Methods to Spend a Day in Chattanooga

When Jess and I moved to the USA, one of many issues I used to be most enthusiastic about was the chance to discover extra of this big nation at our leisure. There’s a lot to see and do throughout all of the states, and we now have the time and alternative to do exactly that.

One of many areas now we have visited lately is the town of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s just a few hours’ drive from the place we stay, making Chattanooga a straightforward 1- or 2-day journey. Jess had visited earlier than, however as a baby, so didn’t have a lot reminiscence of it apart from seeing an underground waterfall.

Earlier than we visited, we reached out to our newsletter subscribers for tips about what to see and the place to eat. Many Chattanooga locals bought again to us and gave us some superior strategies.

So, with out additional ado, let me current our information to spending a day in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This isn’t going to be a deep dive into every thing the town has to supply (which is quite a bit, by the way in which, there’s even a museum of International Towing and Recovery).

Nonetheless, for those who’re visiting the town for a brief break, as we have been, this can cowl the must-see spots and highlights of Chattanooga. We’ll additionally supply our suggestions of the place to remain, and tips about getting round. Hopefully, every thing it’s worthwhile to plan your individual fast getaway to Chattanooga.

Let’s get began!

1 Day Chattanooga Itinerary

At some point in Chattanooga gained’t allow you to see every thing the town has to supply, however you’ll be capable to see most of the highlights. As at all times, be at liberty to regulate this itinerary based mostly by yourself private preferences and pursuits!

We additionally advocate checking opening hours and pricing on the official web site earlier than setting out, as sights can shut or change working hours for numerous causes. For sights with tickets, a few of these shall be cheaper if bought upfront.

Breakfast: 9am

In case your lodge or lodging doesn’t supply breakfast, otherwise you would merely choose to have breakfast on the town someplace, now we have two choices for you. These could be Frothy Monkey, within the Choo Choo District, or The Daily Ration within the Northshore a part of city.

Each supply an excellent choice of southern breakfast choices, with gadgets similar to Shrimp and Grits and Fried Hen and Waffles. Naturally they each even have an excellent espresso choice to begin your day proper.

 

Discover Downtown Chattanooga: 10am

After breakfast, we’d recommend getting down to discover the town’s downtown. With restricted time in your arms you gained’t have time to go to all of the downtown sights, however you must be capable to embody a minimum of one in your go to. After all, if you’re extra within the downtown sights than a few of the different areas we advise in a while within the day then you definately would possibly think about switching a downtown attraction with one among our later choices. You could possibly additionally simply spend all day simply exploring the sights within the downtown!

When it comes to downtown sights, there are lots to select from. A number of the predominant sights we advise testing could be the Tennessee Aquarium, the Hunter Museum of American Art or the Creative Discovery Museum. That final one could be an excellent choice for those who’re visiting Chattanooga with youngsters.

When you’re executed exploring the downtown, it’s time to move out of city for the sights on Lookout Mountain.

 

Lookout Mountain Sights: from 12pm

Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge a number of miles southwest of the Chattanooga metropolis heart. It’s house to a few of Chattanooga’s hottest sights, in addition to strolling trails and viewpoints providing wonderful views of the encompassing panorama. There are additionally a lot of locations to remain on the mountain itself.

A lot of Lookout Mountain is taken up by the Lookout Mountain Battlefield, which types part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. This was the placement of main occasions throughout the American Civil Conflict, and people all in favour of army historical past could wish to go to the Level Park location for data on these occasions.

Level Park is a paid attraction, you possibly can see more here. We didn’t embody it on our itinerary, however be at liberty to incorporate it for those who just like the sound of it reasonably than one among our different choices!

The remainder of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield space is free to go to and it’s house to round 30 miles of trails. So if you wish to simply discover nature and do some mountaineering, that’s definitely an choice. Simply discover a parking spot, select a path, and get going. There’s an excellent trail map on the National Parks site here.

Introduction to Lookout Mountain apart, let’s dive into the sights that we advocate you go to in your first journey to Lookout Mountain. These are paid, however we expect they’re undoubtedly price it.

 

Incline Railway: 12pm

The primary cease we advocate in your Lookout Mountain journey is the Incline Railway. Inbuilt 1895, this mile lengthy railway will whisk you to the higher a part of the mountain. While the higher station of the incline railway isn’t technically on the highest level of Lookout Mountain (that honor belongs to Excessive Level, a method additional south), it’s nonetheless fairly excessive up on the mountain, and you’ll get nice views of the town.

