Why Chattanooga Should Be Your Next Weekend Trip
Not only is Chattanooga a lovely place to live and attend school, but it is also a great place to visit in your time off. Chattanooga is known for its outdoor adventurous scene with tons of great hiking trails, waterfalls and scenic views. Lookout Mountain just west of downtown offers an incredible view from its altitude of 2,392 feet above sea level and boasts of a special favorite spot for residents: Sunset Rock. Sunset Rock is about a 5 minute rocky walk from the road and looks over the Tennessee River and the surrounding Prentice Cooper State Forest.
Image Courtesy: Reddit
Another notable attraction is the Chattanooga Aquarium. The aquarium is a large, two building adventure with one portion focused on Ocean animals, and the other on River animals. You can spend hours amongst the fish, stingray, turtles, snakes, sharks and more.
In Northshore, Chattanooga boasts of the River Walk containing the Walnut Street Bridge, one of the World’s largest pedestrian bridges right over the Tennessee River. If you want a meal or a sweet treat, there are restaurants and shops all along the downtown strip within a short walking distance of the Bridge and Coolidge Park. One of my favorite restaurants in the area are Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar which overlooks the river and has lots of indoor and outdoor seating.You aren’t looking for seafood? Community Pie is a popular restaurant downtown with great pizza, sandwiches and cocktails.
Now you find yourself at the end of the day wanting more, and there are plenty of bars to enjoy your night. If you are looking for a sit-down casual scene, Pickle Barrel has cheap beer and liquor, and I cannot get enough of their fries. My personal favorite place to spend a Friday night would be Shady’s corner which is an indoor-outdoor bar with games, pool, and lots of people to mingle with. However, if you want to dance, Reagan's Retro Bar is your place. There is tons of cool artwork on the walls, great music and night club energy.
Image Courtesy: Squarespace
And if all of that isn’t enough, Chattanooga is only a 2 hour drive from Nashville, Knoxville. Spend one day here, the next at a honky tonk. I hope this enticed you to spend a weekend adventuring in Chattanooga to get some sun, good food, drink, and a refreshing getaway.
Strike Out,
Rebecca Morgan
