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Chattanooga, Tennessee Vacations, Luxury Hotels and Chattanooga Tours and Experiential Travel Packages

Chattanooga City Photo

Chattanooga, "the Scenic City", is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee (after Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville), and the seat of Hamilton County[3], in the United States of America. It is located in southeast Tennessee on Chickamauga and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River, near the border of Georgia, and at the junction of three interstate highways, I-24, I-75, and I-59.

Relax. Have fun. Experience a Chattanooga Getaway. Enjoy citywide fun for everyone, outstanding accommodations, eclectic shops, unique dining and a variety of world class attractions. And when you’re ready to soak in some nature, you’ll be surrounded by breathtaking mountain vistas.

There are so many things to do in Chattanooga that you'll find it takes several days to fit them all in. Start planning your next Tennessee vacation in Chattanooga today!

Chattanooga History

The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native American Indians with sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period, showing continuous occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian (900-1650 AD), Muskogean and Cherokee (1776 - 1838 AD) periods.

Chief John Ross has been quoted as stating that Chattanooga was Cherokee for 'The Big Catch' because of the fishing on the river. In the 1875 publication 'History of the Army of the Cumberland' by Thomas Budd Van Horne and Edward Ruger on page 407 this is related:"Historians have made effort to transmit to the future the significance of the names which distinguish the natural features around Chattanooga. It is no pleasant task to leave groundless the many pretty conceits which have so long passed for facts; but he who would write the truth, must not hesitate to dissipate a myth or disclose a false hypothesis. With only occasional allusion to the various interpretations of Cherokee names, which have so long been accepted as true, their actual meaning, as derived from John Ross, the celebrated Cherokee chief, and from Lewis Ross, his brother, are here given. "Chattanooga," originally was the name of a small Indian hamlet, situated near the base of Lookout Mountain, on the bank of Chattanooga creek. It means, in the Cherokee language, " to draw fish out of water," and hence was applied to the collection of huts, which were occupied by Indian fishermen. The humble hamlet disappeared, and its name, at first suggestive and appropriate, was inherited by the town of the white man, with meaningless application. A somewhat similar name was applied by the Cherokees to the cliffs, rising boldly from the river above the town, which was derived from "Clanoowah," the name of a warlike but diminutive hawk, which was supposed to embody the spirit of the tribe. These cliffs were the favorite nesting- place of the bird, and hence a name was given which expressed this fact, and which, perhaps, has suggested the myth, that 'Chattanooga' means 'eagle's nest.'"

The earliest Cherokee occupation dates from Dragging Canoe, who in 1776 separated himself and moved downriver from the main tribe to establish Native American resistance (see Chickamauga Wars) to European settlement in the southeastern United States. Occupation of the area by members of the Cherokee Nation dates from 1816 with the establishment of Ross's Landing by later tribal chief John Ross and ended with the forced relocation of Native American Indians from southeastern U.S. states to Oklahoma in 1838. Ross's Landing was one of three large internment camps, or "emigration depots," along the Trail of Tears, the other two being Fort Payne, Alabama and the largest at Fort Cass, Tennessee.
 
Chattanooga in time of the civil war. Soldiers' tents and supply wagons beside the city building, 1864. Lookout Mountain is visible in the background.During the American Civil War on November 23, 1863, the Third Battle of Chattanooga began when Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga and counterattacked Confederate troops. The next day, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought near the town. These were followed the next spring by the Atlanta Campaign, beginning just over the nearby state line in Georgia and moving southeastward.

After the war ended, the city became a major railroad hub and industrial and manufacturing center.[citation needed] By the 1930s it was known as the "Dynamo of Dixie," and even inspired the 1941 Glenn Miller big-band swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo." But the same mountains that provided Chattanooga's scenic backdrop became shrouded by the industrial pollutants that they trapped and held over the community. In 1969, the federal government declared that Chattanooga's air was the dirtiest in the nation. But environmental crises were not the only problems plaguing the city. Chattanooga entered the 1980s with serious socioeconomic challenges including job layoffs, a deteriorating city infrastructure, racial tensions and social division.

