If you’re planning a mural scavenger hunt in Columbia, this guide brings everything together in one place. You’ll find mapped walking routes, family-friendly tips, and printable scavenger pages designed for both kids and adults. Public art is one of the easiest ways to experience the arts together as a family, and it’s never too early to introduce kids to creativity, color, and storytelling through murals.
This guide and mural map focus only on outdoor, exterior murals in Columbia so you can enjoy them any time of day without worrying about business hours or admission fees. There are additional murals inside local buildings and businesses, but those are not included here so this stays an easy, outside‑only adventure.
How to use this guide and mural map
The Columbia Area Mural Map is the best starting point for finding kid‑friendly, photo‑ready murals throughout Columbia, and this guide is designed to walk you through each section of that map. The mural map organizes murals into mapped routes so you can walk or drive without spending time planning it all out. The map is organized into these sections, and you can also click a section to jump straight to that part of the guide.
The driving route does not repeat murals from the walkable routes, so you can choose either experience without overlap.
The Downtown Columbia Mural Walk and the Columbia Arts District Mural Walk include mural photos, business names, addresses, artist credits (when available), and tips to help you spot each piece, along with a shorter route option for younger children or anyone needing a quicker walk. If I was able to connect with a business or artist about a specific mural, any details they shared about its story or creation are included in that mural’s pin description on the map.
A printable Downtown Columbia Mural Scavenger Hunt sheet is available, and you can also download a printable Columbia Arts District Mural Scavenger Hunt to go with this route so kids can track their progress along the way.
The only section still in progress is the drivable route, which will feature murals that are better enjoyed by car or in shorter, hop‑out‑and‑look stops, and this will grow over time as we drive around town and refine the mural map with more details from the road.
If you are interested in learning more about Columbia’s history and culture beyond the murals, the City also offers a free Visit Columbia TN app with self-guided walking trails through downtown and the Columbia Arts District. It includes the Columbia Cultural Trail and Columbia Heritage Walk, which highlight murals, historic buildings, cultural sites, and more. You can download the app and learn more on the Visit Columbia TN website.
Downtown Columbia Mural Walk
Where to park and start
For the full Downtown Columbia Mural Walk, a good starting point is outside Red 7 Pizza or on Walker Street near Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church. Parking here keeps you close to the first murals while giving you the option not to park directly in front of the restaurant.
If you prefer a simpler parking option, you can also start at the Maury County Visitor Center and backtrack a short distance to see the first mural, or simply begin your walk from there.
Route overview
The complete downtown route, as we walked it, is about 2.25 miles and includes a little bit of backtracking. Depending on your pace, plan for roughly 1–2 hours to complete it. My daughter joined in a stroller, and at a fairly fast pace we finished in just under an hour.
Downtown Columbia is walkable, but the terrain is not completely flat. You will encounter a few sneaky hills and occasional sections with no sidewalk, so it helps to wear comfortable shoes and keep an eye on where little feet are stepping.
Safety note: Please remember that this mural walk uses public streets and sidewalks. You are responsible for your own safety and for supervising any children in your group, including watching for traffic, uneven pavement, and trip hazards.
Longer vs. shorter options
There are two main ways to do this walk, depending on your group and the ages of your kids.
- Longer route: This follows the full downtown loop and is stroller-friendly for the most part. It works well for older children (around ages 5–12) who can comfortably walk a little over 2 miles. There are a few sections with hills and sidewalk gaps where you will want to slow down and use extra caution.
- Shorter, stroller-friendly option: For very young children or anyone who prefers a gentler outing, you can focus on a shorter stretch starting at 710 N. Garden Street and ending at 109 E. 6th Street. Parking anywhere on the square works for this route, but spots closer to the intersection of West 7th Street and South Garden Street are ideal. This version keeps the walk more manageable while still giving you plenty of murals to find. Since the map was built around the longer loop, you may find a more efficient order of stops for this shorter route by using the digital mural map to choose your path.
You can also tailor your own route by skipping or adding sections as needed, depending on time, energy, and the weather.
Tips from our Downtown Columbia mural walk
Here are some notes from our route that may help you plan your own outing.
- 708 N. Main Street (next to Caledonian Financial): These murals are in the parking lot of a building that is currently for sale. The three murals included on the kids’ scavenger hunt sheet are accessible from the sidewalk. We opened the gate and walked behind the building and found four additional murals. Those additional murals require accessing private property, use your own discretion if you decide to look for them.
