• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 634 0

“wild tour,” where you strap on a spelunker helmet and go off-trail in the undeveloped portions of the cave, wiggling through narrow tunnels and marveling at a 75ft subterranean waterfall. You can even bunk down underground on special overnight tours. Raccoon Mountain also has fantastic mountain-biking trails. Ride around the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Pumped Storage Plant, a vast reservoir high atop the mountain. The singletrack trails, built by local bike groups, range from intermediate to extreme. Non-cyclists can hike the same trails and take in the stunning views. “Watch the Tennessee River 1000ft below you as it carves through the Cumberland Plateau,” Grymes says.

After a sweaty day, Grymes recommends hoisting a cold one at the Big River Grille & Brewing Works, near the waterfront. Here, a “young-oriented, active crowd” chows down on pizza, ribs and hearty salads and listens to live bluegrass and alt-country. To sleep, try the fun (but not corny) train-themed Chattanooga Choo-Choo Holiday Inn, once the town’s main railway terminal. The 24-acre complex includes 48 Victorian railcars-turned-guest rooms, a half dozen restaurants and a Gilded Age bar with a player piano.

* * *

THE CHATTANOOGA CHOO-CHOO

Post-Civil War, Chattanooga was a major manufacturing and railroad center, which made it a hip, bustling place to be. Glenn Miller immortalized the city’s train culture in his 1941 hit “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” in the movie Sun Valley Serenade. While Chattanooga is no longer a railway hub, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (www.tvrail.com) offers several old-fashioned train trips, including the 55-minute Missionary Ridge Local and the six-hour Chickamauga Turn.

* * *

Rock climbers adore Chattanooga’s sandstone cliffs. The Tennessee, or T, Wall, northwest of the city, is the area’s most famous climbing zone, but it’s only for experienced traditional climbers. Less-advanced climbers should call the Tennessee Bouldering Authority to set up a guided trip. “They’ll take you to a beginner-oriented rockface like Sunset Rock,” says Grymes, referring to a popular sandstone cliff in the Lookout Mountain area on the border with Georgia. Lookout Mountain itself, 6 miles from downtown, has several classic attractions. A ticket will get you a ride to the top on the Incline Railway and admission to the Ruby Falls underground waterfall and the Rock City garden at the summit. And you can’t leave Chattanooga without a tandem hang-gliding flight at the Lookout Mountain Flight Park, just over the state line in Georgia, where you’re pulled off the ground by an ultra-light aircraft and let loose to soar around above a beautiful valley.

For camping, head northeast of the city to Harrison Bay State Park, where you can explore the thickly wooded shoreline of Chickamauga Lake, a reservoir created from the Tennessee River. “Fish for everything from your smallmouth and largemouth bass to crappie and catfish,” Grymes suggests. On the opposite side of the lake in Hixson, TN, Chester Frost Park has a sandy swim area.

To the northeast, the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers is one of the best hidden gems in Chattanooga. “During the winter this is a stopover ground for more than 10,000 sandhill cranes and the site of dozens of bald eagles returning to their nesting grounds,” Grymes says. Outdoor Chattanooga’s OutVenture program offers a sunset kayak tour of the area.

Emily Matchar

* * *

TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

From Nashville, take I-24 East for about 130 miles, taking exit 178 to merge onto Hwy 27 North towards Chattanooga.

DO

Chester Frost Park

This well-tended park has one of the few designated swimming areas on the Tennessee River. 423-842-0177; 2318 N Gold Point Cir, Hixson, TN

Lookout Mountain

See the world’s longest underground waterfall and several dramatic cliff-top gardens and lookout points at this popular recreation area. 423-821-4224; www.lookoutmtnattractions.com; 827 East Brow Rd, Chattanooga; adult/child $38/19; varies by season

Lookout Mountain Flight Park

Fly tandem