In recent years, private and governmental resources have been invested in transforming the city's tarnished image and to gain recognition for a metamorphosis of its downtown and riverfront areas.[citation needed] An early cornerstone of this project was the restoration of the historic Walnut Street Bridge. The Walnut Street Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in the Southeastern United States.[citation needed] Efforts to improve the city include the "21st Century Waterfront Plan" - a $120 million redevelopment of the Chattanooga waterfront and downtown area.

Chattanooga Museums
 
Modern extension of the Hunter Museum of American ArtChattanooga is the home to the Hunter Museum of American Art, a well known art museum. As birthplace of the tow truck, Chattanooga is now home to the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum,[11] as well as another transportation icon at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, the largest operating historic railroad in the south. Other notable museums include the Chattanooga Regional History Museum, the National Medal of Honor Museum, the Houston Museum, and the Chattanooga African American Museum.

Chattanooga Arts and literature
Chattanooga's historic Tivoli Theatre is home to the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera under the direction of Robert Bernhardt[16]. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre offers 15 productions each year in three separate theater programs: the Mainstage, the Circle Theater, and the Youth Theater.[17] Another popular performance venue is Memorial Auditorium. Chattanooga is host to several writing conferences, including the Conference on Southern Literature the Festival of Writers, both sponsored by the Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Tourist Attractions
 
Tennessee AquariumChattanooga touts its many tourist attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and heavy development along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area are the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn Hotel that is a renovated train station with the largest HO model train layout in the United States, the Creative Discovery Museum (a hands-on children's museum dedicated to science, art, and music), an IMAX 3D Theatre, and the newly expanded Hunter Museum of American Art. Along the river itself is the Tennessee Riverwalk, a 10-mile (16 km) handicapped accessible greenway trail. The vibrant North Shore district, roughly bounded by the Olgiati Bridge to the West and Veterans Bridge to the East, draws tourists to Coolidge Park and a variety of locally-owned independent shops. The northern terminus of the Walnut Streeet walking bridge serves as a focal point for the area, and recent development has raised the prominence of the area between the Market Street Bridge and the Olgiati. Here, on Manufacturers Road, several new developments have recently been completed. These include Renaissance Park, part of the Chattanooga Riverpark system, One North Shore, a residential condo development, and Two North Shore, a shopping center focused on locally-owned and environmentally conscious companies such as Greenlife Grocery and Rock/Creek. Not far from the downtown area is the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park.

The red-and-black painted "See Rock City" barns along highways in the Southeast are remnants of a now classic Americana tourism campaign to attract visitors to the Rock City tourist attraction in nearby Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The mountain is also home to Ruby Falls, Craven's House and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, a steep funicular railway which rises from historic St. Elmo to the top of the mountain to drop passengers off at the National Park Service's Point Park and The Battles for Chattanooga Museum (formerly known as Confederama), a diorama that details the Battle of Chattanooga. From the military park, visitors can enjoy the panoramic views of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga skyline from the mountain's famous "point" or from vantage points along the well-designated trail system.

Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir, Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden boast a number of outdoor and family fun opportunities. Other arboretums include Bonny Oaks Arboretum, Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres and Cherokee Trail Arboretum. The Ocoee River, host to a number of events from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, features rafting, kayaking, camping and hiking. Also just outside Chattanooga is the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. The Cumberland Trail begins in Signal Mountain, just outside of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Festivals and events
Chattanooga hosts the Riverbend Festival, an annual nine-day music festival held in June in the downtown area. One of the most popular events of the festival is the Bessie Smith Strut, a one night showcase of blues and jazz music named for the city's most noted blues singer. The annual "Southern Brewer's Festival" and the "River Roast" festival celebrate such traditional Southern staples as beer and barbecue, while new events, such as GoFest![19], "Between the Bridges" wakeboard competition and Talespin[20] seek new audiences. Nightfall[21] is the free weekly concert series in Miller Plaza on Friday nights that continues to bring an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass, and folk to downtown Chattanooga from Memorial Day until the end of September. The Chattanooga Market features events all year round as part of the Sunday at the Southside calendar of events including an Oktoberfest in mid October. Back Row Films is a city-wide celebration of film co-sponsored by the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Arts & Education Council and UTC.

The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival, held each June, features workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, auto harp, among others, along with performances by champion performers from across the nation.

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