University of Tennessee: College Tour Tips and Itinerary

Planning to take a tour of University of Tennessee with your child this summer? Learn what to expect from your time on campus and discover fun ways to make your day trip to Knoxsville, TN one to remember.

A prospective student wearing an orange UT t-shirt stands next to a dog statue on campus.

This summer my oldest daughter and I are hitting the road to visit college campuses throughout the south east.

While we live in Charlotte, NC, we are considering schools both in and out of state.

We planned a day trip to visit the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN because my daughter wants to apply to their engineering program.

I’m sharing all my tips and tricks and a peek inside the tour to help you and your student navigate a college tour of your own. But don’t miss my general college tour tips here, too!

Getting There

University of Tennessee
For parking for your college tour, you’ll add this address to your GPS:
1545 White Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37916

If you’re starting from the south side of Charlotte, NC like we did, plan for about 4.5 hours in the car.

Register for Your Tour Before You Go

University of Tennessee offers virtual tours, like so many colleges and universities now do.

However, if you want to see campus in person, take part in an information session with an admissions officer, and get a guided tour with a student guide, you’ll want to register for a campus visit before you go.

Be sure to sign up with one of their open dates, you can find all the information you’ll need to register here.

Parking

Once you’ve registered as an official visitor, they will send you all the details you need once you arrive on campus.

During our visit, we were asked to park at the Volunteer Hall parking garage, which fills up quickly, so get there early. They will validate your parking so be sure to bring your exit ticket along for the stamp.

Once you’ve parked, you’ll walk over to Visitor’s Center at 1502 Cumberland Ave. Ste. 282. The university has added these super-helpful orange paw prints to help you find your way to the building from the parking deck:

The orange sign with pawprints that leads visitors to the Campus Tour at UT.

Our Itinerary

We left home in Charlotte at 6 am so we could arrive in Knoxville, TN by 10:30 am. I always pad our time to allow for stops as needed.

Our day went as follows:

Arrive in Knoxville and park, Walk to the Student Center to get oriented.
Walk to Lunch at Gus’ Good Times Deli
Campus Tour at 1:00 pm
Visit the Bookstore After the Tour
Take Pictures
Drive Around Campus
Head Home: We got home around 8pm

Information Session

The UT volunteer torch sign inside the student union. — “One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others.” The Volunteer Creed

Be sure to arrive at your parking spot early so you are not late for your information session and tour. Follow those orange paw print signs to the right building.

There will be students working at the desk in suite 282 to welcome you and get you signed in for your session.

There is apparently an amazing welcome video they share during the information session but unfortunately for us, the equipment was causing troubles. I have friends who reported crying during the video, it is apparently quite moving. Be sure to bring some tissues!

The admissions officer went through everything we needed to know to apply to UT along with scholarship information that was quite helpful as we faced application season.

This is an excellent place to ask any general questions you have about the admissions process.

Walking Tour

After the information session, you’ll be lead out of the theater onto campus by a tour guide for your walking tour.

We visited during the heat of summer on a very sunny day. The walk was quite hilly with some stairs but our guide avoided some of the most difficult routes and always paused underneath some shade when we had the opportunity.

There is a spot on the website to request an accessibility-friendly tour when you register if that is a concern for your family.

The walking tour lasted for about an hour and a half.

We walked through the heart of the university past major landmarks on campus including:

The Student Union
Haslam College of Business
The Rock
Neyland Stadium
Rocky Top Dining Hall
The Bookstore

The enormous painted rock on the UT campus says "Go Vols!" — **The Rock at UT Knoxville**

Most of our tour was spent outside walking between the buildings, there was a lot of ground to cover for the tour and most of the inside visits happened at the beginning and end of the tour near the student union.

We got a peek at Neyland Stadium from a distance, if you want a closer look you’ll want to leave time before or after your tour to head over there yourself.

The football stadium on campus. — **Neyland Stadium at University of Tennessee**

Our tour guide was a recent graduate of University of Tennessee with plans to head to Boston College for graduate school. He spoke quite highly of his time at UT and the close relationships he made with his professors.

We ended our tour right back where we began at the student union so that it was an easy walk back to our parked car.

