Things to Do in Cookeville

Residing in the restored 1925 L&N Depot, where Bowling Green–bound trains tenaciously chugged toward, The Historic Railpark and Train Museum educates rail revivalists on the train cars and culture of a departed, but still kicking, era. Toot your own horn if you can correctly identify five subtly different sounds of passenger cars during an aurally pleasing exhibit, or ask an interactive conductor mannequin if passengers groggily tucked their own handlebar mustaches into their eardrums to quietly rest in the sleeping car. Although entry for children 4 and younger is free, a family membership to The Historic Railpark and Train Museum makes for an economically priced getaway, where children can expend energy excitedly pointing at cabooses and parents can relax watching informational railroad films. Put on the old conductor hat, brush up on railroad lingo, and learn about the monorail's supremely cooler uncle at The Historic Railpark and Train Museum.

When surveyor Aaron Higgenbotham discovered Cumberland Caverns in 1810, he couldn't see its majestic pillars of dripping rock, its flowstone curtains, or its subterranean waterfalls. Stuck on a small ledge in the dark, Higgenbotham was as blind to the cave system's features—one of them a 2,000-foot-long cavern hall—as the eyeless crayfish that live there. His initial discovery nevertheless paved the way for nearly 200 years of speleological findings. Today, guides preserve this 32-mile National Landmark cavern by leading daily tours through its passages.

During tours, guides point out artifacts left by pre Civil War–era saltpeter mines, tunnels filled with rare gypsum deposits, and mysterious inscriptions reading "Shelah Waters - 1869" and "Millard Fillmore + Stacy." They lead guests among stalagmites and stalactites to a sound-and-light show that dramatically retells Bible stories, or into a domed hall that houses a hand-cut crystal chandelier rescued from a historic Brooklyn theater. It's in this last space that staffers organize banquets, weddings, and monthly live bluegrass concerts, or hold burial services for broken fax machines. They also lead visitors through the tight passageways of lesser-seen cavern segments during daytime or overnight spelunking trips.

Though the creatures on display at Dinosaur World don’t need much space to roam, plenty of care has been taken to furnish them a comfortable habitat. They peer imposingly from the hillsides of Kentucky, crane their necks up through native trees, and stomp through prairie fields. Although a life-size mammoth or T. rex might be hard to miss, little visitors might still jump with delight at noticing a baby dino suddenly appear from behind a bush. Giant brachiosaurus necks arch high above treetops, while toothy meat-eaters and spiny stegosauruses roam the world below. The fiberglass, steel, and concrete models reach up to 80 feet in length, and are built according to the latest scientific discoveries about what dinosaurs looked like and what styles were trendy in the Mesozoic era.

The first Dinosaur World location was a former alligator farm in Florida and five years later another one was opened in Kentucky. As Swedish-born Christer Svensson began to fill it with statues, he consulted with experts around the world to not only create realistic reptiles but to surround them with fun, educational activities. Kids can sift through sand to find shark’s teeth, gastropod shells, and trilobites in a fossil dig, get to know some lizards a little better on the playground, or examine ancient eggs and raptor claws in the museum.

Sprawling across the Cumberland Plateau at 2,000 feet above sea level—the highest point between the Rocky and Smoky Mountains—lie Fairfield Glade Community Club's five courses, showcasing 90 holes of championship golf. Since the first fairways of the 18-hole Druid Hills course opened in 1970, the golf haven has expanded to include two more 18-hole courses and one 36-hole course. The most recent addition, the Stonehenge course, opened for play in January of 2008 and still perplexes archeologists hoping to decipher the meaning of its immense flagstick monuments. Players find themselves amid postcard-worthy wooded terrain as they traverse fairways bordered with lakes and crawling with wildlife indigenous to the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, which nudges the grounds directly to the northeast. The beautiful surroundings and challenging course play have allowed the club to host several prestigious events, including the Tennessee Senior Men's Open and the Tennessee Women's Open.

Meadows of wildflowers and towering trees border the Caney Fork River on both sides, providing a refuge for deer, herons, turkeys, and hundreds of other bird species. With a fleet of canoes and kayaks as well as shuttle service straight to the riverbanks, Canoe the Caney makes it easy to explore this river’s natural beauty. Though the current bustles along at a slow and steady pace and the banks are usually 30 yards apart, Canoe the Caney staff still holds safety as its highest priority. The staff provides everyone with life jackets and review safety guidelines before giving paddlers permission to depart.

In addition to 6-mile and 9-mile trips down the river, Canoe the Caney also facilitates more playful adventures, including romantic picnic outings and a pirate adventure that invites paddlers to hunt for Captain JaBez’s long lost contact lens.

The Discovery Center enlivens kids’ learning experiences by cleverly disguising exhibits as awesome playtime arenas. Tiny tots and even 10-year-olds are encouraged to run wild at this hands-on children’s museum and nature center, trying their hand at the many fun activities.

At the creation station, which is stocked with paint, clay, chalk, paper, and just about anything a young da Vinci or police sketch artist needs, kids are free to unleash their creative potential. Alternatively, at the fire-truck exhibit, they can put on a firefighter’s boots and hat and climb aboard the full-sized 1954 Oren fire truck to learn about a firefighter’s job in Murfreesboro. Nearby, at Tennessee Live!, they can get in touch with their natural surroundings when they come face-to-face with turtles, fish, and snakes at the living stream table, dig in the fossil pit, and learn about the customs of the native Cherokee.