The Tennessee Valley is a beautiful place to visit and can provide a great escape for families, couples, or as a solo trip looking for some adventure. It's nestled in between mountains and offers plenty of things to do indoors and outdoors.
One thing you may not know, however, is that Tennessee offers off the beaten path attractions that go beyond the Chattanooga city limits.
Rock City Gardens
Rock City Gardens is a popular tourist attraction located in Lookout Mountain. It's a fun place to visit, especially for families with kids and couples who want to get out of town for the day.
The gardens offer beautiful views of the mountainside, as well as some stellar photo opportunities.
There are many trails throughout Rock City Gardens that lead you further into nature. At the top of the Rock City you can 7 states at one time.
Rock City Gardens is also known for Lover's Leap Falls and suspension bridge. These are 2 of the many famous attractions at this location.
Raccoon Mountain Walking Cave Tour
Raccoon Mountain Caverns offers walking tours through their cave system. They also offer guided caving tours as well at different difficulty levels and lengths in the cave system.
If you're looking for an activity that's family friendly, the Raccoon Mountain Walking Cave Tour is the best option. The tour lasts about an hour, and during that time you'll get to see the underground caves. As you walk through the cave, your guide will explain what you're seeing and tell stories about Chattanooga history.
The Raccoon Mountain Walking Cave Tour isn't as touristy as Ruby Falls—which means it's less crowded—and it also has some fun features like sitting at a table in front of a mirror so that you can pretend to be sitting right next to yourself!
Sewanee Natural Bridge
This is a very short trail from the parking lot and very unique. When I think of a natural bridge I think of Utah not the Southeast states of US.
Foster Falls
This has a steep path with a suspension bridge crossing. Foster Falls is near Monteagle, TN and is 75 feet tall.
Denny Cove Falls
This trail was a flop. On the way down there was a couple coming back up.
They said there were some fallen trees and the path after that was hard to follow. They turned around and didn’t see the waterfall.
They passed and continued. After a few minutes we decided to turn around and call it a day.
Sunset at Lookout Mountain
The sunset was beautiful. The parking was hard to come by and the trail there was a bit sketchy especially in the dark.
Buc-ee's
I live in the Atlanta area and couldn't pass up a stop at Buc-ee's in Adairsville, GA.
This time I stopped, I grabbed a BBQ Sandwich and a side of their potato wedges. I've heard great things of them. I was not disappointed.
Chattanooga is a great place for for a short getaway.
If I could do it over again, I would leave earlier in the day. There was a lot packed in considering the drive times.
It has some really cool attractions, like the Tennessee Aquarium and Rock City, which are both awesome places.
There are also plenty of options for activities that a solo traveler or group can enjoy: kayaking on the river, hiking up Signal Mountain or driving through Lookout Mountain Caverns. There's something here for everyone!
Hope you have a wonderful time when you get there!
I stopped to get gas on the way to Stone Mountain, there was an issue with the gas pump.
The next day when I went kayaking, we had to wait out a storm that was passing through.
And lash when I was trying to charge my phone, the charging port had gotten wet. The last of the three delays.
I had even mentioned the 3’s delays to the cashier guy at the gas station. He was there when the gas pump issue happened. He still felt so bad but had a good laugh at the 3’s.
The Stone Mountain trip ended up being worth the gas pump detour. Here is that day.
This is another weekday outing, the day after Stone Mountain. This kayak trip was planned a few weeks ago, but canceled because of storms that evening.
At the start there was a small storm that passed over us. We waited it out and it prevented us going up one of the creeks that feed into Lake Acworth.
On the other side of the tunnel, it seems like a different place. At the end, it was alive with wildlife. A fellow kayaker that was in the front of the group said there were a few deer that scurried away when they were spotted.
Sometimes it's good to go during the week instead of waiting till the weekend.
I got invited to Stone Mountain yesterday after work. I met up with everybody and I was actually on time this time, go me. Before I went I was undecided if I wanted to take Sam with me or not. I ended up taking him with me. He was such a sport the entire way up.
Before I went, I got an annual pass online. I’ll have to make it a point to go kayaking there. I went with my HOE Adventure Group. HOE stands for Happiness Over Everything and not the ho ho.
I was a member for a while, but this was my first event with them. I don't consider the trip Kayaking to Florida the first, even though it technically was, as it was a collab event between 2 groups.
When I pulled into my parking space, I knew exactly where we would meet because there’s a big group of about 20 at the time when I pulled up. I think there were about 30 to 35 of us that went so it made it easy to spot the group.
Stormy started the group and also created the event. At her events, she does a friendship ring where everyone introduces themselves. I like the concept but it took quite a while with so many people.
On the trail up, someone suggested taking the service road up instead of the regular trail. It was much nicer on my knees, otherwise you’re stepping over rocks and bouldering a lot.
I haven’t been here in years, probably more than a decade.
It wasn’t really challenging this time around. Well one because of the service road and two Sam was not having the heat but we trekked it up to the top, one step at a time.
Of course the the dreaded top.
This is my initial thought and face on it, but it's right at the end.
Either way, one foot in front of the other and your there.
I’m glad I did go. I’ve been wanting to get more involved in summer hiking which I typically just do when it’s cooler. I consider this one of the first ones since it was in the mid 90s today and I also wanted to see a sunset from Stone Mountain. Going to the three granite rock mountains is on my list of things that I wanted to do, Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain and Panola Mountain.
We were wanting to see the strawberry moon when it came up but it was just too cloudy. But we did manage to see some fireworks. It wasn’t a show at all, I think they’re just doing some practice rounds. I know one thing it was sure as hell easier going down then was going back up.
I’ll upload some pics when my phone dries. It’s almost dead and I can’t charge it, since it got a little wet when I went kayaking today.
So that was the impromptu weekday fun adventures and tomorrow is or actually later today is my kayaking trip. A kayak jaunt really to Lake Acworth. It was supposed to be a few weeks ago but it was canceled due to weather. This one I’m definitely taking Sam on, and I did.
This kayaking trip was much better organized than the trip to Florida. There were about 43 or so yess’s on going. Not everyone showed up but it was still a good size crew. We were out on the lake for a little bit, but some clouds and lightning came through. We pulled back and waited it out before heading out again. It was very peaceful.
Cathy Gray is an eCommerce and digital marketing specialist based in Atlanta, GA, with nearly a decade of experience helping B2B businesses sell more online. Outside of work she's chasing waterfalls, kayaking rivers, and finding dark skies to camp under. Her dog Sam is officially retired from adventures but still supervises from the couch. None of it happens without coffee.
