AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

Our Opinion: Recommend.  This complex, on the east side of Memphis outside the I-240 loop (easy access), makes a convenient home base for exploration of Memphis or, in our case, a family visit.

Date of Stay: May 2 through May 19, 2010.

Weather During Stay:  We had it all (except cold): sun, rain, heavy humidity.  Severe thunderstorm warnings and flash flood watches. 

Site Description:  The Agricenter is similar to a fairground, and the 300 site “campground” is fairground-style: long rows of rectangular pull-through sites with a variety of utility hookups and limited amenities.  Sites are level, a combination of gravel and grass, easily swamped by rain. Showers and a laundry room are available – we didn’t use either.  Roads are gravel, and potholed.  Onsite storm shelter.

Our site has a gravel pad with 50 amp FHU.  Others have 30 amps, and many have just W/E.  Reservations are recommended if you want a FHU site.

Site 54 in Sunshine	Waterlogged Site 54

Rate: $30/night for 50 amp FHU; $180/week.  Other configurations are cheaper. 

Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon signal for the aircard and phones.  No obstacles for our roof-mounted satellite, and over a dozen channels on the antenna.  NPR is available at 91.1.  WiFi appears to be available, but we didn’t use it

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  Elevation is low, and the terrain is flat and grassy.  Views are of other rigs, grass, big green trees, nearby agricultural fields and the buildings of the Agricenter:  the permanent Farmer‘s Market, event center, and the Memphis NOAA weather center (the NOAA weather radar site).

Lighting/Noise:  High floodlights come on at night, but we were parked far enough away to minimize the glare.  Reasonably quiet at night, but the road behind the campground gets noisy by 7 am.

Favorite Sites:  The 50 amp FHU sites are in a section of the campground separate from the less expensive (and very crowded) sites favored by the semi-permanent campers who live here while they work in the area.  We were in site 54, with open space on our curb side.  Half or fewer of the sites in our area were occupied, so we all had plenty of space.

Hiking/Walking:  Excellent!  Trails along the Wolf River are accessible by foot from the campground.  A huge regional park (Shelby Farms) is adjacent to the Agricenter with miles of paved walking/biking trails. 

Comments: Though the campground is nothing special, the location is great.  Surrounded by grass, green trees, and agricultural fields, the camping area has a rural feel, but all kinds of shopping and restaurants line Germantown Road, a 6 lane adjacent thoroughfare.  Germantown is an upscale area of Memphis and feels very safe.  NOT a destination campground, but recommended for full timers who can make their own entertainment.