Definitely worth a visit. The tour is about one hour. The temperature is about 66°. The fall is absolutely breathtaking. It's crowded... (I went in mid September) so pack a little patience. Our tour guide was really good. read more

Ruby Falls - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Let me sum it up for everyone real quick: *Groups are much larger than the 20 they state online. giving everyone even less time for everything. *This is not a walk its a non stop march you better have your camera ready because there's no time to try to get a good picture. *With the increased group size only having one tour guide at the front is terribly unsafe as someone not even close to the caboose answered for them that they where still with the group when they weren't as we where behind them trying to capture a picture. *The actual waterfall though pretty is nothing but a cash grab there's no regulation on people getting to capture as everyone hogs the front and will not move. As if that wasn't enough the light show gives you maybe a single minute total of good light and as soon as its done they shut all the lights off so better hope you got it on time. *Regardless of the single mention of not touching the Stalactite there's was no other mention of preservation and no sign that they truly mean the preservation as coins can be seen littered through every little water pool within arms reach. (Also no mention of making sure not to do that.) So in the end don't go you're better off donating that money to an actual organization that does real conservative work. read more

This was a really nice attraction and great for a hot day because it is chilly down there! The tours are prompt so make sure you are there in time. They say you need to book ahead of time but there was people that looked like they were booking at the door. It's about a mile walk in total, beautiful waterfall, nice light show. Some spaces are tight so if you have claustrophobia, this may not be the best idea. They have a nice lookout area and a decent café inside. The pricing was decent. I would recommend it and I would love to go again to check out the lantern tour. read more

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The cave walk tour is great! So pretty. Be warned that the pace is quicker than I expected. You will walk single file through the cave to reach the waterfall. As you walk through the cave and encounter each labeled formation, you only have about 15 seconds to take your photo so keep your camera handy. I wish the groups were smaller. My time (1:40 pm) was merged with the session before hand and we ended up in a group of 38 people. Way too many. It was hard to hear our guide Randall as we had some chatty Kathy's in the bunch. Make sure to have tennis shoes on or something with a good solid sole as the ground is slippery. Also, there are sections of the walk where you go up and down stairs so if you have knee problems, you may have a few issues. The cave is a bit cold but I did not need a jacket. The brisk walk keeps the blood pumping. There is a substantial lack of head space. If you are 5'10" or taller, you will need to be consistently ducking your head. You may have a neck ache afterwards but the good thing is there are breaks in the ducking where you can stand up straight to work out the kinks. When you reach the waterfall, you will only have about 45 seconds to one minute to take your photo so have your pose ready to go and pray you ask someone who knows how to take a good photo. read more

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This was super neat! I loved our tour guide Taylor(?), he was really fun he needs a raise. The waterfall was beautiful, and the rest of the cave was cool, too. Also the view of the city from the entrance was awesome. Thee gift shop was great, and as a soda enthusiast, I appreciated there being Pineapple Fanta and Mello Yello at the coke fridges. Not much places like this have those (I bought the latter). Definitely worth seeing! read more

Rarely do I leave reviews - but I felt this was warranted - especially as Ruby Falls does not have a Google listing, which I believe they do not want to have because of actual true reviews. My first concern was the group size. I do understand the amount of people who are booking for tours, but a group of 40 people does not leave much for entertainment or information from the tour guide. They do provide a more historical tour, but it is more expensive, and only offered on Mondays. We were there over the weekend. Otherwise, the tour is more like a class field trip. Our tour guide did not use a microphone and most of the things he told us I did not hear, as I was in the back of the line. Additionally. I think there should be an age limit. No toddler needs to be taken for an almost 2-hour excursion underground where they are unhappy and crying the entire time. My second and most crucial concern was the lack of inclusivity. Chattanooga and Ruby Falls is known as a major tourist destination. While on our tour, and encountering other tours as we passed each other underground, it was very clear that the majority of the participants were not of American decent. I saw Latinos, Muslims, Hindu's, etc. All of these people paid to come visit and there was not one single sign, nor information in another language. The video that played before the tour had English subtitles only. There was a clear opportunity for inclusion. Based off the lack of inclusivity alone, I do not recommend Ruby Falls to anyone who is not English speaking. It will be a waste of money more than it already is. Ruby Falls itself is okay. It's a waterfall underground. The waterfall at Rock City was more impressive, honestly. You are only allowed 8 minutes inside with the waterfall. It is an amazing cave system and beautiful falls, but truly a lackluster experience. read more

