If you go
Daily admission for Audubon Acres is $6 for adults, $5 for students ages 12-18, and $3 for kids ages 5-12. Kids under age 5 are admitted for free. The sanctuary closes at 5 p.m., which means you don’t want to leave your car on the property after hours. Find out more at chattanoogaaudubon.org.
About South Chickamauga
South Chickamauga Creek is part of the Tennessee River Blueway river trail system and runs from East Ridge to where it meets with the Tennessee River near downtown Chattanooga.
Swimming pools can be fun, but, as Audubon Acres Manager Kyle Simpson articulates, "To dip your feet in a natural, flowing stream, it's just different."
Audubon offers lots of outdoor activities for Chattanooga families, from hikes to wildflower walks to summer camps and more. But perhaps the most valuable asset it offers during the hot summer is a chance to cool off in South Chickamauga Creek. Nine-tenths of a mile of the South Chick runs right through the wildlife sanctuary.
"It's a beautiful creek that makes a big 'U' around the sanctuary here at Audubon Acres," says Simpson. "Most of the time during the summer it's calm, but moving. You see wildlife, you float underneath the swinging bridge, you can get out and have a picnic at a couple of different places."
The nature of the creek also lends itself to safe and relaxing family fun with tubes, paddleboards and kayaks. "My main safety advice to parents is, if you fall in, just stand up," Simpson laughs. "It's not deep. There may be one or two places above my head."
So grab the kids and a tube or two, and jump in.