There’s a viewing platform on the higher station, and the experience on this historic railway is effectively well worth the admission value.

The experience takes round 10 minutes every method, and also you’ll wish to spend a while on the high having fun with the view, so we’d recommend planning to spend round 45 minutes to an hour visiting the Incline Railway.

Should you’re hungry, there are additionally a number of eating choices across the decrease station. It’s additionally right here the place you’ll discover the following cease on our itinerary, house to a tasty deal with which is able to maintain you going along with your Chattanooga sightseeing journey!

You’ll be able to e book tickets for the Incline Railway here. There’s a car parking zone on website, which has a small charge for parking. Word that pets aren’t allowed on the railway.

 

Ice Cream at Clumpies: 1pm

Clumpies Ice Cream was extremely beneficial as a Chattanooga native favourite to attempt from our readers, and we’re so glad that we took them up on that advice.

Based in Chattanooga in 1999, Clumpies give attention to handmade ice cream made with recent elements in small batches. As of the time of writing, it’s obtainable in three areas. There’s one within the Northshore space, one by the Chattanooga Choo Choo, and, conveniently for this itinerary, one proper by the bottom of the Incline Railway.

They’ve an enormous vary of scrumptious flavors to select from, and we extremely advocate stopping off to do this traditional dish out.

 

Ruby Falls: 1.30pm

As I discussed firstly of this information, Jess visited Chattanooga when she was younger, and the one factor she actually remembers from that go to was that her household had a memento from Ruby Falls. So clearly we needed to return to refresh her reminiscence of what she noticed, and so I might see what it’s all about.

Ruby Falls has been one of the crucial widespread sights in Chattanooga because it opened to the general public in 1930. The primary attraction is the 90ft excessive waterfall, named Ruby Falls, which is definitely discovered over 1,000ft underground. An underground waterfall is unquestionably a neat attraction!

The Ruby Falls expertise works as follows. You join a tour time, which is finest if booked upfront on their website here. All visits are by guided tour, with tour group sizes ranging as much as round 30 folks. On the tour time you are taking an elevator down 260ft into the mountain, after which your information will lead you alongside a path to the waterfall. There’s additionally a video close to the beginning of the tour the place you’ll study concerning the historical past of how the attraction was developed, which is fairly attention-grabbing.

The path is just below a mile spherical journey, and there are many attention-grabbing cave formations to see on the way in which, which your information will level out. The path is straightforward to comply with and pretty even, though this being a cave there are in fact low factors, outcrops and a few steps to navigate. There are additionally occasions when you’ll have to let one other group going the opposite method move.

After all, the spotlight of the journey is the waterfall, which is fairly spectacular. It cascades down round 90ft, and the chamber it’s in is lots massive sufficient for the group. It’s additionally illuminated with totally different colours and there’s music as effectively.

For us your entire underground expertise lasted round an hour, with the time on the falls lasting round 8 to 10 minutes. This was loads of time to get all of the pictures we needed and in addition to simply get pleasure from watching the water.

Now, you could be questioning if visiting Ruby Falls is price it. We personally loved it, however it’s clearly a reasonably busy attraction the place you need to comply with a set path and itinerary.

I believe a variety of how good your expertise shall be will come right down to your information. The teams aren’t big, however with 30 or so folks stretched alongside a slim pathway, it would be best to attempt to be close to the entrance of your group to listen to every thing your information has to say as you go. There are factors the place your group will cease and the information will speak to you all, however there are additionally factors of curiosity alongside the way in which which you will miss for those who’re close to the again of the group.

Our information was okay, however now we have learn critiques the place folks discovered the guides to be very entertaining and verbose, which wasn’t the case with our information. Nonetheless, we did benefit from the expertise total, which was fairly distinctive. It additionally has historic attraction curiosity – we at all times love to go to sights which have been drawing a crowd for many years, because it appears like we’re following within the footsteps of many different vacationers.

That mentioned, for those who choose to have a bit extra time to discover at your leisure, are claustrophobic, or if the sound of an underground waterfall doesn’t float your boat, then that’s completely high-quality!

Guide your tickets on the official Ruby Falls website here. Parking at Ruby Falls is free.