Experience was 0.5/10. While the view is good once you get there, the experience starts with being packed into an elevator with zero breathing room and 20 other people. Each tour had at least 40 people and they started a tour every ten minutes. The website should be more honest about the amount of people with which you are traversing a narrow cave. You are constantly waiting for other tour groups to pass by. If you have any aversion to being in a sardine can where you can smell everyone and cannot breathe, do not pay $30.00 for this experience. The tour guide did his very best to try and distract and entertain, but the odds are stacked against him when you are crammed in a cave with 240 people, babies with dirty diapers, and terrified toddlers. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Ruby Falls. Our tour guide was Russell and he was fantastic. I encourage you to check the group size when you book your tour time, the smaller the group the better the experience. Yes there will be corny jokes cracked but it truly makes for an uplifting experience. The waterfall was a magical sight. After watching the video at the beginning of the tour and then seeing the waterfall you can only imagine how Mr. Lambert felt upon seeing it for the first time. Wear a jacket. It is a perfect 60 degrees in the cavern. I would definitely visit again and hope to get Russell as my guide! Thanks for making us Renegades Russell! read more

Ruby Falls - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

This is an awesome stop on your Chattanooga adventure. Scott/Scooter is the BEST tour guide!! Made it fun for the whole family! read more

Ruby Falls - The falls - worth the wait. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

We had a blast! Tim, our tour guide was friendly, funny, and clearly explained the safety and importance of keeping the caves beautiful. We loved learning about all of the formations, and Tim explained the falls beautifully. He also captured a fantastic family photo and explained why he loved that photo spot. read more

Ruby Falls - We made it to Ruby Falls! Our tour guide, Tim, took this great family photo. Thanks Tim! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

The videos need to be updated or deleted. There was moldy and dustiness all up in dat bitch . There was hair on floor . They smash u in like sardines in the elevator first. Like if someone farted it would be so annoying. Then they swish you and the other group all in a lil tunnal breathin on each other. Then they say dont touch the soft lookin rock which is messed up . But the tour guide he was very talkative which was not needed . Like girl shh. Plz but i do think there were some angles that were kinda cool read more

Beautiful scenery and interesting to visit. Given the cost, the rushed, mandatory guided tour was dissapointing. The food is pricy and the servings are small, but good. read more

Caverns are very unique. That said, tour guides were terrible. The fact that multiple tour groups are going at one time with one group having to stand shoulder to shoulder while another group past seemed like poor planning. Either have a different exit because really no one wants to backtrack what they have just seen or don't schedule tour groups so close. Majority of the tour was spent waiting for everyone in your group to get their photo taken or waiting for other tour groups to pass. Rock City is basically the same with way more freedom to explore on your own. If you have limited time and money, choose Rock City. read more

We had the most amazing experience at Ruby Falls!! HIGHLY recommend getting there early! We took the 8:10 tour and there was only a total of four people! However, the 9am tours were completely booked!! Our tour guide Cooper was great!! read more

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Very well done... telling the story of Leo and ruby gave experience a cool vibe. Tour guide was excellent. It's a cavern walk and the falls are cool. More entertaining than natural but still very different than regular life experience. read more

I can't remember tour guide's name. At one point he referred to himself as Papa Smurf. He has been doing it 20 years and was very knowledgeable and entertaining during the hike in. Beautiful waterfall and a memory my family will never forget. Thank you for all you do!!! read more

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The website says that you cannot buy tickets in person but you can. You depart with a group of people at your ticketed time. Our group was 30+ people. Our tour guide, Russell, walked incredibly fast. We had to speed walk to keep up. We were a group of 4 physically fit people, so it may have been VERY difficult for others. We had to stop 4 times in the cave on the way to the falls to allow other groups to pass by on their way out. We were squeezed up against cave walls at times and the people passing had to squeeze against us to get by. It felt like Ruby Falls was just trying to make as much money as they could. We probably were allowed less than 5 minutes at the actual falls before our group had to go back. Then at the end, there were signs and a lot of pressure from Russell for a tip. How about no?!? We paid $27 per person to walk 2/5 mile to the falls and back out again. read more