A dining hall with orange chairs at the student union.

Where to Eat

If you plan to eat before or after your tour, make sure to have a plan before you arrive in town. There are not a ton of options near campus and you may prefer to visit downtown Knoxville.

The outdoor sign of the deli in front, you can see a large Tennessee mural on the building just behind it.

I wanted to share a special meal with my daughter somewhere as close to campus as possible so that she could experience UT like she would if she was a student.

I did some research for the best places to eat at UT on campus and came across:

Gus’s Good Times Deli

We chose to visit Gus’s Good Times Deli because it was a very quick walk from the visitor center.

This classic sports pub had a little something for everyone and the food is made hot and fresh while you stand there and wait.

We had a blast looking at all the classic athletic photos that covered the wall of fame while we waited for our food:

The wall is completely covered in photos. — **The “Wall of Fame” at Gus’s Good Times Deli at UT**

I strongly recommend the cheesesteaks and fries for your meal. Skip the fish sandwich.

On-Campus Dining Halls

If you really want to get a feel for student life, our tour guide mentioned it was possible to eat in one of the student dining halls during your visit.

Be sure to ask them for more information if this is of interest to you!

7 Things to Do During Your Visit

The 2 hours of your information session and tour are just part of your visit to University of Tennessee. Be sure to plan for some extra time before or after your tour so you can experience more than the area offers your student.

1. Visit the Bookstore

If your teen is anything like my kiddo, a visit to the campus bookstore is a Must-Do. We purchased a t-shirt for her to enjoy wearing between now and her final decision, it will also possibly come in handy for our decision day announcement in the spring.

The UT bookstore is one of the best we’ve seen and I know she’d have a blast doing a little spending spree here if she decides to attend.

The tshirts and mugs for sale at the UT Bookstore — **University of Tennessee Book Store**

2. Browse the Visitor’s Center

The tour ends back at the Visitor’s Center. If you haven’t had time yet, I recommend walking around to check out the historical signs and sculptures that decorate the space. There was so much to take in.

We loved this bright orange torch chandelier created by Matthew Cummings of Pretentious Glass Co.

A large glass chandelier that looks like an orange torch inside the visitor's center.

3. Get Ice Cream at the UT Creamery

New since 2023, you can stop in for ice cream at the UT Creamery ice cream shop. According to UT, students parking at the Creamery are entitled to a complimentary scoop of ice cream.

So if you can’t park at the Vol Hall deck, you can find overflow parking here and take the Neyland Express Shuttle to the student union. Be sure to grab your ice cream on the way back to your car!

4. Drive through Greek Village

If your student is interested in rushing a fraternity or sorority, you can find all the Greek housing nestled together in the Greek village.

5. Take a Student Photo

Once we bought my daughter’s UT tee, she changed into it so we could take an on-campus picture to potentially use in her announcement later next spring.

I’m saving all the campus pics in an album on my phone for easy grabbing when the time comes.

NOTE: This was my daughter’s idea, not my own. If you think your child would feel way too much pressure with this, skip it! They don’t need any more stress placed on their shoulders. For us, there was just a simple feeling of excitement and potential and hope surrounding that pic. We know she’s an awesome kid who will land some place that is the right fit. Maybe that will be University of Tennessee, maybe not.

6. Drive Through Downtown Knoxville

Once you’e back in your car, take a drive through downtown Knoxville. There are tons of great places to eat if you’d like to stop for a sit-down dinner.

For more information on things to do in Knoxville, check out the Visit Knoxville site.

7. Visit Buc-ee’s on Your Way Home

There is a Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, which is right on the way home to Charlotte so of course we had to make a pitstop.

We made this our dinner choice and stocked up on goodies for the car for the ride back.

A girl in an orange UT tshirt stands next to the Buccee's mascot.

Final Thoughts

My daughter and I had the best time during our day trip to Knoxville, TN together. This was just one of several college campus tours we have planned for the summer.

After our visit, University of Tennessee skyrocketed towards the top of her favorite schools. She loves their marching band, student life, and how actively involved she could be as a student.

The campus is so pretty and very walkable, but be sure to have good shoes and be willing to brave some hills!