See Rock City: You Really Should

One of the Southern Highlands Attractions, Rock City is just plain can't miss.  Part nature walk and part adventure in American tourism, Rock City is an outside adventure that will bring you more thrills than most gentle hikes as you amble along a well-constructed path between large boulders and up rock staircases.  Rock City treats you to nature, including breathtaking views from Lookout Mountain, and to little roadside attraction surprises, like cute gnomes in the fields.  Yes, it's a garden--but it is qualitatively different from most botanical gardens.

Along the walk, you'll see the iconic "See Seven States" lookout, view a beautiful (if human-made) waterfall at Lover's Leap, and cross two very narrow passages between large boulders--an experience hard to come by outside of a non-commercialized cave. Your walk will lead to Fairyland Caverns, a constructed cave full of sculpted, black lit scenes from childhood tales--unique and very cool.  Don't expect to navigate the park easily with a stroller, but there is an ADA-compliant pathway option.  Keep an eye on the kids--and a close hand on your most adventurous small ones--but we've found that this is a great place to let young ones, curious about the walkways themselves, enjoy a well-supervised adventure.

If you go, dress for the weather (including a few degrees more cool because of the mountain breeze) and check the special events schedule, which now includes springtime Fairytale Nights, the Christmas Enchanted Garden of Lights,and more.  Allow enough time to enjoy your surroundings,walking slowly, sitting and taking in views, stopping to take pictures.  This isn't designed to be a rushed experience--although we saw plenty of people just tearing through. There's no reason not to bring along a picnic in a backpack, too, and slow down even more. Gift shops sell great See Rock City souvenirs--and we recommend you check out their own history book See Rock City: The History of Rock City Gardens by Tim Hollis, one of our favorite authors. It's easy to combine your Rock City adventure with other Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga attractions--look for discount combo tickets as you plan.