Ruby Falls - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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I have been to Ruby Falls twice and find this place really magical. Taken the guided tour and the rock formations inside the caves and after all the cave exploration is beautiful. Love this wonderful falls inside a cave. There are lot of time slots to choose from for a guided tour and would recommend everyone to book it in advance in the busy season. The tickets are sold only online, they have a restaurant/cafe and gift shop inside. Our guide was amazing in explaining everything and was quite interactive. The path is really narrow inside the caves but fun. I would recommend to visit this place if you are in Chattanooga, TN. read more

I see complaints on a couple reviews here. I have done many tours in my lifetime so far and the tour was not bad at all. I mean they aren't charging Disneyland rates! I feel that I got what I paid for and I mean that in a positive way. The guides are all very positive and nice. The story for this is beautiful and I enjoyed everything I saw. I mean if you are an experienced cave explorer the cave itself probably isn't a 'wow' factor for you, but to the average person that doesn't do it... it's a cool thing to see. The waterfall is tall and beautiful, I suggest being ready with your recorder aimed to the top of the waterfall when it's dark and you will get a wonderful recording when the lights switch on. The cons I'm reading on the crowding etc just seems a bit extra. The system they have works for what they have. Yeah, it's tight, but it's a cave!!! Hello? If you are claustrophobic and you go, I'd question you and not the tours. JS. I'd say, listen to directions/ instruction and it will go splendid for you. If you can't hear, let them know instead of being clueless later when needed and the guide is too far ahead to hear you. If you are hard of hearing, maybe ask to be directly behind the guide. Be sure to wear slip resistant shoes if you got any. Some areas are a tiny bit slippery. read more

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The falls tour is great. Be prepared to walk at a relatively quick pace with some narrow and uneven terrain. For mobility impaired (walks with cane), recommend the "gentle pace" tour. Not ADA accessible for Wheelchair/or Walker. read more

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A very enjoyable tour. It took 1.5-2 hours total. The pace of the tour was fine for us! Not super fast, slow enough to see things but not stand in one place for too long. There are a few stopping points on the tour where the guide talks about the formations and the discovery of the cave. Very cool LED lighting throughout the cave. I also thought we had plenty of time at the actual falls. We took a ton of photos and selfies. You can't really hear the music but the lights were nice. It was chilly by the waterfall, but surprisingly not very cold through the rest of the cave trail. I would NOT recommend for anyone claustrophobic at all. I also would not recommend for young children. That was really the only negative part of the tour, there were babies and young kids in the tour who got bored and cried a lot or touched things in the cave. read more

Ruby Falls - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Excellent experience! Walt was a great guide- very funny and informative. The waterfall was impressive and the cave was well signed so you didn't miss any of the formations. read more

I visited exactly one year ago and had a far better experience. The group was no larger than 15 people then, but now it's close to 40. The guides no longer share the history of Ruby Falls, which adds to the magic when the lights illuminate the falls. Additionally, we had significantly less time at the waterfall, and there was no music accompanying the falls. It was very disappointing to bring people this year and not have the same amazing experience as last year. Very very disappointed in our experience this year. read more

It was cool to see the caves, but they yapped so much when i wanted to explore the caves. Also they have you watch pre recorded videos about the caves but no one cares how they discovered it or who was down there. read more

After thinking back on the experience and trying out other businesses, I'm updating the review to reflect the experience. Our tour guide was fantastic, but there were a lot of mishaps that happened due to staff and the website. I also sent an email based on the response from the business owner and never got a response back, and I sent that email a few months back. The cave was a really cool and interesting experience, but with all the other issues (zip line not available, being told the day of it was available, screaming children allowed down on tour when they were freaking out 30 min before even starting, etc) I wouldn't say it was worth it. read more

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Wow, this places has awesome customer service. Santa was here to greet us as I walked in. The view from up here is also breath taking. Definitely a place to come stop and experience read more

Ok, this is a beautiful geological wonder. How many times in your life will you see a 260ft waterfall in a cave? It's a relatively easy walk through the caverns and the price includes your admission to Lookout Mountain. The reason for my 3-star rating has entirely to do with management. Tours go every 15min and are about 30 people each. A single elevator takes 10 people at a time down to the caverns from the gift shop. The problem is that at tours every 15 minutes you wind up being bunched up in the caverns. There are spaces you are literally rubbing other guests as you pass and when the tour is done about an hour after you start, you may wait as much as 30min for your turn on the elevator. Masks are optional and there is no way to social distance during this event. It would be so much more enjoyable if they were not loading you up like cattle to maximize how many people they can jam through in a day. The guides are nice and the falls are lovely, but it's an experience I'm unlikely to repeat. read more

