Forum Discussion

michigansandzil's avatar
Sep 30, 2013

Chattanooga Tennessee anyone?

I plan on taking my family to the Gatlinburg area for a trip to the Smokies this spring. It's approximately 600 miles from our home and we will be driving there in 1 day. Seeing as how it's so far from home and we are unlikely to return anytime soon, I'd like to incorporate anything in the surrounding area that's impressive. But we hate to break camp and move.......so it's got to be a great idea and not just so-so.

Is is worth it to camp overnight in Chattanooga then break camp and move to Gatlinburg? We are considering spending a day in Chattanooga to visit the aquarium and go to the civil war park Chickamauga.
I was googling the activities there and to ride the incline rail up to Lookout Mountain and visit the falls in the cave, it was a ridiculous amount of money so that's out.
If it's not worth the effort, we will just stay put in the Smokies. I don't really want to fall into a tourist trap if I can avoid it.

Thanks

13 Replies

  • The Tennessee Valley Rail Road Museum is really nice. You can ride behind a real steam train. www.tvrail.com I think.
  • If your a civil war buff Chickamauga Battlefield is a great place to visit. You could take in the aquarium in the morning and then drive out Missionary Ridge to Rossville and follow the road to the battlefield. A good day altogether. Your impression is right about the falls. The top of Lookout Mountain has a lot of tourist trap venues and would take up more money and time than you want to spend.
    However, if you are coming from Michigan, Chattanooga is a long way out of the way to get to the Smokies.
  • The civil war part is very worth while. They have a lot of info parks there just about the war. Battle grounds ect. Most free. Forget about the aquarium as there is a very nice one in Gatlinburg. Enjoy your trip. Larry

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