 

Rock Metropolis / Lookout Mountain: 4pm

The opposite widespread paid attraction on Lookout Mountain we advocate visiting is Rock City, which is definitely simply throughout the state line in Georgia. This has additionally been a well-liked attraction in Chattanooga for a few years, opening method again in 1932.

It grew to become widespread attributable to a advertising marketing campaign which contain portray the slogan “See Rock Metropolis” on the roofs and partitions of barns throughout the US. By 1969, over 900 barns had been adorned throughout 19 states, and it’s protected to say that this bought the phrase out concerning the attraction pretty comprehensively.

Right now, Rock Metropolis presents an analogous expertise to that which guests would have discovered again within the day, though it has in fact developed a bit over time. The primary attraction although are the strolling trails, which wend their method across the beautiful rock formations, main you to spectacular viewpoints.

From one among these viewpoints it’s mentioned that you would be able to see seven states, though you will want a really clear day to realize that. Nonetheless, the view is spectacular, whatever the variety of states you truly see.

We actually loved visiting Rock Metropolis, it was our favourite attraction on high of Lookout Mountain. It’s actually neat to have the ability to wander round and beneath all of the rocks, and there actually is a variety of element to see, from underground dioramas to a waterfall to swing bridges to these aforementioned views. It actually appears like of a variety of love and a spotlight went into creating this attraction, with the identical household operating it at the moment who initially created it.

We’ve put your go to to Rock Metropolis later within the day so it’s a bit cooler, which is very essential for those who’re visiting Chattanooga in the summertime months. Nonetheless, it’s a year-round vacation spot, with themes all year long, together with an Irish competition in March, and lights for Christmas.

For this one we undoubtedly advocate reserving on-line upfront. Costs fluctuate relying on the time slot you select and the day you go to, and it’s normally cheaper to e book upfront on-line reasonably than purchase tickets in individual.

See extra and e book your tickets on the official Rock City website here. We’d recommend round 90 minutes to 2 hours for this attraction. Parking is free.

 

Dinner: 6pm

In any case that exploration, you’re sure to be hungry by now. So it could be time to move for some meals!

There’s an enormous vary of eating choices to select from in Chattanooga, from quick informal by to upscale experiences. You’ll additionally discover a vary of cuisines to select from, operating the gamut from BBQ, hearty southern fare, by to world flavors.

There are undoubtedly too many choices to listing, however some choices to contemplate embody Barque for excellent BBQ, St. John’s Restaurant for upscale eating, Elsie’s Daughter for a bistro eating expertise, Champy’s for wonderful fried hen and the Bridgeman Chophouse for steaks and seafood.

In addition to eating choices, Chattanooga has some nice spots to drink. Whether or not you’re planning on watching the sundown with a cocktail (head to the rooftop Whiskey Thief) or wish to go to a neighborhood brewery like Oddstory or Hutton & Smith, Chattanooga is sure to have one thing to sate your thirst. For mocktails, take a look at Sleepyhead Main+Dodds which has a everlasting alcohol-free cocktail menu.

 

Sundown: Lookout Mountain or Walnut Avenue Bridge

To spherical off your day in Chattanooga, we expect you would possibly wish to get pleasure from watching the sundown. Though for those who’d choose to loosen up or skip it and head to a bar, that’s completely high-quality too!

Nonetheless, for those who do determine to see the sundown, there are some good choices.

First, for those who’re downtown, then we advocate heading out onto Walnut Avenue Bridge for a pleasant view of the sundown over the river. Courting from 1890, this pedestrian solely bridge is an iconic landmark within the metropolis and a very good place from the place to benefit from the sundown.

Should you’d choose to observe the sundown from nature, or are nonetheless up on Lookout Mountain when the solar is setting, then the opposite location you would possibly think about is the aptly named Sundown Rock. That is discovered on the west facet of the mountain, and from right here you will get an excellent view throughout the encompassing panorama from an elevated location.

There’s a small free car parking zone simply close to the trailhead, and it’s solely about 200 yards from the parking location to the point of view. Simply bear in mind that the car parking zone solely has 9 spots and may replenish.

Relying on the time of 12 months you go to, sundown shall be at various occasions. You should use this website to check when sunset will be throughout your go to, nevertheless it varies from round 5.30pm in mid-winter, by to 9pm in the summertime.