- 110 E. 7th Street / Woodland Street: As you approach this set of murals, there is a fairly steep drop-off from the sidewalk, so use extra caution here with kids and strollers. The murals are just off 7th Street and a short way down Woodland, where there are no sidewalks but parking is available in front of the artwork.
I confirmed with a staff member at the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence that the Be The Friend image at this location was part of a limited‑time awareness campaign about supporting friends in abusive or toxic relationships. While it is not a traditional hand‑painted mural, I chose to include it here because there is also a permanent mural at this same site and because this image appears on other mural maps for our area. The Be The Friend piece itself is a vinyl print created from a photograph by Ed Rode, a Nashville‑based photographer whose work includes documenting well‑known musicians and songwriters in and around Nashville. - 801 Woodland Street: To access this mural, get back onto E. 7th Street and walk past Columbia Motor Alley (another fun stop along the way). The mural is just past the “Super Service for Chevrolet” sign.
- 109 E. 6th Street: When you head to this mural via Woodland Street, you will encounter another section with no sidewalks or where the sidewalk transitions to the other side of the street without a crosswalk, so please use caution.
- 510 and 506 N. Garden Street: We took N. Garden Street to reach these murals, but it was a busier road. An alternative is to travel along N. Main Street instead. At the Chiropractic Center mural, I was unable to identify the artist, and while there is a QR code on the mural, it is not currently active.
Along the way, we also enjoyed treating certain details as bonus “look and find” items, especially for older kids and adults. From the stained glass windows at churches leading toward the square to hand-painted business signs throughout downtown, there are lots of little details to notice as you walk. On our route back to the car, we passed the window at aMuse’um Children’s Museum and spotted a mule statue with various downtown business landmarks painted on it by Zoe and Max Marczak, which made a fun final stop.
Kid-friendly scavenger hunt tips
To turn this walk into more of a scavenger hunt, bring along the Downtown Columbia Mural Walk activity sheet and give each child their own copy. They can check off murals as they find them or circle small details they notice in the artwork.
As you walk, keep kids engaged by asking simple questions about what they see, such as animals, butterflies, crowns, or hidden details in each mural. My daughter loved pointing out how many mule murals there are and the little differences in each one. For older kids, you can also let them help with easy navigation choices and decide whether to include optional segments like Garden Street, depending on how everyone is feeling.
Plan to build in a slower pace than you might take on your own, especially with strollers or younger walkers, and use crosswalks carefully since downtown traffic can stay busy even at marked crossings. A little extra margin in your timing will make the whole mural hunt feel more like an adventure than a rush.
Columbia Arts District Mural Walk
Where to park and start
For the Columbia Arts District Mural Walk, a convenient place to begin is near the corner of S. Garden Street and Depot Street. Parking in this area puts you close to the murals and sculptures along S. Garden Street without a long approach.
We visited in the late afternoon on a weekday, but families may find this route more relaxed earlier in the day or during quieter times.
Route overview
The Columbia Arts District route is much shorter than the Downtown walk and works well as a low-key outing or add-on to another activity. The longer version adds a short out-and-back segment to reach murals along S. Main Street, while the shorter route focuses on the stretch of S. Garden Street between Mama Mila’s and the fire station.
S. Garden Street itself is reasonably walkable, with a mix of murals, sculptures, and business-front artwork to look for along the way. This area is a good fit for stroller walks or younger kids who are not ready for a full downtown loop.
Safety note: Please remember that this mural walk uses public streets and sidewalks. You are responsible for your own safety and for supervising any children in your group, including watching for traffic, uneven pavement, and trip hazards.
Longer vs. shorter options
- Longer route: This version starts on S. Garden Street and adds an out-and-back extension to include murals along S. Main Street. It adds roughly 10 extra minutes and about half a mile of walking compared to the shorter option.
- Shorter, stroller-friendly option: For very young children or anyone who prefers a shorter outing, you can focus just on S. Garden Street between Mama Mila’s and the fire station. This keeps the walk close to a quick out-and-back with murals and sculptures to spot along the way. The Columbia Arts District digital mural map highlights only the mural stops; sculptures are not listed there but are described in the “Tips from our walk” section if you want extra things to look for.
Some murals that used to be listed at addresses like 1200 S. Garden Street now appear to be gone, even though they are still included on a few county and city mural maps. If you see these spots on other printed or digital lists, that is why they do not show up on our walking route, and there is no pin for them on our mural map. We only include locations where we could confirm that a mural is currently visible from the street.