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Overall I had a great experience but there were some pros and cons. The cave was gorgeous with very good lighting. However the tour was very fast paced and was very cramped. Me, my family, and others weren't even able to get a picture with the waterfall because of how large our group was and how fast paced the tour was. For the price we payed it's ridiculous that we didn't get to do the main part of the tour! read more

Make sure you make reservations online. You may be able to come in person and get tickets, but good luck. Sooo I was told that military including veterans get a $2 per ticket discount and when I get there just go to desk and show my ticket and ID and get the rebate. The lady told me "No, it's active duty only". So if you call and they say veterans get it, we don't. They do have some handicap parking but if you are a wheelchair you won't be able to see the falls. The places we have to go is up and down the caves, weird turns and very narrow areas. There is no way you can get a wheel chair in there. Plus not all areas here have elevators such as going to the viewing area when you are out. They need better signage, but you go into the main building. If you are going on the cave tour or the bathroom, you go to the right.When it is your time slot you go in the elevator and wait for all people in your tour group, around 20 people or so to come down. From start to finish the tour was about 1 hour 50 minutes. They take a picture of your group at the beginning and charge $30 at the end if you want it. You walk through the caverns after watching a little video on the guy who discovered the caves and made the tunnels. Our tour guide was very energetic and he said he was currently a student at the local community college Overall the tour was a lil long because we had to keep stopping to let other groups walk by. But at least it was nice and cool in the caves whereas over 100 outside. The kids and teens said it was very boring. With the lighting they set up, a lot of stuff was pretty. The falls had lighting and music set up also. read more

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Tip: curvy road at the end toward Ruby Falls. Drive Slow. **covid-19: the gift store is not social distancing Get a reservation DO NOT show up without a reservation. read more

Ruby Falls - Outdoor front entrance - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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The waterfall and tour was great it took another little over an hour round trip and was gorgeous. Put your guide had lots of cave pun and kept us interested. read more

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This was a fun little outing, only about 2 hours outside of Atlanta. We did the standard walking tour and there was much to see on the way to the falls. I will say that if you have any tendencies toward claustrophobia, this place might not be for you. The ceiling can be low and you will need to duck in places if you're tall. One drawback is that they let so many people down into the caves at once. There will be multiple tours going on at once so multiple times throughout the tour, you will need to pull over to the side of a small channel within the cave and let a line of people pass. If not for this, I don't think I would have ever felt claustrophobic. read more

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I really liked going here. I will tell you they pack in the tours so get ready for it to be a lot of people in a tour. There's multiple tours going on at the same time. Sometimes the walkways are a little narrow and you have to let one tour pass before you can go. they have made it into a very clear tourist attraction with a Ruby Falls at the end. They give you about a couple of minutes at the Falls with some lights that change and some neon colors, it's actually really beautiful and then when the light shut off you leave, and another tour comes in. there is walking but it's not uphill or anything I would say for the most part it's very flat and easy to walk. You can buy your tickets and you enter through the gift shop. If you already have tickets, you don't need to wait in line. You pretty much go when your tour time is assigned, if the tour before you is smaller, they may put you in that one. The tours run every 15 to 20 minutes. You take a glass elevator down, your tour probably has anywhere from, 15 to 30+ people. they don't walk super fast. You do have a guide and they show you different beautiful structures that are in the caves and how it was found, the history, etc. our tour guide was hilarious. He was this young kid who worked there and he was pretty knowledgeable. We really enjoyed him!! the tour guide and the Ruby Falls were the highlight of the tour. They did show you a couple of videos here and there, to get you to history. there are also occasional benches but not when you get into the heart of the tour. Then when you're done, you may have to wait in a small line to go up the elevator, which can only hold a certain weight limit, but the line is fairly quick. They do have a gift shop with lots of cool stuff for kids. They have restrooms. They also have a café which has sandwiches, pizza and drinks, basic stuff -we did not eat there. There is also parking. Just note there's a lot of parking so if you go up one area and it looks like it's getting full you just have to keep going and on the lower level there's more parking. It was busy when we went, but I can see it being busier and maybe then parking gets to be an issue. I would go earlier or later as I think it gets packed mid day. It is a pretty big tourist destination in the area. There's also some cool smaller hikes in the area and other things to do but I was glad I came. The tickets aren't super expensive and it's a great place to bring kids or family. I think I saw a couple people on dates too. It's a good family outing. It's a nice experience. It's a very neat cave and falls! The only reason I did 4 stars is because there's just too many people in the group- there was lots of tours happening. I really wish the tours or a smaller size. Also, on Friday nights, they have a lantern tour which is smaller, and all the lights are off and they give you this really cool guided tour with lanterns. You can also request smaller tours, private ones, but I think they're more expensive. we had a good time! I think it takes maximum about one hour for the whole thing, but don't quote me. I believe we were there for a couple of hours total? read more

