Discover Bristol: Country Music, History and Motorsports

When looking for a hotel in Bristol, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your stay: music history and architecture call for different plans than an annual festival, speedway tours or nature attractions in the wider region. The following offerings also differ in whether they are tied to specific dates.

Country Music and Event Dates

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum tells the story of the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings featuring the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest V. Stoneman and other artists. The museum is an affiliate museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Its immersive journey takes you back to the time and place where Bristol gave rise to musical pioneers.

The Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion offers a different musical perspective: the festival takes place annually on the second weekend in September in downtown Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. Over three days, it presents more than 100 bands on 13 stages. While the museum focuses on the history of the recordings, the festival is a three-day event held within a set date window. Check the specific event dates if you want to plan your travel around them.

Architecture and State Street

The Bristol Commercial Historic District is significant for its late 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It includes much of State Street and adjoining streets in Bristol, Tennessee. One individually listed building is the First National Bank Building at 500 State Street in Bristol, Tennessee; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another State Street landmark is the Bristol Virginia–Tennessee Slogan Sign. It spans the state line between Bristol, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. These examples offer different points of interest: the Historic District represents a larger collection of architecture, the bank building is a single listed structure, and the sign marks the boundary between the two cities.

Motorsports and Scheduled Events

Bristol Motor Speedway offers tours of its iconic half-mile racetrack. Dates may vary, so check the schedule before planning your stay around a tour. Bristol Dragway hosts more than 50 events annually. The two motorsports offerings thus differ in how they relate to the schedule: for the tour, the specific date matters; at the Dragway, there is a large number of events each year.

Downtown Center in Bristol is a venue for scheduled events such as the State Street Farmer’s Market. Dates and programming may change. So if a particular event is important to your trip, compare its current dates with your own travel days. This makes it easier to plan around a tour, a Dragway event or an event at Downtown Center.

Nature in the Park and Wider Region

Steele Creek Park Nature Center is a two-story educational facility with 8,000 square feet of space, live animals and educational exhibits about nature at Steele Creek Park. There is also a wildflower garden and a birdwatching area by the Nature Center. Nature here offers several points of interest: exhibits and live animals inside the center, as well as a garden and birdwatching nearby.

In the wider region around Bristol, the 1.8-mile Osceola Island Loop Trail offers opportunities for wildlife viewing and fly fishing. At South Holston Lake, which covers 7,589 acres and stretches from Tennessee to Virginia, possible activities include boating and bass fishing. The lake and the loop trail therefore offer different focuses: water sports and fishing at the lake, nature viewing and fly fishing on the trail.

The accessible facilities at South Holston Dam are also part of the wider region: these include the fishing pier, viewpoint, paved trail, picnic tables, restrooms, visitor center and drinking fountain. Check current accessibility information before your visit.

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