with today's hits radio playing in the background. As I kept advancing my way throughout the exhibit I kept thinking of other places I'd rather be while burning alive. Shortly after these thoughts I came upon a concession stand with drinks. In desperate need of hydration I paid for a small bottle of water worth the steep price of $3. Though, I had the thirst of a person trapped in the desert for a week I still felt as if I was getting robbed. After all of this I decided to make the journey back to land and let me tell you the best part of the whole excursion was the gondola trip back. The one star given is for the very generous and friendly staff, but other wise I could think of much better things to do with my life. read more