Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The last passengers head to the train after the stop in East Chattanooga. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Holiday Light Train is sold out for the year. The museum's new ride features a layover at the East Chattanooga Station to turn the locomotive and let passengers enjoy the holiday-themed decorations. The trip took place on December 28, 2021. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The last passengers head to the train after the stop in East Chattanooga. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Holiday Light Train is sold out for the year. The museum's new ride features a layover at the East Chattanooga Station to turn the locomotive and let passengers enjoy the holiday-themed decorations. The trip took place on December 28, 2021.
By Shannon Coan 8 min read
Drive time: Missionary Ridge is 3.9 miles from the Tennessee Aquarium. The Missionary Ridge Tunnel bisects Missionary Ridge at the intersection of North and South Crest roads.
Locator map: The ridge itself is 8.3 miles long and runs from Glass Street to the north and Highway 27 to the south in Georgia. Its unique shape and proximity mean that depending on where you are on the ridge, you are a couple of hundred yards from East Ridge, Brainerd or the Eastside to the east and Rossville, Ridgedale, Glenwood or Avondale areas to the west. All of those areas, plus downtown and East Brainerd, are within 10 minutes for most ridge residents.
Curb appeal: The median listing home price in Missionary Ridge was $599,00 in late 2025, trending down -16.2% from 2024, according to Realtor.com.
Breakfast: For your coffee fix, head to Sleepyhead Coffee on East Main Street. The coffee shop offers house-made, vegan pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
Lunch: Sugar’s Ribs, off Westside Drive, offers old-fashioned barbeque with smoked spare ribs and simple sides. Customers rave about the wood grilled okra and brisket poppers. Plus, you can feed the goats.
Dinner: Giardino, off Westside Drive, serves Italian-inspired cuisine with locally sourced produce and proteins, ranging from chicken parmesan to shrimp and polenta. The restaurant sits al0ng the edge of the ridge, giving diners a stellar view of the sunset from the patio where they might be greeted by the host cat, Parmesan.
Happy place: Along the ridge’s crest are several reservations and monuments that mark key areas of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a Civil War battle that placed Chattanooga under Union control and forced Confederate soldiers to flee south. All together, the sites offer scenic overlooks that give residents views of Lookout, Signal and Raccoon mountains, depict local Civil War history and contain a short walking path.
Walk this way: If you’re looking for an urban hike, Crest Road follows the summit of the ridge for nearly its entire length and offers glimpses of the area’s historic architecture. Depending on where you start, you might pass the Windcrest Mansion, a Queen Anne-style home built in 1894, or the Seamour and Gerte Shavin House, the only building in Tennessee designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Chattanooga’s sole local historic landmark.
Kid magnets: Whether or not your child is a train enthusiast, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s Missionary Ridge Local train ride is sure to make for a fun afternoon. The route, which departs just outside of the neighborhood, will take you on an hour long journey where you’ll watch the train rotate on a turntable and drive through the pre-Civil War Missionary Ridge Tunnel.
Parks and rec: The Chattanooga Unit of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park has several reservations on Missionary Ridge, and East Lake Park is just outside the neighborhood. The city’s Brainerd and Avondale recreation centers are also just a few minutes away.
Schools:
— Brainerd Baptist (PK-5)
— East Ridge Elementary (PK-5)
— Hardy Elementary (PK-5)
— Woodmore Elementary (PK-5)
— Boyd-Buchanan (PK-12)
— Dalewood Middle (6-8)
— East Ridge Middle (6-8)
— McCallie School (6-12)
— Brainerd High (9-12)
— East Ridge High (9-12)
— Notre Dame High (9-12)
Health-care assets: Erlanger, Parkridge and CommonSpirit Memorial hospitals are all within two to four minutes of most of the ridge.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / This monument, along North Crest Road, marks the spot were Union Colonel Edward Phelps he was struck and killed by a Confederate bullet, as his brigade climbed up Missionary Ridge. Today, November 25, 2021, marks the 158th Anniversary of the climatic battle for Chattanooga in 1863. After taking Orchard Knob on the 23rd, and Lookout Mountain on the 24th, the Union Army stormed Confederate positions on Missionary Ridge routing the majority of the Rebel Army.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The Iowa Monument stands among the trees at Missionary Ridge’s Sherman Reservation. Today, November 25, 2021, marks the 158th Anniversary of the climatic battle for Chattanooga in 1863. After taking Orchard Knob on the 23rd, and Lookout Mountain on the 24th, the Union Army stormed Confederate positions on Missionary Ridge routing the majority of the Rebel Army.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park staff historian Jim Ogden leads a 2-hour walk detailing the Battle of Missionary Ridge at Sherman’s Reservation on November 19, 2017. The battle which occurred on November 25, 1863 was the last in three days of fighting in which the Union Army gained full control of the city. The park service plans events this week to commemorate the 154th anniversary of the struggle.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park staff historian Jim Ogden leads a 2-hour walk detailing the Battle of Missionary Ridge at Sherman’s Reservation on November 19, 2017. The battle which occurred on November 25, 1863 was the last in three days of fighting in which the Union Army gained full control of the city. The park service plans events this week to commemorate the 154th anniversary of the struggle.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / From left, Rhett Hockstra and grandmother, Anne Schwartz, watch a freight train round a curve. The Tennessee Valley Model Railroaders hosted a free open house, August 10, 2024, at the club’s layout in the basement of the National Model Railroad Association on Cromwell Road.Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Giardino is seen on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 in Chattanooga, Tenn.Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Visitors take pictures with a life-sized Thomas the Tank Engine during the Day Out with Thomas event at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum on Saturday, April 5, 2025.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd After several days of rain the Chattanooga skyline is seen in this clear view from Missionary Ridge on March 2, 2018. The headstones of the National Cemetery dot a hill with other historic sites in the background. In the center of the photo a solitary figure visits a grave.Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Sugar’s Ribs, a barbecue restaurant, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The goats at Sugar’s Ribs are seen on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Photographers snap a scene representing the two locomotives, and a vintage pickup, of the Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum held its Founders Day Night Photo Session at its East Chattanooga Station on September 7, 2024.Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Attendees photograph a steam and diesel locomotives staged by the depot. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum held its Founders Day Night Photo Session at its East Chattanooga Station on September 7, 2024.Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ David Johnson speaks with the media after a signing ceremony to mark the official donation of five historically and environmentally significant land parcels on Missionary Ridge on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.Staff photo by Abby White / The front of the Shavin House on Missionary Ridge. The Shavin House, a Frank Lloyd Wright design on Missionary Ridge, was named a historic landmark in 1992 and is currently in a legal dispute over potentially selling the home. Friday, June 6, 2025.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ The front of a canon is seen at Bragg Reservation atop Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ A monument to Illinois regiments who fought in the Battle of Missionary Ridge stands beside canons at Bragg Reservation on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ A monument to the 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry stands at Bragg Reservation atop Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ At Bragg Reservation, a motorist passes by a monument to an Illinois regiment that fought at the Battle of Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Nate Shirer take his dog, Teddy, on a walk through Bragg Reservation atop Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ A rusty street marker stands at Bragg Reservation atop Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ A canon rests at Bragg Reservation atop Missionary Ridge on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026. Bragg Reservation marks the site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. during the Civil War.
