Travel Guide: Two Days of Family Adventure in Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga, TN is definitely one of my favorite cities now - such a gem! I’ve been there a few times before, but this past weekend, we had an unexpected window of free time pop up in our schedules.

After months of going a-mile-a-minute, Steven suggested for Father’s Day that we go to Chattanooga for an overnight getaway with our girls. After living in the city for many years, we all love living in the countryside, but it’s nice to get a “city fix” now and then!

Chattanooga is only 2.5 hours away from our farm in middle Tennessee, so it’s a very do-able day trip from the Nashville area.

The Tennessee River winds through the entire city of Chattanooga, and from what I can tell, pretty much everything is defined by what side of the river it’s on. There are well-preserved historic districts on both the North Shore and the Southside. Restored warehouses, period architecture, and cobblestone streets galore.

In true Bailey family style, we didn’t do any of the major tourist attractions and decided to forge our own path. I thought I’d share exactly what we did on our 2 days there to show you just how much you can pack in and also leave feeling rested and rejuvenated.

Where We Stayed

When we travel to North Carolina or on other family trips, we usually rent a cozy yet humble abode through HomeAway or AirBnB. For this trip into the city, since we were only staying 1 night, we thought it’d be fun to get something a little nicer, and we knew we wanted an outdoor pool with a city view. So, literally on the drive to Chattanooga, we found a great deal for 1 night at the Westin Chattanooga.

I can’t say enough good things about the Westin! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The entire hotel was gorgeous with so much attention to detail - from the shape of the mirrors in the restrooms, to the quality of the bed linens, to the leaf shape of the soap. It also has some on-site restaurants with legit amazing food that aren’t too expensive. Our girls loved riding the fun glass elevators from the lobby to our room on the 6th floor, and we went to the outdoor pool with cabanas three times! Everyone we encountered who worked there was extremely kind and helpful. Our 7-year-old was particularly thrilled that the entire hotel was rose gold. :)

Much to our girls’ delight, I declared that we were all staying up until midnight so we didn’t miss a thing on our one night at a fancy city hotel.

Photo Source: Marriott.com

Day One

After passing the Westin on the freeway and ooh’ing and ahh’ing at its beauty, we went straight to Whole Foods to grab some lunch. The Chattanooga Whole Foods has such a great warm feel inside and lovely outside patio surrounded by trees. We ate lunch outside, then went into a nearby shops. We then headed to The Mean Mug coffeeshop location in a historic building on the “North Shore.” With my iced golden milk latté in hand and Steven surprisingly drinking an iced oat milk latté (he’s usually a black coffee drinker), we headed to nearby Renaissance Park to explore.

The first thing we found were these super tall grassy hills where people were sliding down on pieces of cardboard. A sign explained that they are a creative way to safely encapsulate old trash dumps from years ago, but let me assure you there was no trash in site. As we walked around Chattanooga more and more, I noticed how clean and well-kept the city is, with statues and murals and art around every corner.

Well, we didn’t have any cardboard so we just rolled and ran down the hills, because #yolo.

We kept walking around this seriously beautiful park and found preserved meadows and tree groves and several bridges over marshlands…

You can walk to the end of this bridge that hangs over the marshland and observe tons of snapping turtles and other turtles in the water below. We even watched a blue heron for about 10 minutes as it slowly crept inch-by-inch to hunt a big fish in the water. Other people in the park started to gather as we were watching it, and then when the heron finally snapped and caught the fish in its mouth in one bite, and we all gasped!

By this time, we were sweating and ready to go check out the hotel and the pool! Having our bags taken inside by a bellhop left our girls wide-eyed and feeling like they were living in the lap of luxury. Our room on the 6th floor overlooked the on-site restaurant, Alimentari Cucina, which we decided to check out later for dinner.

I have no photos of the hotel pool, because I was actually enjoying the pool 🙃 (here’s a photo on Trip Advisor). Even here, there was attention to detail, like the complimentary pool towels which were bright stripes rather than plain white. Those extra touches were so nice!

Father’s Day dinner at Alimentari was next on the list, and on a Sunday night, the restaurant wasn’t crowded, especially the sprawling outdoor patio area with fountains where we were able to settle in for dinner on a comfy round couch.

I have an almost-11-year-old who loves charcuterie (#childofachef), so she was reallllly happy to see that on the menu. 😂Steven got an Italian cocktail, and I got a glass of dry Prosecco. We tried charcuterie boards, flatbreads, gnocchi, and Caesar salad, which were all incredible! The chicken parmesan was my least favorite - the chicken wasn’t tender enough. I guess I’m spoiled by my Aunt Lucille’s for life.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel pool for a night swim. After the girls did 8 million handstands that Steven and I rated, we headed back to our room to get cleaned up and ready for bed. We crashed into our comfy beds with soft sheets and watched Shark Tank on loop until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. Our oldest daughter was very proud that she did, indeed, stay up until midnight.

