Nashville isn’t just cowboys and country music, the city is full to the brim with activities that you can enjoy with your team, whether it’s a 10-member group or a 100-member group.
While music lovers enjoy the city’s sounds at the Country Music Hall of Fame and foodies dig into Southern hot chicken, you can sign your team up for a scavenger hunt that’ll give you the best of both worlds.
Take a walking tour through the city while solving puzzles, cracking messages, and exploring some of Nashville’s most iconic locations.
Here, we’ll list 11 scavenger hunts suitable for small and large teams and available in various themes.
The Top-Rated Scavenger Hunts in Nashville, TN
Here’s a list of the top-rated scavenger hunts through Nashville. You can find options for small and large groups, and some organizations offer the option of hosting a private event.
1. cityHUNT Nashville Scavenger Hunts
- Request a free quote here.
The top-rated provider of scavenger hunts in Nashville is cityHUNT, a team-building company that hosts hunts throughout the country.
The scavenger hunt includes some awesome locations that your team will get to explore. First, there’s the Honky Tonk Central, one of the most popular bars in Nashville with a three-floor building.
After that, participants will pass by Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge—an iconic landmark known for hosting legendary musicians, including Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
The next stop is the Bridgestone Arena, which is the Nashville Predators’ home. At the arena, your team will get to explore the place and take some creative photos for the hunt.
Other stops in the hunt include the Legends Corner and Ryman Auditorium, where your team will have to deliver some creative photographs to win the challenge.
You can customize your team event with cityHUNT to suit your preferences and work for the whole group. All you need is a phone call, and a consultant will provide you with all the knowledge needed to decide.
Once you choose a package and finalize the details, cityHUNT will handle all the details for you.
2. Honky Tonk Scavenger Hunt
You can’t be in Nashville and not do a honky tonk scavenger hunt!
Get your team to Lower Broadway and start looking for cowboy boots, neon signs, and live musicians. The scavenger hunt can include challenges like finding a bar with a mechanical bull, locating a street performer playing an unusual instrument, or taking a selfie in front of Tootise’s Orchid Lounge.
You can also make it a bit harder by including clues like finding rhinestone-studded cowboy hats in some souvenir shop. Or, taking a picture of the longest-running honky tonk on Broadway.
For a side quest, you can have your team collect coasters or paper cups from at least five different honky tonks. Everyone will have fun doing this hunt, and they’ll get to explore parts of Nashville they may have never seen before.
3. Germantown Treasure Trail
Germantown is a hidden treasure trail in Nashville that you can use for your hunt. It’s renowned for its restored Victorian buildings and high-end boutiques, but you can also enjoy Nashville’s Farmer’s Market nearby.
Your team can walk through Germantown and look for hidden historical markers, old railway remnants, or unique architectural elements.
Before going on the hunt, you should prepare a list of clues and challenges that your team should finish. Here are some examples you can use:
- Find a cobblestone alley and take a picture of it
- Find old railway track remnants
- Take a photo of a house built in the 1900s
- Take a photo of an interesting architectural feature
- Spot a restaurant that used to be a historic building
- Ask at least three local shop owners about the history of their buildings
4. Ryman Auditorium Musical Scavenger Hunt
One of Nashville’s most popular locations, Ryman Auditorium is a historic performance venue that hosted the Grand Le Opry from 1943 to 1974. It’s the perfect location for a scavenger hunt your team won’t forget!
Naturally, the hunt will be focused on country music, so the clues will all revolve around that. You can challenge the team to find the plaque dedicated to Johnny Cash, take a photo standing where a famous artist once performed, or take a picture with a life-sized cutout of a country music legend.
To make it more challenging, you can also include harder challenges like finding the exhibit that explains how the Ryman got nicknamed ‘Mother Church of Country Music.’ Or, you can have them look for an original church pew from when the auditorium was a tabernacle.
For a bonus score, have the team perform a short line from any country song on the Ryman stage and record it.
5. Tennessee State Museum Scavenger Hunt
The Tennessee State Museum is one of the best locations in Nashville for a memorable scavenger hunt. It includes six permanent exhibitions that you can use for the hunt, including First Peoples, Forging a Nation, and The Civil War and Reconstruction.
