Darkness. Tight squeezes. Towering underground chambers. Deep canyons. Sheer drop-offs. For 3.5…read morehours, it was just my guide and me exploring the wild side of an underground cave beneath Raccoon Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. This wasn't a tourist cave tour--it was true wild spelunking that pushed both body and mind. Every twist and turn brought a new challenge as we climbed, crawled, scrambled, and carefully navigated rugged terrain where every step demanded focus. It was exhilarating, physically demanding, and an absolute adrenaline rush from start to finish. The last time I experienced wild caving was at ages 10 and 11 with the Boy Scouts. Back then I was probably half my current weight and a lot smaller! Returning to the underground decades later made this adventure even more rewarding. My guide and I hit it off, and I told him that when he visits family in Eustis, Florida, I'll return the favor by taking him on a kayaking adventure. Life's greatest adventures often begin where most people turn around. I can't wait to find the next wild cave and do it all over again! That cave reminded me that adventure has no age limit--only a willingness to keep exploring.

Truly an amazing and exciting adventure! Raccoon Mountain Caverns provides you with everything you…read moreneed in terms of gear, and guides. Tristan and Emily were our guides and they were absolutely amazing. Very knowledgeable and friendly helping you get through the challenging parts of the cave with step by step instructions. For the majority i would probably not recommend carrying the following: keys, phones, selfie sticks, backpacks, bags, wallets, loose articles and anything you would be sad to lose. The price and value of this adventure is excellent and that the facilities are attached to a wonderful campground is amazing also. Tip: there is an onsite washer and dryer so you can easily wash your clothes after going through the spelunking and yes you will get dirty. Helmets, gloves, lights And knee pads are provided. 5 stars for Raccoon Mountain Caverns!

We were here for an entire week in Chattanooga and able to travel up the mountain 4 of those days!…read moreWhat amazing views of surrounding area! And the people I'll never get over how wonderful they were all were to us! We went to Ruby Falls rock city Park point and stopped at several of the small shops on the way up. We could not do the incline due to my grandson's fear Heights, but we did watch it several times from different advantage points every penny we spent was worth it and 1 million more. The memories made this week will last a lifetime for me and I'm so thankful we were able to take our grandsons and experience this beautiful amazing place with them.

It was very crowded which was expected during the holidays. Rock city was really cool and the views…read morewere beautiful and I'm sure would be much better on a clear day. It was pretty expensive but still worth trying in my opinion there's a good amount to look at.

This place is so cool. So much history and so worth checking out…read more We drove through much of this but stopped by the tower. Of course I had to walk up it ....and back down. I had spaghetti legs after that, but it was so worth it. The view from the top is so beautiful.

Had an amazing visit here today. It is absolutely worth the visit. So much history…read more I can truly appreciate the self guided narration by utilizing the NPS app. It helps keep you on track as you navigate through the battlefield. Next visit I plan to do a little more walking around. This is a huge land mass and there are some areas you cannot get to via vehicle. It was nice to see lots of people on bike, flying kites and with the pets.

Good drinks, food not really available, 3 floors and great staff. Good view, goes over bridge and…read morethe speaker tells fun facts about the area.

Beautiful Sunset Cruise, But Inconsistent Hours at the Gift Shop…read more We had a lovely time aboard the Southern Belle for their Sunset Cruise. When we boarded, we made our way to the middle deck, front of the boat--and found the perfect little spot with a private table and chairs. It felt like our own peaceful corner of the river. No crowd, just a quiet, relaxing ride with amazing views of the Chattanooga skyline and surrounding scenery as the sun set. Absolutely gorgeous. After docking, we decided to eat at the restaurant above the gift shop. It was a great way to end the evening--the food was tasty, and the river views from the deck made it even better. We asked the staff what time the gift shop closed and were told 9:00 PM, so we waited until after dinner to pick up souvenirs. Unfortunately, by the time we finished eating (maybe 10 minutes later), the shop had already closed. Kind of a bummer. Since then, we've tried to return twice while driving through Chattanooga--hoping to grab some mementos--but no one answers the phone, and the gift shop hasn't been open either time. Their posted hours on both the website and Google are clearly off, which has made it pretty frustrating. All in all, we loved the cruise and highly recommend it, especially if you can snag a quiet spot on the deck. Just don't count on the gift shop being open--even if you're told otherwise. Buy your souvenirs before dinner just to be safe!

We loved that Coolidge Park has a fun water feature where kids were playing--on a hot day, it…read morelooked incredibly refreshing. Luna isn't a fan of being sprayed, but we got her close enough for a bit of splash to help cool her down. It seemed like a great spot for dogs who enjoy the water! Unfortunately, the pedestrian bridge was under construction during our visit, so we couldn't walk across it, but we still enjoyed the view from the park. Overall, it's a lovely, dog-friendly spot to relax and cool off on a warm day.

