Chatanooga, Tennessee
Our family travel took us to Tennessee recently and among our adventures there we stopped at several amazing attractions that are not to be missed. We landed in Nashville and made our way around the western part of the state. On our second day we drove from Nashville to Chattanooga and on our drive stopped first at Ruby Falls.
Ruby Falls is an amazing underground waterfall. Upon arrival make sure you have shoes that don’t slip due to the underground water the walkways can become slippery. You should also bring a sweatshirt or jacket since it can be a little chilly. If you have an infant you should definitely baby wear but the tour is doable.
You can purchase a ticket for Ruby Falls at the gate-ask about AAA discounts and many of the local gas stations also had coupons. You can also buy a group discounted ticket which includes Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway-it’s a great deal but…..it’s all day and a ton of walking so make sure you’re up for it. Make sure you also use the restroom since the tour is about an hour underground and no bathrooms are available.
You then wait for your tour and are whisked down and elevator into the cave and wait for your tour guide. They also take a professional picture for purchase later. You can take pictures during the tour though. It’s about an hour of guided walking-both ways. They have all kinds of fun lighting and an area where you can touch the stalagmites. Only touch the one in the specific area so no damage comes to others. It was so much fun.
The crowning glory at the end was the actual falls which is pretty amazing!
The end has a playground quick serve food in case you’re hungry oh and that picture they took. I’m actually a sucker for these-but bring your money they are super expensive!
Once we were done at Ruby Falls we headed over to the Incline Railway-to give us a little sit down break. We started at the top of Lookout Mountain instead of the bottom. This was by far my favorite part of the day. The railway goes directly down the mountain and is the steepest railway in the world. It can be a little scary for the littles. There’s a fun pizza place and ice cream shop at the bottom.
We then made our way to Rock City-I was exhausted so I took a sitter and let the two of them run amuck. We didn’t start early enough in the day and only made it to Rock City an hour before they closed. It was so beautiful.
Rock City has every kind of plant you can think of and a trail which leads to Lookout Mountain where you can see several states at a time.
If you’re in the Nashville/Chattanooga area these are not to be missed! #Takethetrip
Need help planning your trip to Tennessee? You can find me on Facebook at Callie at Wanderkeep Travel or you can email me at callie@wanderkeep.com and as always my services are complimentary when you book through ME!
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