Although the Lady Justice mural on Carmack Boulevard is technically within the Columbia Arts District, it is included in the Driving Columbia Murals section of this guide rather than this walk. The mural sits under a rail overpass and is best viewed from a vehicle or from the opposite side of Carmack if you are on foot, since you cannot see the full piece from the side we reached during our initial walk.
Tips from our Columbia Arts District mural walk
Here are some notes from our route that may help you plan your own outing.
- Main Street approach (1309 and 1211 S. Main Street): The sidewalks leading up to the Building Block School for the Arts show some wear and had quite a bit of litter when we visited, and there is a noticeable hill in this area. We plan to go back with our grabber claw and a trash bag (if you know us, you know). You do need to cross the road to reach these spots, and there are no marked crosswalks nearby, so it is a good place to slow down and use extra caution with kids.
- 1309 S. Main Street: The music‑themed mural here uses a bold 3D effect so that, from the right angle, it really does look like you are playing the instruments in your photos, which makes this a standout stop for kids and families. The mural is not yet complete and is expected to be expanded in a future phase, so you may notice sections that are still in progress, but even in its current state it feels special enough to be worth the extra walk from the rest of the route.
- 1018 S. Garden Street: The mural shown for this address on some older mural tours, “Food is Art”, is no longer at this location. Instead, you will currently find two circular murals: one that reads “In God We Trust” and another that serves as branding for the restaurant at this corner.
- 1000 S. Main Street (including Firefighters Park Pavilion): This stop includes three murals. The mural at the pavilion was my daughter’s favorite and makes a nice “reward” stop if your family chooses to include this part of the route.
Sculptures along S. Garden Street: While the scavenger hunt sheet focuses on murals (all on the same side of the street), you will pass several sculptures that work well as bonus “look and find” items. Since this is an out-and-back walk, you can explore both sides of the street as you go:
- Wonderment by Kevin Hale
- Carbon Mic by Joseph Hazelwood
- Independence by ricAuRTe Sculptures
- Dancing Poppies by Whitney Harrington
- Steelgill by ricAuRTe Sculptures
These pieces add interest between mural stops and give kids more to spot without adding much extra distance.
Kid-friendly scavenger hunt tips
If you are using the Arts District activity sheet, give each child their own copy so they can check off murals and sculptures as they find them or circle favorite details.
As with the Downtown walk, plan for a slower pace with strollers or younger walkers and use crosswalks carefully. Adding a few extra minutes to your plan will help this short route feel like an easy, art-filled stroll rather than something you need to rush through.
Driving Columbia Murals
This drivable mural section highlights Columbia-only stops that are easiest to see by car or in short hop‑out‑and‑look breaks. For now, it includes eleven locations compiled from murals I’ve spotted while driving around town and from other mural tours and maps for our area. As I’m able to visit each spot in person, I’ll keep updating the mural map with clearer pins, notes, and kid‑friendly details to go along with this guide.
Mural Artists Featured in This Guide
One of my goals with this project is to highlight the artists behind the murals as clearly as possible. Here are the artists I was able to credit in the current version of the map and guide; I’ll keep adding to this list as I confirm more names.
- Bonnie Callewaert – Who Is John Galt? behind Caledonian Financial
- Michael Colley – Firefighter and Arts District at Fire Station #1
- Meredith Elmore – Gothic Mule at Red Seven Pizza, Greetings from Columbia at Edward Jones
- Levi Gurchiek – Muletown Lumberyard
- Whitney Herrington – Gothic Mule at Red Seven Pizza, Greetings from Columbia at Edward Jones, Mule Queen at Linen Duck, Lion and Snake at Kingdom Strength
- Holmes – Columbia Kind at Edward Jones
- John Johnson – Muletown Showdown Mule at Columbia Motor Alley
- Josh Kennedy – 3D Instruments at Building Block School for the Arts
- Bryson Leach – Dimple of the Universe at Vive Cycling
- Quantagus McFall – Muletown Lumberyard
- Ed Rode, Nashville Photographer – Photographer for Be the Friend vinyl print at Center of Hope
- Painted Mule Art by Kristen Seibold – Experience Maury Visitors Center, Howdy at Center of Hope
- Amelia Thiesing – Mule with Flowers at Chiropractic Center
- Jose F. Vargas – Old Glory Restaurant
Keep This Guide Handy
This guide is meant to grow and improve over time, so I’ll keep refining routes, notes, and map details as new murals appear and older pieces change. If you spot a new mural, notice an update, or have a favorite kid‑friendly tip to add, I’d love for you to share it so other families can enjoy it too.
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