Travel in the Chattanooga Area on the Way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
♦ Routes (free): Detailed travel itineraries in USA
Atlanta is a starting point for a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On the way there, you pass by the city of Chattanooga, in whose vicinity it is recommended to visit several attractions that I will detail in this article.
From Atlanta, drive north on highway I-75 to Chattanooga, located in southern Tennessee. The drive takes about two hours.
♦ Recommended attractions in the Chattanooga area for booking from Viator:
Near Chattanooga, on a historical mountain called Lookout Mountain, several impressive attractions are concentrated, which with proper planning can all be visited in one day. The recommended time to visit the three main attractions is about five hours.
The number one attraction is "Ruby Falls" – this is the stalactite cave named after the main attraction within it: an underground waterfall 45 meters high, which is reached at the end of a one-hour tour of the cave.
This is the highest underground waterfall in the U.S. open to the general public. First, you descend in an elevator into the depths of the earth. Then the tour passes between various stalactites, stalagmites, and columns until reaching a large space into which the waterfall falls, impressively lit.
Address: 1720 South Scenic Highway, Chattanooga, TN 3740.
Near the stalactite cave is located "Rock City Gardens," where you can tour among rocks with interesting and unique shapes, such as: "Mushroom Rock," "Balanced Rock" which weighs 1000 tons, "Shelter Rock," and also pass through tunnels, crevices, bridges (including a long suspension bridge), visit a deer park, and a charming cave with fairy tale characters, until you reach an impressive viewpoint and waterfall located on a high rock ledge named "Lover’s Leap."
Further on is another historical viewpoint called Seven States Flag Court from which you can see seven states on a clear day!
Not far from there, you can ride the steepest passenger train in the world called the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. During the ride, you will see a spectacular view of Lookout Mountain and the surrounding valleys, eventually reaching a viewpoint at an altitude of 620 meters. The ride takes about 45 minutes each way. At the train station, there is a nice souvenir shop and a candy store. The train departs from St. Elmo Station, address: 3917 St. Elmo Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409. A combined ticket for these three attractions can be purchased at a discount at the entrance of the first attraction you visit.
The City of Chattanooga
In the city of Chattanooga itself, there are several other family attractions, such as: "The Tennessee Aquarium," which is divided into "River Journey" and "Ocean Journey" and also contains an IMAX theater, as well as a cruise on a typical Southern riverboat named: Chattanooga's Southern Belle Riverboat, where you can go on a scenic cruise on the Tennessee River (with or without a meal).
Continuing the Drive Towards the Smoky Mountains
From Chattanooga, continue driving north on highway I-75, which later becomes I-40, until the city of Knoxville. Continue east on I-40 until the intersection with Highway 66, where you turn south (right), pass through the town of Sevierville, where the road changes its number to 441 and later to 321, and you will reach the towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, where it is recommended to stay for several days and tour from there to the Smoky Mountains and, of course, also spend time at the many attractions these two charming towns have to offer.