This contest started at just the precise time that I started learning to enjoy Localism.

My top 5 for Chattanooga are a mix of events and places, historical, geological, and man made. Chattanooga is an exciting town that is just now enjoying the benefits of the imagination and vision of it's leadership starting about 30 years ago. We have undergone a complete renaissance from a city recognized for its pollution to a city known for its cooperation between goverment, business and community.

Chattanooga has been voted one of America's Top Family Weekend Getaways by Southern Living Magazine and 1 of 50 Best Family Vacations by Disney Family Travel.

I love Chattanooga. Here're some reasons why.

1. Tennessee Aquarium and the IMAX Theater.

These form the focus of the down town renaissance. Many other activities and businesses contribute to our vibrant downtown area, but the Tennessee Aquarium must be considered the top attraction. The IMAX Theater is an experience.

The Tennessee Aquarium is the second largest freshwater aquarium in the world. There are two basic themes. One is a River Journey following the path of a raindrop from high in the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. One is an Ocean Journey.

The newest exhibit is a Penguin Exhibit.

Tennessee Aquarium, children at the River Journey entrance

(These YouTube videos are not my content. They can be discounted from the judging, or they can disqualify me. But they are good and I wanted to show them.)

Penguin Exhibit, taken from YouTube video

The aquarium is all about the animals. Here is a link to the Meet Our Animals page on the website.

Tennessee Aquarium - Meet the Animals website link

Tennessee Aquarium Seahorse Exhibit

The aquarium is also a major research and conservation center.

The IMAX Theater is part of the same ticket as the Tennessee Aquarium. It is a 3D movie experience.

Grand Canyon preview

Dolphins and Whales preview

Imax Theater in Chattanooga, TN

2. Ruby Falls

Ruby Falls is one of the area's caverns. It was formed 240 million years ago when the Tennessee area was under a shallow sea. Sediment collected at the bottom of the sea which formed the limestone making up Lookout Mountain.

Geology of Ruby Falls

 Photo take from Wikepedia artile on Ruby Fallls.

These photos are taken from the photo page on the Ruby Falls website.

You Tube video of the Ruby Falls water fall
(This YouTube video is not my content.)

Other local caverns are Raccoon Mountain and Lost Sea Caverns.

 3. Chattanooga area parks

When we moved to Chattanooga, the thing that impressed me the most initially was the care and the number of local parks. The Riverwalk itself is one large park, but I am treating that as part of the Tennessee River attraction.

There are several major parks in Chattanooga. All of them receive abundant use. Here are photos of Coolidge Park, which was developed on the site on the old Naval Reserve Center, where I actually drilled for several years in the 1990's.

The park is named after one of Chattanooga's WWII heroes, Charles H Coolidge. His son and family still live in Chattanooga. 

(all remaining photos and videos are mine) 

Coolidge Park, on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga

Other major parks include Chester Frost Park a great camping area on the Tennessee River, the Nature Center and Reflection Riding wonderful respites in the mountains.

4. Tennessee River

The Tennessee River itself is one of the top 5 attractions for Chattanooga. For many it is the boating that makes the Tennessee River so much fun.

We have sponsored collegiate rowing regattas, speed boat races, and up the river a bit, on the Ocoee, we even witnessed the 1996 Olympics for the whitewater slalom. The Ocoee River is a fun white water rafting river.

Boating on the Tennessee River at different ends of the Chattanooga area. The photo on the left is in North Chattanooga, near a marina. The photo on the right is downtown, at Coolidge Park.

The river is also the focus of the Chattanooga River Walk.  This is a 14 mile tour used by walkers, runners, bike riders, picnickers throughout the year, but mostly in the spring, summer and fall. It is a beautiful walk along the river from the dam in the north city to the Coolidge Park downtown. It consists of small park grounds and boat ramps, ponds, wooded areas and small water inlets.

I love the River Walk. When I do my once or twice a year 2 hour run, it is always on the Riverwalk. My wife and I love to stroll it. And frequently we meet friends along the way. 

 5. The events of Chattanooga.

It is the events that round out the excitement of Chattanooga. The Riverbend Festival is the biggest of the area events. Known as Chattanooga's Homecoming, it is in its 28th year. This year's festival just finished last week. I put 9 different posts on my blog to try to give some sense of the event.

Hundreds of musical performers play on several different stages, The main stage is sponsored by CocaCola and features a top talent from R&B, Country, or Rock music, each on various nights. There are 5 stages that have outstanding performances each night from 6 to midnight through out the 9 days. Many known performers play here, many not so well known but excellent. Every year several local performers are featured.

This year was especially good with Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad and the Ohio Players coming. The main stage acts were Black Crowes, Anthony Hamilton, America, Rodney Atkins, Little Big Town, ZZ Top, Josh Turner, and Burton Cummings of the Guess Who.

The event also includes a nationally recognized 10k road race. And for the last couple years it has also featured the construction of Habitat Home.

Please look over my previous blog posts for more information. Here are some photos from this year's Riverbend Festival that I did not put in my blog posts.

Water Park video, taken during the Riverbend Festival, boat gathering for concert.
 (my video)

YouTube, Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad video of performance at Riverbend Festival, playing Bad Time. (my video - you can tell it's mine by the poor quality. I'm working to improve that.)

Some of the other major events that we have in Chattanooga are:

Pops in the Park. this is coming up in two weeks. The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera perform a Fourth of July celebration annually in Coolidge Park.

Night Fall. This is a free weekly concert series on Friday nights throughout the summer. It is a great deal of fun and very well attended. It is out in the open, right in the middle of downtown. Families can attend.

Winter Days. Not to let the winter months be outdone, Chattanooga holds a series of winter events. This series takes place on 4 different days and includes a parade, and some seasonal concerts.

Not making my top 5 include the world famous Rock City, with its grand view, the Incline Railroad, hang gliding, the Bluff View Arts District, the Hunter Museum, the Creative Discovery Museum, the Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team, the dinner theater, the planetarium and observatory, all of the events held by UTC and the several other local universities and colleges, Civil War sites and the Chickamauga Battlefield, or the Chattanooga Zoo.

I will add this link to a terrific YouTube picture show of Rock City. It is very good.
Rock City on YouTube . (It's not mine, you can tell because of the quality.)

Chattanooga, the Scenic City.