Chattanooga may be the best outdoor city in the Southeast for a father with a teenage son. Within an hour of downtown you can hike the rim of a river gorge, backpack one of the most celebrated trails in the country, and run whitewater that once hosted the Olympics. Here are three outdoor adventures near Chattanooga, from easiest to most demanding, with the details a father needs to plan them.
1. The Cumberland Trail from Signal Point
The Cumberland Trail is a long distance path along the Cumberland Plateau, and its southern end begins just outside Chattanooga. According to the Cumberland Trail Conservancy, the Signal and Edwards Points section starts at Signal Point, part of the national military park on Signal Mountain, and runs 8.4 miles to Suck Creek Road. It is rated strenuous.
Along the way you cross two suspension bridges, pass through the Rainbow Lake Wilderness Area, see a twenty foot sandstone formation called Mushroom Rock, and reach Edwards Point, with a sweeping view of the Tennessee River Gorge. There are two campsites on the section, including one with a shelter about 1.8 miles in, which makes it a good first overnight for a boy.
For younger boys: hike from Signal Point to Edwards Point and back as a day hike, or simply go as far as the first suspension bridge.
2. The Fiery Gizzard Trail
About forty five minutes northwest of Chattanooga, in South Cumberland State Park, is a trail with a name every boy will love. The Fiery Gizzard Trail runs 12.5 miles from Tracy City to Foster Falls and has been ranked by Backpacker magazine among the top trails in the United States.
It earns the reputation. The trail follows a creek through a rugged gorge, past old growth hemlocks, waterfalls, swimming holes like the Blue Hole, and a boulder field called the Fruit Bowl. The climb to Raven Point overlook is one of the hardest stretches of trail in the state.
How to do it: Most families should start with a shorter out and back from the Grundy Forest end to the Blue Hole and Sycamore Falls. Older teenagers who have backpacked before can take on the full trail as an overnight with a car shuttle. Check with the park about campsite reservations.
3. Whitewater on the Ocoee
East of Chattanooga, near the North Carolina line, the Ocoee River offers some of the best whitewater rafting in the country. According to one of the licensed outfitters, the Upper Ocoee hosted the whitewater events of the 1996 Olympics, and the river runs on scheduled dam releases.
The age rule is important: the outfitter reports that Tennessee State Parks requires rafters on the Ocoee to be at least 12 years old. That makes a rafting trip a natural reward for a boy’s twelfth or thirteenth birthday.
Rafting with a guided outfitter is a good first whitewater experience. The guide handles the river, and the boy handles his paddle, listens for commands, and learns what it feels like to work as part of a crew when the water gets loud. If he paddles with you on flat water first, as we describe in our guide to canoeing near Nashville, he will be ready.
Planning a weekend
A good father and son weekend might look like this:
- Saturday morning: Chickamauga or Lookout Mountain, following our guide to a history weekend at Chickamauga.
- Saturday afternoon: Signal Point to the first suspension bridge on the Cumberland Trail.
- Sunday: The Ocoee, if he is old enough, or the Fiery Gizzard if he is not.
Why it matters
Adventures like these teach a boy things he cannot learn indoors: how to manage fear, how to keep going when he is tired, and how to rely on the people beside him. We make the full case in our essay on what wilderness education teaches.
For Chattanooga men who want the conversation to continue after the trail, Meriwether Academy’s Chattanooga book club chapter meets every week to read Plutarch’s Lives, and it is free to join. Details are sent by email after signup.
From the Meriwether archive: A Night on the Buffalo River.