Chattanooga a hub for outdoor activities

photo Staff File Photo The 13-mile Riverwalk runs parallel to the Tennessee River.

Outdoor enthusiasts have long known that Chattanooga is a hub for outdoor activities. Rock climbing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, hang gliding and hiking on numerous area trails are just some of the activities available in and around the Scenic City.

The area is such a prime spot for outdoor activities that two national outdoors organizations, Pro Walk/Pro Bike, the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, and American Trails, a nonprofit organization working on behalf of all trail interests, will be holding national conferences in Chattanooga this year.

"It's a first for us," said Ruthie Thompson, spokeswoman for Outdoor Chattanooga. "Both conferences were looking for walking/bicycle friendly cities, and we are definitely that."

Mrs. Thompson said Chattanooga has incredible accessibility to the outdoors.

"Everything is right here," she said. "We have an extreme walkable and bikeable downtown, and it's beginning to expand to outlying areas. We're a bicycle-friendly community, which is a designation given to us by the League of American Bicyclists. We're the only city in Tennessee with that designation. We've got a whole bunch of people working hard to make our community safer for walking and biking."

The Riverwalk, which has gained national attention, is one of many area walking/biking trails, she said.

"When we bring people to the city, I take them on an urban hike through the (Holmberg) pedestrian bridge and a portion of the Riverwalk. They can see the mountains around us, and they are always bowled over. Boulder, Colo., for example, has a lot higher mountains than we do, and other towns may have a lot more rivers and creeks, but few of them have so many within a 10-mile radius to downtown," Mrs. Thompson said.

"If you're standing on the Walnut Street Bridge, you're looking at three designated trails - the Riverwalk, Maclellan Island's two-mile hiking trail and the Tennessee River Blue Way, a canoeing and kayaking highway," she said. "Turn north and you see Stringer's Ridge a mile away, where there are hiking trails; turn west and see the side of Lookout Mountain, where trailheads are; and there's Moccasin Bend, where there are more trails. Chattanooga has a unique urban wilderness experience."

What makes us special?Two national outdoors organizations will be holding conferences in Chattanooga this year.

Easy walking trails

Coolidge Park on the North Shore: Casual paths wind through the park.

Tennessee Riverwalk: The 13-mile trail parallels the Tennessee River from the Chickamauga Dam to Ross's Landing Park. It is part of the Tennessee Riverpark System and features the Tennessee Riverpark, Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, Ross's Landing and the Walnut Street Bridge.

Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden: Located on the west side of Lookout Mountain, it has 12 miles of scenic views and nearly level trails. Some trails connect to extensive National Park Service trails around the mountain.

South Chickamauga Creek Greenway: A 2.5-mile trail on the Brainerd levee.

North Chickamauga Creek Greenway in Hixson: Offers two miles of hiking/bicycling trails.

North Chickamauga section of the Cumberland Trail: Formerly known as the Bowater North Chickamauga Pocket Wilderness, it has 1.5-mile and 4.5-mile hiking trails.

TVA's Big Ridge Small Wild Area: Adjoining the Greenway and Greenway Farm, it has a 1.3-mile nature trail, which links with the paved Greenway trail along the North Chickamauga Creek.

Find a park or trail

The Greenway: www.northchick.org/greenway.html.

Parks and Recreation Department: www.chattanooga.gov.

Chattanooga Hiking Club Web site: www.hiking.chattanooga.net.

Georgia hiking: www.Georgiatrails.com

Top spots

Area hikers/cyclists familiar with Chattanooga and surrounding area trails list the following as their favorite places to hike and bike:

Rainbow Falls Trails, Edwards Point Trail (Signal Mountain) - Tim Shults

Edwards Point (Signal Mountain) - Barbara Haniszewski

Chimney Tops (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) - Ben Friberg

Sitton Gulch in Cloudland Canyon (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) - Emily Marsh

Virgin Falls (Pikeville, Tenn.) - Ann Durham Ferris

Trails beginning at Cravens House (Lookout Mountain) - Melissa Hefferlin

North Chickamauga Greenway (Hixson) - William Kerns

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