The clues and challenges for this hunt should be as unique as the place. Here’s a list of examples so that you can get prepared:
- Finding a Civil War uniform and identifying which side it belongs to
- Taking a photo of the oldest Tennessee Map in the museum
- Finding a Native American artifact and taking a photo of it
- Finding a 20th-century object that no longer exists
- Finding an exhibit for Andrew Jackson and writing down something new they learned about him
A museum scavenger hunt will be both fun and informative, and it’s a nice opportunity for team members who’ve never visited the museum before.
For a bonus challenge, you can dare your team members to interview a random museum guide and learn a fun historical fact that they wouldn’t find in the exhibits.
6. Belle Meade Plantation Scavenger Hunt/Tour
If you’ve never visited Belle Meade, this is your chance to take a tour inside and have the scavenger hunt of your life. The Greek Revival-style plantation has been there since the 1800s, and there are a lot of activities you can do on the grounds.
The mansion is operated as a winery, museum, and attraction. Many of the original outbuildings are still on the plantation, including the stable, carriage house, gardener’s house, and Harding Cabin, which belonged to John Harding.
Harding was a Southern Planter and breeder who established the plantation in the 1800s. He started what was later known as the Belle Meade stud farm.
Anyway, a scavenger hunt at this plantation will be one of a kind. You can challenge the team to locate any old horse-related artifact, take a selfie in front of the Harding Cabin, or spot a historical marker that tells the property’s story.
For a harder challenge, you can have your team members find a Civil War bullet hole and take a photo of it. Or maybe find a tour guide and ask him about a ghost story tied to the property.
7. Country Music Hall of Fame Scavenger Hunt
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is one of the most famous attractions in Nashville, and it’s the perfect destination for scavenger hunts.
The museum holds one of the world’s most extensive musical collections. On top of that, it has some pretty impressive exhibits, including the Rosanne Cash exhibit, which shows some of her personal artifacts and some letters from her father, Johnny Cash.
There’s also Elvis Presley’s gold Cadillac, which is one of the standout displays in the museum.
There are plenty of creative clue ideas for this scavenger hunt. Here’s a list to inspire you:
- Finding Dolly Parton’s exhibit and taking a picture of the outfit that stands out the most
- Finding Elvis Presley’s Gold Cadillac and taking the best picture of it
- Spotting the oldest displayed guitar in the museum
- Locating a handwritten lyric sheet written by a famous songwriter or singer
- Finding an interactive exhibit and participating in it, like recording a song
- Spotting a rare album cover from before 1970 and taking a picture of it
The museum is full of exhibits that your team can tour, and the scavenger hunt will add a kick and make it the ultimate team activity. For bonus points, you can challenge your colleagues to draw a quick sketch of the oddest stage outfit they could find.
8. Murals and Street Art Nashville Scavenger Hunt
Nashville has nearly as many murals and street art as honky tonks! If you don’t want to limit your team’s scavenger hunt to one location, you can throw a citywide hunt to find famous murals and art in Nashville. Or, you can limit it to The Gulch and 12 South, where there are hidden graffiti gems your team can compete to find.
In this scavenger hunt, you can be as creative as you want with your challenges. For example, you can challenge your team to take a picture in front of the I Believe in Nashville mural. Or you can throw a competition for who poses the best in front of the What Lifts You wings mural.
More challenges include finding a hidden mural that’s typically not found in a tourist guidebook, spotting a mural featuring a famous musician, or locating a black-and-white mural.
To test your team’s ability to draw or illustrate, you can create a bonus challenge that involves drawing their own versions of any of the murals they find.
9. The Parthenon Mythology Challenge
Centennial Park is a hidden gem for scavenger hunts. Its centerpiece is the Parthenon, which is a full-scale replica of the Greek iconic building.
For a fun scavenger hunt, challenge your team to find statues of Greek gods and identify mythological symbols! You can include clues like finding an artwork inspired by Greek history, taking a picture of Athena’s statue inside the Parthenon, or identifying and finding fun facts about the three Greek gods or goddesses displayed in the building.