Day Two

We slept until 8am (unheard of for these farmers!) because of the heavy blackout curtains in our room. The girls and I got dressed and ready first and went to the lobby to fetch some Peet’s Coffee for me and Steven. I got two espresso shots with steamed heavy cream, which felt completely decadent. We wanted to sit outside at Alimentari again because their breakfast menu looked equally as delicious as dinner, but they were short-staffed, so the patio was closed.

So with coffee in hand, we set out walking on a bright, sunny city morning to Maple Street Biscuit Company a few blocks away. I’m not gonna lie, it was a nice change walking on concrete and being surrounded by so much artwork on every city corner. We waited in line a bit at Maple Street, but it was so worth it. Y’all, I’m still dreaming about the breakfast I had there. I got “The Farmer” (couldn’t resist): “Flaky biscuit, all-natural fried chicken, pecanwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese topped with fresh house-made apple butter.” Drooling just thinking about it. We also got a side of their sausage balls, which were ridiculous.

Next up, indoor rock climbing! On one of my writing retreats this past winter, Steven took the girls to Chattanooga for an overnight, and they fell in love with High Point Climbing Gym. The gym was only 2 blocks away from Maple Street, so we got in more leisurely walking. High Point is unlike other climbing gyms in that there’s a dedicated kids’ area with lots of kid-friendly courses, all using auto-belay so they can easily hook and unhook themselves from the ropes. We got a day pass, let them climb in the morning and then went back again in the afternoon.

After our first climbing session, we walked back to the hotel to take a little snoozer, pack up, and check out.

On our way back to High Point, we stopped at an eccentric bookshop called All Books, which was super cute on the outside, crazy and a wee bit stress-inducing on the inside. I’ve never seen a place like this. There were books literally spilling out of every shelf and surface and in boxes all over the floor. The front of the shop was somehow also a yarn shop with other shelves filled with random knick knacks that were for sale. The owner, an older woman, sits in the front of the store with her tiny dog and asks you not to step into the water bowl. 😂

I think if you had a few hours and whole heckuva lot of patience, you could find some serious treasures in that place! Although Steven said he tried to look at the cookbooks, but he couldn’t access them because of all the boxes in the way. 😂Definitely worth a stop in, if just for the shocking nature of it! My oldest daughter bought some alpaca yarn, and my youngest bought two vintage cobalt blue bottles for her collections. 🤷🏻‍♀️

After the second climbing session, we skipped lunch and decided to have ice cream instead, so we headed to The Ice Cream Show on the Southside. This place was interesting! The only ice cream choices are chocolate or vanilla, then you choose however many toppings you want, but they grind it all together into your cup or cone like soft-serve. I got chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate chips and walnuts. I wish I’d added fresh banana. It was good - I wouldn’t say great.

The Ice Cream Show was right next to the Walnut Street walking bridge which was built in 1890. We walked partially across, took in the water views for a bit and relaxed in the vintage wooden benches.

While researching Chattanooga’s history, I learned that the Cherokee was the first settlers here and, of course, were forcibly removed. We read all about the Trail of Tears extensively this past year in school, but I didn’t realize Chattanooga had been one of the main cities where they had settled and where the Trail of Tears had passed through. 💔

It only seemed right for us to honor the Cherokee on our trip and visit The Passage - an absolutely stunning monument honoring and built by Cherokee people. The Passage is a multi-tiered narrow passageway with water flowing down steps into a pool at the bottom. All along the way on the wall are beautiful tile art pieces that depict Cherokee customs and traditions. It was beautiful symbolism to build The Passage in the same spot of where the Trail of Tears began. 💔

We stayed at The Passage for almost 2 hours and were so refreshed by the water and laying on the steps in the shade, reflecting on our trip. It was getting later in the afternoon, so we decided to end with early dinner on the patio at Urban Stack. I got the Jive Turkey Burger with tomato-pepper relish and black-raspberry mayo, and it was one of the best turkey burgers I’ve had.

After dinner, we reluctantly left Chattanooga. As much as I love living on the farm, I can’t wait to return! A nearby city adventure was just what we needed to break up the summer.

The best part about our trip was the undistracted time together and ability to be present. Our family always does well when exploring new places, and I’m so grateful I was done writing my book, so I could be part of the family adventure this time. 💛

Other Places To Explore…

We didn’t go to the Tennessee Aquarium on this trip, but it’s a must-see if you go to Chattanooga! The jellyfish tower there is my favorite.

Steven and the girls went to the Creative Discovery Museum last time and loved it.

Next time, I’d love to try Clumpies Ice Cream and ride the Coolidge Park antique carousel.

We also haven’t been to Ruby Falls or Rock City yet, although it’s always on my list. What can I say - we usually just choose more off-the-beaten path places!

Your Turn…

What do you think? Have you been to any of these places? Any other Chattanooga favorites to share? Let me know in the comments.

Enjoy!