Finishing Memphis at Big Cypress Lodge

It was our final day in Memphis, but we decided to leave in the evening so we’d have a full day to enjoy it.

Angela, Kylie, Brittany, and I woke up around 8:00. 

We were staying in Big Cypress Lodge, within the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, and could hear the rustling of those getting the store ready below us.

We dressed and went downstairs for breakfast at Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl. 

This nautical-themed restaurant has a saltwater aquarium as well as a 13-land bowling alley that gives the feeling of actually bowling underwater.

There wasn’t enough free time on our schedule for bowling, but we did enjoy the egg sandwiches and pancakes before our tour.

It’s hard to even begin to explain everything within this massive 535,000 square foot pyramid that houses Bass Pro Shops and Big Cypress Lodge, which itself has 103 rooms and suites.

We began the tour walking through the common areas of the lodge and saw one of the suites (the rest were all full). 

The accommodations were spread apart from both the store and the other rooms with a sense of “wilderness” in between, so much so that you could feel like you were outside.

When you looked down at Bass Pro Shops from the room level, it almost looked like an amusement park with its endless activities and sections.  

This was exactly what Johnny Morris, the company’s owner, had envisioned when he and friend Bill Dance, a Memphisnative, had first seen the pyramid.

We walked through the huge store, though “stores” is probably a more accurate description.

There is a shop for sunglasses, sections of apparel and accessories, plenty of home goods and pottery, large aquariums, an alligator habitat (yes, they are alive), an archery range, watersports, and the General Store, where you can buy homemade fudge, novelty snacks, and sauces.

The Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid also includes an interactive Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Heritage Center and a lake where you can try boats out before you buy them.

That is a good basis of what you can find there, but I suggest spending a full day to get the true feel of this destination.

After checking out the store levels, we went back down to the main floor to get to The Lookout.

In order to get to the top of the Pyramid, you take the world’s tallest freestanding elevator (28 stories).

When you arrive at the top, you’ll find The Lookout restaurant and bar, with a giant circular aquarium in the middle. From there, you can go outside for some amazing views.

You can see three states from The Lookout – Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

After the tour, we got in the car and headed to the Memphis Zoo.  We had fun seeing all the animals, but the highlight was feeding the giraffes.

We all had a great time and I’d recommend this zoo as a good day trip for all ages, especially since they’ve added in the Zambezi River Hippo Camp, which explores the animals along this African River.

We left the zoo and headed back to Big Cypress Lodge to pack up our things. It had been an amazing trip and we will certainly be back to Memphis in the future.

Special thanks to Memphis Tourism for arranging such a comprehensive trip.