You can also make the hunt more fun by challenging your team to strike a dramatic pose that mimics a Greek statue and taking a photo to prove it!
10. Johnny Cash Museum Lyrics Hunt
For a musical scavenger hunt, take your team to the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville. It’ll be an unforgettable memory for country music enthusiasts!
There are plenty of scavenger hunt ideas you can do in the Johnny Cash Museum, from finding Cash’s famous black suit to snapping a picture of his most iconic guitar.
You’ll have to do your homework before this hunt, but you’ll find more than enough ideas for the whole team to have fun.
Here’s a list of challenge examples to inspire you:
- Finding something from Cash’s time with the Highwaymen
- Taking a selfie next to one of Cash’s gold or platinum records
- Finding handwritten lyrics from the legendary artist and taking a picture of them
- Spotting the famous black suit and striking a pose in front of it
- Singing a line from Ring of Fire in front of the museum and recording it
11. Shelby Bottoms Greenway Nature Hunt
If you want a scavenger hunt with an adventurous twist or if you want your team to reconnect with nature, this is the way to do it.
Shelby Bottoms Greenway offers trails for running, hiking, biking, and wildlife watching. It’s a relatively flat pathway that most people can explore with no issues.
The clues and challenges on this hunt will be a bit different. You can challenge your team to find a native Tennessee wildflower, find a historical marker about the area’s past, or identify at least three different bird species.
You can also make it harder by including challenges like locating a tree with a unique shape and taking its picture. For bonus points, dare your team to take a picture of an animal footprint along the trail!
Though hikes aren’t for everyone, you can walk this pathway at an easy pace and have fun with it. It’s a nice change of scenery from the city streets.
Other Team Building Activities You Can Do in Nashville
Scavenger hunts aren’t for everyone, and that’s okay. If you want a different team-building activity in Nashville, here are a few examples that you can explore:
Go to an Escape Room
Escape rooms encourage teamwork and help break the ice between new and old employees. Your team will work together to solve puzzles and crack codes, promoting problem-solving skills! Not only that, but it’s also a fun way to spend a day outside of work.
After solving everything, your team’s morale will be through the roof!
If your team is large, you can book many rooms and see which team will find the exit first.
Honky Tonky Crawl
Take your team to Broadway and have a honky tonk crawl! Your team will get to explore famous honky tonks, and you can create a trivia challenge during the crawl to make it more fun. That way, your team will get to socialize while enjoying a friendly competition.
Food Truck Crawl
Nashville has more than plenty of food trucks, and you can use that to your advantage by throwing a team food truck crawl. Take your team to various food trucks around Nashville and rate each truck’s food. You can also create a competition over who finds the most unique dish first.
Activities that involve food are more likely to be enjoyed, and this one is pretty easy to arrange—no one will want to miss all that food!
Pottery Class
For a refreshing change of scenery, book a private pottery class for your team. Working on a creative project will encourage patience and collaboration. On top of that, since pottery is a relaxing activity, it’ll provide a stress-relieving atmosphere for your team, giving them a break from work.
If you want to encourage group work, you can work on a collective project, like designing a set of mugs for the office. You can also throw a competition over creating the best mug or the most oddly-shaped one.
Hiking at Percy Warner Park
Outdoor settings are generally more relaxing for team activities, so you can take your team on a friendly hike. Choose a trail that’s easy enough for anyone to tackle, even if they’re not seasoned hikers. It’s a nice opportunity for trust-building activities and bonding outside of the office. The team wouldn’t want to miss that one!
Final Words
A scavenger hunt is the perfect team-building activity, and Nashville has more than enough locations to throw a decent hunt. The list above has plenty of options you can choose from, but if you want the easy way out and the best customization options, go for cityHUNT.
They’ll tailor the event to your team’s needs and handle every little detail for you, making it easier to arrange the team activity—plus, you won’t have to do any guesswork when it comes to clues and challenges.
That way, all you have to do is request a quote, give them a phone call, and relax while they do all the preparations.
