Chattanooga Tennessee anyone?

[michigansandzil]

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

[photonut4]

If you are a civil war buff, I would also consider instead of Chattanooga I would drive from MI to Nashville, TN. Take a day trip to Franklin, TN (30 miles) where a major battle took place. There is the Carter house where the battle actually took place. The original buildings are there and you can see the bullet holes in the buildings. One of the Carter sons died on that battle field with the family huddled inside. Then you could go to the Carnton Plantation which was turned into a hospital. You can still see some of the blood stains on the floor by the window where they amputated the limbs and tossed them out the window. There is also a small confederate cemetery there. After spending a day in Franklin, you can then take the I40 over to Gatlinburg.

[Bird_Freak]

ericosmith wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
When in Chatt. be sure to ride up Lookout Mt and go to Point Park. Great Civil war park where they fired down off the mountain. You can also ride just down the road to Tunnel Hill and see the location for The Great Locomotive Chase. The General locomotive in the chase is located a little further south in Kennesaw Ga.about 60 miles below Chatt.

Just to clarify, you don't need to take the incline to get to the top of the mountain. You can drive up and then just walk to Point Park which is run by the NPS.

I never said anything about the Incline. I have never been on it.

[ericosmith]

Bird Freak wrote:
When in Chatt. be sure to ride up Lookout Mt and go to Point Park. Great Civil war park where they fired down off the mountain. You can also ride just down the road to Tunnel Hill and see the location for The Great Locomotive Chase. The General locomotive in the chase is located a little further south in Kennesaw Ga.about 60 miles below Chatt.

Just to clarify, you don't need to take the incline to get to the top of the mountain. You can drive up and then just walk to Point Park which is run by the NPS.

[GA_MOM]

Chattanooga is well worth the visit. The downtown area has a lot to offer. I didn't see where you mentioned how old your children are, but the TN aquarium has a lot to offer for all ages. The river front offers lots of relaxing outside free activities. Coolidge park is just across the Walnut Street Bridge which is only open to pedestrians. The park offers water fountains for children to play in and a carousel. There are lots of restaurants in the immediate area within walking distance. Some interesting shops along the North Shore as well.

The Chickamauga Battlefield is a wonderful park to visit. I would recommend it if you are not going to have another opportunity to experience a Civil War battlefield or historic area. As someone else mentioned, Point Park would be a nice visit as well. All within short distance of each other. Ride the Incline Railway to the top and take the short walk to Point Park.

If you are coming in the spring, you will have plenty of time to google all the suggestions offered by your forum friends and make great plans for your family.

I hope you have a great trip!

[OH48Lt]

If you like taking a drive thru scenic country, check out the Cherohola Skyway just NE of Chattanooga. Drive it down to NC and back. Lots of places to pull off for scenic views, and there's a federal campground up there too.

[captbru]

If you want to go to CHATTANOOGA GO. We used to live there and it's a beautifull water front downtown along the river. First class aquarium and well worth seeing. When we go back to visit we always stay at the Holiday Travel Park near town. Go and do what you want to do and enjoy.

http://www.chattanoogafun.com/

http://www.chattacamp.com/

[Bird_Freak]

When in Chatt. be sure to ride up Lookout Mt and go to Point Park. Great Civil war park where they fired down off the mountain. You can also ride just down the road to Tunnel Hill and see the location for The Great Locomotive Chase. The General locomotive in the chase is located a little further south in Kennesaw Ga.about 60 miles below Chatt.

[michigansandzil]

Thanks for the responses.

As you can imagine, there are no historic civil war sites in Michigan. Although we will be 3 hours away from Chickamauga Battlefield when at the Smokies, it will be the closest we are ever going to be to civil war sites. And when you've driven 12 hours and gone through 4 states, what's 3 more hours to do something very unique. Or at least unique to those Michigander's.

Also, I have a friend that went to both the Gatlinburg and the Chattanooga aquarium and said that the Gatlingburg isn't worth the cost of admission compared to the Chattanooga. Apparently Chattanooga was rated the top in the nation. Again, not sure how great it is because we have never been there.

I don't want to do both aquariums, but I figure if I want to see the battlefield, I can please the kids with the aquarium and maybe we'll all learn a little something. 😉
We have a week of vacation in Tennessee, so this should take up 1 day and we will still have 6 more days to explore the Smokies.

[Taplep]

Don't understand why you would want to drive 2 hours out of your way to see another city? Stay in the Smokies! Fun stuff in PF and G-burg or head accross the mountsins to Cherokee. There will be PLENTY to see and do in the Smokies!

[Bird_Freak]

I don't understand part of this. You want to stay away from a tourist trap but you are going to Gatlinburg?

[TPUC]

The Tennessee Valley Rail Road Museum is really nice. You can ride behind a real steam train. www.tvrail.com I think.

[Sloop_Smitten]

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.

[B_s_Bunch]

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