I thought this park was beautiful and charming right along the river with an old school carousel…read moreinside a building just for it, with spotless and large bathroom facilities, plenty of parking, walking paths, and an awesome outdoor water fountain/element for children. The day I visited last month was extremely sunny and hot and there were children playing and enjoying the water fountain with tons of families. I loved this park and the location close to the shops and restaurants along Frazier leads to a day where you can enjoy the park and get lunch or dinner after.

I am not quite sure where Renaissance Park starts versus where Coolidge Park ends. We came in…read morethrough Coolidge Park but I think this is considered a separate, adjacent park. Anyway, this park is located just off of the riverwalk and has an area of wetlands where there are TONS of turtles. It's awesome - a fun little spot to spend an afternoon. Especially when the weather is nice. Absolutely loved our time here - definitely worth a stop in.

We walked through most of the park--it's not very large, but it's clean, well-maintained, and has a…read moredecent amount of shade. While there's nothing particularly unique about it, it's a pleasant spot to take your pet for a walk and let them burn off some energy.

This large Sculpture park is gorgeous and a big surprise to me while visiting Chattanooga last…read moremonth. It's a free park about 10 minutes drive from downtown with 33 acres to roam on gravel/dirt paths to see a few dozen large-scale sculptures from some world-renowned artists. I really enjoyed myself on a lazy afternoon here and some of these sculptures are incredibly interesting and detailed. Easy to find and a large parking lot with a restroom available.

This place is SO COOL. We had some time to kill in the afternoon before we grabbed dinner with some…read morefriends, and this came up as a spot to visit. It's free and a great way to spend some time outside. You do not need hiking boots for this - you will be fine in a pair of tennis shoes or closed-toe shoes. It's an easy meander through a grass field. Full of tons of sculptures - we spent a little over an hour here looking at all of the sculptures. We saw other people come with items for a picnic, so I think it would also be a perfect spot for an afternoon picnic or to sit and read a book.

Ruby Falls has been on my "must see" list for years and every time it pops up in a video on my…read moreinstagram account, I'm more determined to come for a visit. Finally, was able to do it last month. Purchased tickets in advance and showed up with enough time to shop in the gift shop and use the restroom. They have a very nice facility here with plenty of parking, a cafe, a large gift shop, and an observation tower. Spotless inside and well-run. Also, a penny press! Our tour guide, Chuck I believe, was wonderful. Extremely friends and funny and knowledgable about the cave but also about Chattanooga and the surrounding area. They are really doing a lot of tours. Since you walk 0.5 miles to the waterfall underground, it's a bit of a slog to keep getting to the side so groups of 30-40 can go by (tight space). We probably had to do this about 5-6x during our tour. The falls are amazing, but, walking the half mile through the cave and seeing all the other formations was wonderful too. There really are a lot of examples of formations and some unique ones like Angel's Wings, Western Sunset and Leo's Passage. Our group was large, but we had a good time and everyone was polite. The only thing I was disappointed in was that the waterfall wasn't illuminated for us to walk up to it - instead, we walked in in the dark and all crowded around it - so, when the lights came on, I wasn't able to get an approach or long shot of it in full length. They do have first tours of the day and adult-only tours so, if I come back again, I may look into that.

Ruby Falls was such a fantastic adventure! I was truly amazed by the beauty of the waterfall and…read moreall of the incredible rock formations we were able to see along the way. It was an unforgettable experience from start to finish. I was a little skeptical about whether my younger kids would be able to handle the walk, but it ended up being very manageable. We just stayed attentive and reminded them not to touch the formations, just as our guide instructed. I also thought the timed viewing at Ruby Falls was a really smart idea. I initially wasn't sure how I'd feel about the time limit, but the coordinated lighting gives everyone enough time to take photos, enjoy the waterfall, and then make room for the next group. It kept everything moving smoothly without taking away from the experience. My kids absolutely loved it, and so did I! We also enjoyed browsing the gift shop and picking up a few souvenirs to remember our visit. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and we'd love to come back the next time we're in the Chattanooga area.

Three of our party of four had enjoyed the Duck Boat experience in Chattanooga before. It was just…read moreas much fun the second time around! Captain Rob again was a great tour guide, captain and safety officer. Duck boat tour is now our must do every visit to Chattanooga! If you have any aspiring young boat captains in your group, you definitely want to let them try out their duck boat driving skills.

This was fun. The tour guide was informative. The tour guide could have left his political views…read moreout of it though. There is a time and place for that. This was not the time nor the place. I would do it again though

This was a beautiful State Park. Lots of amenities, picnic areas, bathrooms, camping spots. The…read morecabins were restricted to guests only so I didn't see them. The trails were perfect. A mixture of easy and not so easy. But this almost 63yo made it! The falls were gorgeous to behold. Would definitely return.

Amazing short hike down stairs and rocks to a beautiful rocky river bed filled with boulders, pools…read moreof clear water, cliffs dripping with water or actual water falls all over the cliffs. The cliff faces look like hanging gardens filled with native plants. Beautiful ferns cling to the rocks with some covering an entire surface with graceful fronds. This place is magical and wonderful. GO!