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Our tour was about 1.5 hours - the walk to the falls was about an hour, and the walk back was 30 minutes since there were fewer stops. Our tour guide, Gwen, was awesome and you can tell that she loves her job! I didn't know anything about the history of Ruby Falls so it was pretty interesting to hear its backstory. I had purchased tickets in advance, and to get to the tour you go through the entrance and go to the room in the back of the gift shop, get your tickets scanned, and go down in an elevator with your tour group. The walk was narrow in several spots plus there are areas where two lines of people are going through. If you're tall you need to watch your head! Definitely not the activity for claustrophobic people. It's a cavern so you might get some water drips from above, and the floor can be wet (but not that slippery). You only get a 6 minutes of a light show at the waterfall, so make sure you get your pictures quick! The lights change colors which is fun. I did see some families with young kids, but personally I'm not sure if it would be an activity that kids would find that enjoyable (unless they enjoy hiking). Once you're done, you can purchase pictures, walk around the gift shop, and walk up the stairs to check out the overlook! Overall it's worth a visit! read more

Ruby Falls - Ruby Falls light show - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Gorgeous waterfall inside of a cave! It's a very pleasant experience with knowledgeable guides. If there's been a lot of rain, call ahead sometimes the cave gets flooded. Highly recommend checking out this place! read more

Woah, what a place. I went with two of my dearest friends and gosh, we had a blast. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. And some some of the rocks were in cool shapes. Our tour guide Zada killed at the cave comedy. She had a wonderful set list. 5/5, would spelunk again. read more

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Totally a great experience, tickets were bought online in advance, 5ppl $145, no discount of any type. We thought college students would get a discount but not such-very disappointed as far entrance discounts go. Parking was free and accessible, we arrived 15 mins prior to the tour which was scheduled for 11:40am. When we arrived it was raining and the weather was cool and windy. Once we got in the elevator and we descended to the entrance of the cave it was humid and somewhat warm. Dress in layers helps, the tour is about an hour, there are lots of photo opportunities, there will be an area where they take a group photo, that photo is like $30 at the end of the tour-no thanks! Once you get to the botton of Ruby cave, be ready to video and or take photos of the waterfall, you only get 7 mins at the waterfall and eventually they will ask you to keep it moving. If you are claustrophobic, this is not for you. Space is very tight and confined including the elevator rise going down and coming up. read more

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I SO wanted to love this tour. We got timed tickets on line which was no problem. A tour leaves every 20 minutes. When the time came, an announcement comes to go towards the elevator. We were stuffed like sardines into that elevator to descend. But I thought...oh the tour would be great with just this many people (about 12). When we got to the bottom, we were joined with others for a total of about 38. It is a large group, but it gets worse. Once we get started, we were rushed through the walkways! It felt like a sprint. We bypass lots of lit natural structures with signage, but we never stop or were provided narration. We were told to just keep moving. The only time we stop is to stand against the wall to let other outgoing groups walk by (this happened about 4 times). We get to the falls area which is dark. Once illuminated, it was beautiful (but smaller than I thought). This was IT! This was what we came for. But it shouldn't have been. We should have been allowed to enjoy the journey towards this destination. Overall the trip took 1.5 hours, but it felt so rushed! They need to further limit the number of people so it can be more enjoyable. I thought the price of $25 for an adult was exorbitant too. read more

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such an amazing experience! this was my second time visiting and it was just as breathtaking as the first time. 10/10 would recommend to anyone visiting and the price is very reasonable! read more

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We stopped by on a whim and caught a tour and I'm glad we did. Our tour guide was Taylor. He was funny and knowledgable while being able to control the group. I'd love to return and bring my kid. read more

Ruby Falls - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee