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Ten Reasons to Love -- Chattanooga, Tennessee: Chillin’ in Chattown
It’s no secret that, like many of us, Chattanooga’s had a messy past. The last century brought rust-colored air and Superfund clean-up initiatives
that put our own college exploits to shame. But, as we also know, a gritty past can also serve as the impetus for a glowing future.
Chattanooga – or Chattown as the skateboard set calls it – holds old-with nary a hint of either of our shadowy pasts.
- Tuck in and ride the tide on the Ocoee River’s legendary whitewater. Splashing through the southern Appalachians, the Ocoee River’s dam-controlled current serves up ideal rafting conditions from March through November. For novice rafters, there are few rivers east of the
Mississippi that offer such a rollicking (yet relatively safe) succession of both white water and doldrums. Don’t let the rapids’ names intimidate you –
even Grumpy and Broken Nose can be navigated safely with the right guide.
- Chill out and kayak south on the Blueway with Outdoor Chattanooga and Out Venture, Chattanooga’s city-sponsored outdoor recreation program.
Sign on for a lazy morning of kayaking on the Tennessee River blueway. You’ll put in just minutes from downtown and ride the current west under the
bridges, following the pace of the river as it winds its way toward the canyon-like Cumberland Plateau. Time your visit to coincide with an overnight
kayaking trip or one of the city’s festivals in Coolidge Park. 1-423-643-6888
- Jump back in time and explore the neon Fairyland Caverns of Rock City Gardens. Think Hans Christian Andersen in glow-in-the-dark neon and you’ll
start to get an idea of what awaits you deep inside the final caverns at Rock City. Each turn in the path offers dioramas representing European folklore
and traditional fairytales. Don’t skip out on the finale – a walk-around mound showcasing scenes from Little Miss Muffet to Simple Simon.
- Hang on for dear life as you’re towed up to 2,000 feet by an ultralight. Brace yourself. The experience of being pulled up to mountain-top
altitudes while spooning a 31-year-old, pony-tailed daredevil named Erik is not for sissies. But considering that it’s about half as terrifying as
jumping off the experts’ ramp at the top of Lookout Mountain, it’s definitely the best option for beginners. Lookout Mountain Flight Park:
1-877-HANGLIDE.
- Shell out a dollar to take a ride on the wild side. The 100-year-old carousel at Coolidge Park is bone fide. Originally carved in the shop of Gustav
Dentzel in 1895 this resplendent rounder ran in Rochester, Massachusetts and Atlanta before finding its current home in Chattanooga. Lovingly restored
by local woodcrafter Bud Ellis and Chattanooga’s “Friends of the Carousel,” this old-time merry go round offers some of the best cheap thrills in town.
- Whet your appetite in front of stalactite formations with names like “potato chip” and “bacon” in the tunnels of
Ruby Falls. Seventy years
ago, the first guides led visitors into the narrow, hidden caverns inside Lookout Mountain. Today, you can buy a ticket to walk the same trail past
dripping helictites – distorted, twisting stalactites that grow with a seeming disregard for gravity – and narrow tunnels that the original underground
explorers crawled through in search of Ruby Falls, a thundering 145-foot water drop deep inside the mountain.
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 Marvel over the resident Dr. Seuss-style Sea Dragons at the Tennessee Aquarium. Like mystical creatures, these cousins to the sea horse float
and glide through the tanks like glowing green specters of the deep. Arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean life, their leafy
appendages enable them to hide in plain sight among floating seaweed or kelp. www.tnaqua.org
- Hop on a cruiser and bike through the city’s top-shelf, outdoor collection of modern sculpture as you pedal your way along the Tennessee River
Walk. Hop on at the Hunterdon Museum and take a leisurely spin along the city’s level, winding bike trail. Stop along the way at the River Gallery
Sculpture Garden in the Bluff View Art District before heading 10 miles from the downtown riverfront through wetlands, and parks to the Tennessee River
Park. www.outdoorchattanooga.com
- Watch solid become liquid then solid again with Chris Mosey’s glassblowing demonstrations at Ignis Glass Studio. Chattanooga’s up-and-coming arts
scene is best experienced at this working studio where glass-lovers can watch the glass-blowing process – from molten blob to magnificent bowl –
first hand. www.ignisglass.com
- Snuggle through a double feature at the Wilderness Outdoor Drive-In Theater. The sub-culture of the drive-in movie is alive and well all
spring and summer long in the mountains of nearby Trenton, GA. Just 15 minutes from Chattanooga, this $5 throwback promises room for all and offers
first-run fun all summer long. www.wildernesstheater.com
Chattanooga harbors an implicit alliance, one comprised of the people and the land. Together they provide the groundwork for year-round good times with
Southern charm to spare.
 Sarah Reiss a full-time travel writer, SATW member and contributing travel editor.
Her column, The Thoughtful Traveler, appears quarterly in 11 East Coast newspapers,
and her monthly column, 10 Reasons to Love..., runs on
OffbeatTravel.com. When she is not on the road, she calls the mountains of Southern
California, where she lives with her husband and two dogs, home. SarahReiss.net
Photos courtesy of Sarah Reiss
© 2008
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