Chattanooga’s Tennessee River isn’t just a landmark — it’s the living, breathing heart of the city. Once a busy industrial artery, the river has transformed into a hub of recreation, connection and pride.
With miles of Riverwalk, scenic boat rides, paddleboarding and iconic views from the Walnut Street Bridge, the waterfront has become a place where Chattanooga gathers to live, celebrate and dream.
Ana McCoy, who moved from North Carolina to Chattanooga in 2008, has had a front-row seat to the city’s riverside revival. “We’ve seen the downtown area really flourish. It has a great vibe,” she says. For McCoy, the river offers not just beauty, but community — a place to walk, explore and take in the city’s energy.
She hopes to see even more improvements, like extending the Riverwalk across the Greenway and further reducing pollution to make the river even cleaner for swimmers.
Jaycee Wills, a sophomore at Redemption School of Ministry, sees the river as a place for reflection and spiritual connection. “We love our rivers! They offer so much — boat rides, paddleboarding, picnics,” Wills says.
For her and her friends, the Walnut Street Bridge is more than a landmark — it’s a sacred space. “We’ve even prayed over the waters for our city,” she says. “We’ve poured salt in as a prophetic act. It’s part of how we bless Chattanooga.”
The Tennessee River is deeply loved, and it offers a place to recharge, celebrate milestones or simply breathe. As the city continues to grow, the river remains a constant — a shimmering reminder of how nature, community and hope flow together in Chattanooga.
— Dasia Williams
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River facts that hold water truths about the Tennessee
By Kathy Bradshaw
With a length of 652 miles, the Tennessee River has a watershed that incorporates approximately 40,910 miles and seven states — an area larger than the entire country of Ireland. The river begins north of Knoxville, where the Holston and French Broad rivers rendezvous. During part of its southward journey to its end point at Paducah, Kentucky, where it dumps into the Ohio River as that river’s largest tributary, the Tennessee turns and flows northward. In fact, it flows north for a longer distance than any other river in North America except Canada’s Mackenzie River.
The TVA keeps the river channel at a minimum of 11 feet deep so that the 28,000 barges carting up to 50 million tons of products annually (the weight of 150 Empire State Buildings), along with the 6,000 to 8,000 recreational boats cruising the river and its reservoirs, can easily navigate the waters.
In addition to providing more than 8 billion gallons of water (enough to fill 40 million hot tubs) to 5 million people daily, the Tennessee River is also a source of everything from travel and scenery to food and fun, industry and inspiration, leisure and livelihood.
It is also home to 13 locks, nine dams, hundreds of species of fish and wildlife and countless human boaters, fishermen, swimmers, sunbathers, nature-lovers, view-enjoyers, artists, songwriters and TVA employees.
In the following pages, read more about the river that helped create Chattanooga approximately two centuries ago and is still flowing strong.
Sources: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA.com); Tennessee Aquarium (tnaqua.org); themeasureofthings.com; atlast.co; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov)
Living Color
A kaleidoscope of creatures live in and around the river
- At least 300 varieties of fish
- 100+ types of mussels
- River otters
- Birds, such as bald eagles, osprey and belted kingfishers
- Turtles
- Amphibians, including salamanders (with cool names like hellbender, mudpuppy and lesser siren), frogs and toads
- Fortunate humans with waterfront property
- All variety of creepy, crawly things, including parasites such as E. coli, and most likely also giardia and cryptosporidium. But don’t worry. The river is still safe for swimming.
Read more about the biodiversity of the Tennessee River here.
Sources: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA.com); Tennessee River Gorge Trust (trgt.org); TN.gov; USGS Publications Warehouse (pubs.usgs.gov)