The Explorer boards at Chattanooga Pier with varying departure times depending on the day of the week. Each cruise lasts two hours.Good to know
Seating is first come, first served. You’ll want to get to the pier at least 30 minutes early to ensure a good spot.Refreshments are sold aboard the Explorer, but you’re also welcome to bring your own.It’s always colder on the water. Bring an extra jacket if you want to take full advantage of the observation deck.
There are many local flavors I have yet to sample. For instance, I have never attended a free yoga class at Chattanooga River Market. I have never taken a spin on one of Chattanooga’s Bike Share bikes. I have never eaten fried chicken at Lamar’s Restaurant.
I do value all this city has to offer, but I have my routine, which, I suppose, has made me less inclined to explore.
“Routine is the death of romance,” a French philosopher once said. Just ask the out-of-towners! They are easy to spot, standing on Market Street oohing and ahhing over the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Living Local is Chatter magazine’s renewed passion for place. Each month, a writer will choose a different city experience to try. To kick off the new column, I chose to take a ride on the River Gorge Explorer.
And so, on a blue-skyed Saturday afternoon, notepad in hand, I headed to the North Shore for a fresh perspective on my town.
The Experience
The River Gorge Explorer is a Tennessee Aquarium-owned riverboat that offers two-hour cruises through the Tennessee River Gorge, often described as “Tennessee’s Grand Canyon.” Each tour is guided by a trained naturalist well-versed in the river’s cultural and natural history.
The boat boards at Chattanooga Pier located alongside Ross’s Landing. I arrived 30 minutes before its scheduled departure, and there were already a dozen people, ranging from age 2 to 72, waiting. Equipped with city maps and expensive cameras, I sized them up as tourists. Then I followed their lead and began snapping photos of the picturesque bridges and passing-by barges.
The Machine
Compared to riverboats like the Southern Belle, the River Gorge Explorer may appear modest. But in fact, the machine is an absolute badass – which was one of the first bits of trivia bestowed by naturalist Grace Mynatt.
The Explorer, she told us, is a catamaran.
“Does anybody know what that means?” she asked from the front of the cabin.
A catamaran, we learned, means a boat with two hulls, or basically, two bodies. There are two engines in each hull; four engines total with a combined 3,500-horsepower. Which makes the boat fast – like, hold-on-to-your-butts fast. Reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour, the Explorer can stop in six seconds.
And its price tag?
“Just shy of $3 mil,” said Mynatt.
The cabin of the ship seats 70, which is divvied into three sections: Two sections run along the length of the boat, edging the oversized windows, and the third runs down its center, which, view-wise, struck me as an unfortunate place to sit. Luckily, I snagged a window seat.
“Once we get past the barges, we’ll pick up the speed,” Mynatt announced.
The Ride
She wasn’t kidding. When the Explorer accelerated it did so like a jetliner, its bow lifting into the air. The first 30 minutes of the ride were at high speed, so we were required to stay in our seats.
As we zoomed away from town into the rugged river gorge, Mynatt pointed out the landmarks we passed: Moccasin Bend, Signal Mountain, Cash Canyon, etc. She shared facts about each as well as stories from Cherokee and Civil War history.
Throughout the 19th century, the river was much lower, making it less navigable, she told us. Then, in 1913, Hale’s Bar Dam was built, which raised the water and allowed, for the first time, year-round navigation.
I was most intrigued by the natural history. For instance, I learned that great blue herons nest in heronries, also called colonies. To spot a heronry, Mynatt said, look for clumps of vegetation high in treetops. “Pay attention to the shape,” she said. If the clump is round, it is probably just mistletoe. But if it’s flat on top, then it is a heronry.
“Everybody hold on!” she said suddenly. The Explorer slammed to a stop. The bow plunged downward. A wall of water shot up over the boat. We gasped in unison.
The Explorer slowed to a putter. For the next hour we were allowed to wander the boat. There were laminated copies of river maps, migration charts and ecosystem diagrams to flip through. Upstairs was the observation deck, where Mynatt presented a bucket of binoculars. The wind whipped wildly. My skin prickled with goosebumps.
“To the right, there is an osprey circling the water. It may be about to dive,” Mynatt called over the gale. Less than a hundred feet from the boat, we watched the bird swoop and suddenly nose-dive toward the water. It crashed below the surface, re-emerged empty-taloned and shook itself off – midair – like a wet dog. It was spectacular, but I could not shake the chill. I pushed my tangled hair away from my face and returned to my seat.
Shortly thereafter, the Explorer turned back. We whooshed back past more landmarks: Baylor School, Suck Creek, Williams Island, etc. When we neared the pier, Grace invited us to return to the observation deck.
“If you do, watch your step and hold on,” she instructed.
Having once witnessed the cruise’s finale from the Riverwalk, I chose to stay in my seat. But I don’t want to give away the ending. The River Gorge Explorer is an adventure you should have for yourself, and an awesome way to experience the wild side of living local.