Beautiful, fairly easy hike with clear trails and lots of wildlife. The fall foliage was really gorgeous and even though I hiked this on a Saturday, it wasn't crowded at all. Make sure to hike in the correct direction! I followed the 3.3 mile blue trail from Hill City then Double J then Gig City, with a quick detour to the overlook. Really pleasant relaxing hike and easy to get to. This took me about an hour and half--really enjoyable! I can see it being a good trail for running as well. read more

Nature is church for me so I have to go every week. And I love experiencing somewhere new to me. Even in this small hometown of mine, there are places I have yet to explore. Stringers Ridge was one of them so my fur friend and I headed that way yesterday just before noon. We enjoyed exploring the part of the area at the parking lot level, leaving the main trail for a week day when it may be less populated. The parking lot looked like it could hold about 10 cars. There's a smaller loop trail on one side of the parking lot. We saw beautiful views of the Fall leaves on all the trees and blue sky. The entrance plaque is an art piece. There's a couple benches and a picnic table to relax by. And plenty of new forestry smells for my beagle lady to explore. A great outdoor experience overall. We'll be back. read more

Stringer's Ridge Park - Entrance art - Parks Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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I recently hiked a couple of times at this lovely, small park in the heart of Chattanooga. There are some great places for hiking in the area if you're willing to drive a bit further, but this little park packs a big punch. Yes, it's small, and no, there aren't any really long hikes (I think the longest loop is around 3 miles?), but there are some great views, some pretty wildlife, and it's right near the center of town! The hikes aren't super well marked, but the longest loops have good signage, and the park isn't really so big you could get terribly lost. Some of the trails allow for biking, so be careful when you start a trail to make sure you're heading the right way if you're walking (there are signs that will tell you which direction to walk/hike or bike to avoid any run-ins with bikes)! Pretty cool spot in Chattanooga! read more

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As others have indicated, this might not be the preference of serious hikers, but for those looking for a nice walk and climb with your child or dog, or mountain bike ride, you can't beat Stringer's Ridge! The parking area on Spears is very convenient, probably only 5 minutes from downtown. Maps of the trails are posted there and at other points on the trails. Trails are well-maintained, some wider than others. It's worth noting that there is a system in place that alternates days for hikers and bikers; one day one group is directed to walk clockwise while the other group rides counter-clockwise, then opposite on other days of the week. The views of Chattanooga are exceptional and everyone we encountered on our walks was friendly and in general just happy to be where they were. We were too. read more

As a local aptly put, this is not "real" hiking, but there are trails, with lovely views of Chattanooga, some cool wildlife to be seen, and is perfect for people easing back into being active, or who just want a nice stroll with their dog. It's also a quick Uber ride from downtown. It is open to hikers, dogs, and bikes. I've heard it gets crowded, since I was a tourist I came on a weekday and had the park mainly to myself. The trails are narrow, with warnings about blind turns, and some of the trails are directional. Meaning on certain days of the week, the trails alternate between being open to bikers and hikers. This seems absolutely necessary, I can't imagine having to dodge speeding bikes as some on AllTrails have complained about. I entered at the North parking lot taking the Double J trail (blue) to the overlook on Cherokee Road, then taking Gig City to Negley's Knoll (a nice overgrown ramble) down to the Choo Choo & Baldydash. Now, a few things. While there are maps located throughout the park, they don't have "you are here" indicators. Some people have written them in themselves. The trails are not always well marked. At multiple forks in the road there is no marker, you only find it after walking a bit into a given direction. In general, the wider, well traveled trail is the one you want, ignore giant tree branches that seem to have been placed across the trails on purpose - I'm guessing to slow speeding bikers? Finally, at no point in the hike were there notices that the South parking lot, the entire Southern exit, was closed due to a mudslide. That's a serious problem. You can either loop all the way back to the Northern Entrance, use one of the neighborhood access roads by looping midway back North, or...take your chances on the Baldydash that leads to the mudslide. On the other side of that, is the Southern parking lot, and THERE is where they have a notice that that particular entrance is closed. Really?! Locals told me the damn entrance has been closed for months. Their signs, trail markers, and the southern half of the park are in need of some serious maintenance. If they've taken care of the mudslide by now starting at the Northern portion is definitely the way to go, because then you end your walk at Nikki's seafood joint, where the prices are cheap and the portions are massive. Some more positives- the lookout point off Cherokee Road is gorgeous and is a perfect place to take a sun bathing break. I got to see tons of chipmunks, butterflies, birds, and enormous flying grasshoppers. There are also some ruins with graffiti - would love to know what they used to be! Just be on the lookout - I think (am not positive) that the ruins with "Free Will Will to be Free" written on them have poison ivy growing around the entrance (see photos). read more

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It's a great local hike (or easy mountain bike ride) for people of almost all capabilities. There are two parking areas which allow people with more walking limitations to enjoy the city lookout. Trails are well marked and plenty of map stations to keep you oriented. Most of the main path is flat,little incline, but on uneven pavement. The various loops are standard hiking paths with a lot of leaves, some stones and gravelly areas. It seems to be a common location for people to trail run bc of the well marked paths and relatively obstacle free path. read more

This is definitely one of my favorite hiking spots in Chattanooga. It's always clean, has beautiful views and never too busy and crowded but stays busy enough that you'll usually pass another friendly hiker or biker so you don't feel like your alone out in the woods. I love all different the trails options and loops so you can customize your route to make it as easy, difficult, long or short as you please and you can go every day of the week and see something different and try a different route out. Sometimes I even head out just for a 20-30 minute walk if that's all the time I have available. It's literally minutes from downtown and easy to find parking with two different trail heads available. The trails are clearly marked and some are even paved or gravel so they are pretty easy to navigate. Paths for bikers are opposite flow from hikers so you don't have to worry to much about being run over. You can't beat the overlook which has a great view over the downtown area so it definitely worth a trip. I highly recommend to beginner hikers or any just wanting to get out and get some fresh air due to the close proximity to downtown. read more

This is a great hiking spot in Chattanooga. If you want an easier hike with pretty views and that is easy to get to, this is the spot! There are two different parking lots you can use. The trials are pretty well marked and there are maps at most intersections. Bikers and hikers are directed in opposite directions to help traffic. And it has a great overlook at downtown. read more