So if you wish to see the sundown, you would possibly must plan your meal time round that relying on if you end up visiting.

After all, there are many different locations you possibly can watch the sundown from. I noticed a beautiful sundown from simply outdoors our lodge within the Choo Choo district for instance!

That wraps up our information to what to do in a day in Chattanooga! Let’s now have a look at some sensible ideas that can assist you plan your go to.

 

Methods to Get to Chattanooga

You’ve got a number of choices for attending to Chattanooga.

First, Chattanooga has an airport, code CHA, which is served by a lot of American carriers and presents direct flights to many cities, together with main airport hubs like Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte. So whether or not you’re visiting Chattanooga from the USA or abroad, you must be capable to fly right here comparatively simply.

You may as well drive to Chattanooga in fact, which is how we normally go to. It’s round 2 hours drive northwest of Atlanta, Georgia; 2 hours’ drive southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee; two hours’ drive southeast of Nashville, Tennessee; or 2 hours’ drive northeast of Birmingham, Alabama.

As you possibly can see, there are many different attention-grabbing cities inside straightforward driving distance, which means you may simply embody Chattanooga on a road trip of the US south.

When it comes to bus and prepare, Chattanooga is sadly not on the passenger rail community within the USA, with the closest main Amtrak stations being Birmingham and Atlanta.

As of 2023, Chattanooga not has a Greyhound cease within the metropolis both. The closest Greyhound cease is at the moment in Wildwood, GA, which is about 10 miles southwest of the town heart.

 

Methods to Get Round Chattanooga

You’ve got a number of choices for getting round Chattanooga.

First, if you’re staying downtown, then most of the downtown sights shall be inside straightforward strolling distance. Chattanooga is a pleasant metropolis to stroll round and we will undoubtedly advocate taking a stroll round.

There’s additionally a public transit system managed by the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, or CARTA. This features a bus community which covers most of Chattanooga, together with the Incline Railway. Nonetheless, this doesn’t embody different Lookout Mountain areas like Rock Metropolis or Ruby Falls.

CARTA additionally run the free downtown shuttle service, which is a free electrical shuttle which runs between the Choo Choo district and downtown. This has been in operation since 1992, and is especially useful for those who’re staying within the Choo Choo district, as we did on one among our visits to Chattanooga. We took the bus proper to the Aquarium, which was actually handy.

Trip sharing can also be an choice in Chattanooga, however do bear in mind that many experience sharing platforms have restrictions on working in a unique state, particularly round selecting up folks. This may be a problem for someplace like Rock Metropolis, which is in Georgia. So, you would possibly be capable to get a experience share to Rock Metropolis for instance, however then not be capable to discover one to take you again!

For the sights outdoors of Chattanooga, notably these on Lookout Mountain, the best technique to get round goes to be to drive your self. This gives you probably the most flexibility on your go to. There’s usually loads of parking, which is both free or pretty low price.

 

The place to Keep in Chattanooga

Chattanooga has a lot of choices for lodging, starting from extra price range pleasant choices by to high-end and boutique accommodations.

We’d advocate first deciding the place you wish to keep. We’d advocate selecting both downtown, the Choo Choo district (which supplies you quick access to downtown with the free shuttle), or simply outdoors of city on the chain accommodations you normally discover round interstate exits.

There are execs and cons to each choices. With the downtown accommodations, you get the benefit of being within the coronary heart of the motion, and it is possible for you to to stroll to many sights. There are additionally some very nice distinctive lodging choices. The draw back could be that these accommodations are typically costlier, and parking normally carries a charge, which you’ll need to issue into your price range.

The Choo Choo district could be a good choice as effectively, it’s a historic district with good eating and lodging choices, and you’ll simply attain the downtown space by way of the free electrical shuttle bus. However accommodations will nonetheless be on the pricier facet with an extra charge for parking typically.

Lastly, you possibly can choose to remain at one of many many chain accommodations close to the Interstate exits. These usually include advantages like free parking and a few additionally embody a free breakfast, all at a extra pockets pleasant value. The draw back is that you just’ll possible need to drive a bit extra, however as many sights require a automobile anyway, this possible gained’t be an enormous deal.

Should you do determine to remain a bit out of city, we’d recommend the accommodations off I-24 round exit 174 or exit 175 could be your only option. There are additionally choices round exit 178, that are nearer to downtown, however are likely to obtain extra combined critiques.

We at all times recommend studying current critiques previous to reserving any lodge as issues can change.

Listed below are some choices to contemplate on your go to. These are ordered roughly by value, however in fact value can fluctuate so we at all times advocate checking and evaluating costs on your dates to get the perfect deal.

Downtown Chattanooga / Choo Choo Lodge Suggestions:

• Hotel Bo Days Inn – It is a well-reviewed choice providing good worth within the downtown space. Rooms have tea/espresso making services, and meals can be found. Parking is out there on-site for an affordable charge.
• Residence Inn Chattanooga Downtown – if you wish to be proper within the coronary heart of downtown Chattanooga however at a extra value-oriented value level, this Residence Inn is a good choice. It’s simply throughout from the Aquarium and inside a straightforward stroll of the vast majority of downtown sights. Breakfast is included, on-site parking is out there for a charge.
• The Read House Hotel – this luxurious historic lodge in downtown Chattanooga presents Nineteen Twenties fashion with modern-day facilities. Count on wooden clad partitions, checkered flooring and dramatic chandeliers, alongside modern-day comforts like A/C, on-site parking (for a charge) and two wonderful eating places. One to contemplate for those who’re after a standard upscale lodge expertise.
• The Hotel Chalet at The Choo Choo – We stayed right here on one among our visits to Chattanooga and actually loved it. It’s discovered within the Choo Choo district, house of the previous railway station. The lodge has a pool and on-site parking, a superb on-site restaurant, and is inside strolling distance of a lot of bars and eateries. Uniquely, you possibly can choose to remain in a transformed railway carriage, which is fairly neat, however notice that some reviewers famous these could be a little noisy.
• The Dwell Hotel – It is a pretty luxurious boutique lodge which dates from 1909. It solely has 16 rooms and repeatedly books out, so that you’ll wish to e book effectively upfront for this one. Every room is individually designed with a retro really feel. There’s a full-service bar and a light-weight continental breakfast is out there. Parking is out there close by for a charge.

Outdoors Chattanooga Suggestions

These accommodations are discovered a bit outdoors of city on the key interstate exits. You’ll be able to generally save by being out of city, with the comfort of free parking. Many even have breakfast included.

• Howard Johnson by Wyndham Chattanooga Lookout Mountain – this can be a price range pleasant choice on the base of Lookout Mountain providing free parking and an inclusive breakfast
• Days Inn by Wyndham Chattanooga Lookout Mountain West – one other good worth choice close to Lookout Mountain, this has an indoor pool in addition to free parking and breakfast. Rooms even have a microwave and fridge.
• Comfort Inn Chattanooga Downtown Southside – the identify is a bit deceptive as this can be a couple of miles from downtown. Nonetheless, it places you conveniently between downtown and the Lookout Mountain sights, so could be an excellent choice. Breakfast is included and there’s free parking on website. This lodge tends to get the perfect critiques of the choices on this freeway exit.

You’ll be able to see many extra choices for lodging throughout a spread of value factors on booking.com here, together with accommodations and house leases.

 

Additional Studying

That’s it for our information to the right way to spend a day in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Earlier than you head off although, I simply needed to share some extra sources we’ve put collectively that can assist you plan your journey to the town, and journey within the USA on the whole.

• Questioning how a lot a go to to Omaha may cost a little? Try our guide to how much it costs to travel in the USA that can assist you plan your journey price range.
• I’ve written a information that includes a few of my top tips for driving in the USA to assist get you occurring the highway!
• We’ve visited a variety of different cities within the USA! See our guides to things to do in Las Vegas, things to do in Huntsville, things to do in Savannah, things to do in Charleston, things to do in Albuquerque, visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras, things to do in Cambria, things to do in Houston, things to do in Dallas, things to do in Omaha, and things to do in Santa Fe
• In order for you some USA highway journey inspiration, see our itineraries for a USA Deep South road trip, California Road Trip, Route 66 Road Trip and Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
• And for those who’re on the lookout for inspiration for the remainder of the USA, take a look at our USA section, which has heaps extra inspiration

Do you might have any questions on visiting Chattanooga? As at all times, we’re joyful to reply any questions you might need, simply pop them within the feedback beneath and we’ll get again to you as quickly as we will.