Top Chattanooga Outdoor Activities

With as many as 100,000 endangered grey bats coming to roost around the caves of Nickajack Lake, this kayaking tour near Chattanooga offers an exceptional opportunity to watch them on their nightly hunts. You’ll visit the Nickajack Bat Cave and Wildlife Refuge in the Tennessee River and paddle out to the bat cave. While these animals take to the sky during sunset, you’ll learn about the local efforts made to protect and preserve the species.

The Crystal Palace Tour is a 45-55 minute guided walking tour through the first 1/4 mile of the cave. This section of the cave has been modified to include lights, pathways, steps, and handrails. Education is the focus of our tours and your guide will explain how caves form, provide a history of the cave, and point out a wide variety of formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, and much more, including rare shield and helictite formations! Guests also have a chance to view cave wildlife including bats and salamanders, as well as ancient fossils. Photography is welcomed, however you must keep up with the group. As a reminder our cave is not wheelchair or child stroller accessible.

Discover Chattanooga from the water with an electric Boat rental. Navigate the serene Tennessee River at your own pace, surrounded by stunning mountain scenery and iconic downtown views. This eco-friendly, easy-to-drive boat is ideal for families, couples, and friends looking for an unforgettable day on the water. - Captain your own electric boat—no boating experience required - Enjoy activities like swimming, fishing, or simply relaxing on the water - Bring your pets and pack snacks for a personalized adventure - Take in breathtaking sights beneath famous bridges and along the waterfront

Discover Chattanooga from the sky with a private helicopter tour. Meet your pilot guide for a private flight over downtown Chattanooga including popular landmarks like the Tennessee River, the Chattanooga National Cemetery, and AT&T Field. Customize the tour if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see and enjoy a bird's eye view of the city.

The Tennessee River’s Chickamauga Dam is a marvel of engineering, holding back floodwaters while producing hydroelectric power. Experience this impressive structure up close by kayaking through the dam’s lock on this remarkable guided tour. Over the course of around three hours, you’ll paddle into the lock, watch the gates close, and slowly sink down some 50 feet before paddling back out into the river.

Discover the dark side of Chattanooga's storied past on this thrilling walking ghost tour. See the city's spookiest haunts alongside a local and professional guide for a tour as haunting as it is historical. Hear stories of lurking spirits and make a few stops along the way to take photos or potential supernatural beings.

The Ocoee River is one of the most popular destinations for whitewater rafting in Tennessee and flows through the heart of the Cherokee National Forest. On this tour, you’ll get a full day on the water, with full instruction and lunch included. Get your adrenaline pumping as you tackle Class III and IV rapids, admire the views as you cruise downstream, and raft down part of the ‘Olympic section’.

The rushing waters of the Middle Ocoee River are your playground during this whitewater adventure. Climb into a kayak and paddle down the Middle Section of the Ocoee River through Chattanooga National Forest with a guide. Those new to this adrenaline-filled sport will find the pre-launch safety briefing and orientation helpful. Paddle through more than five-miles of the river where you’ll encounter 270-foot drops and Class III/IV waves.

Discover Chattanooga from a fresh perspective with this private helicopter tour. After take-off, check out a bird’s eye view of the Tennessee River, the local aquarium, and Lookout Mountain that once hosted a Civil War battle. Maximize time with a private sightseeing flight and customize the itinerary according to your interests.

The nation's most-popular whitewater rafting trip offers near-constant excitement from start to finish and is located just below the 1996 Olympic Whitewater Course. Many rafters consider the Ocoee’s intensity and difficulty “just right" with a greatest hit compilation of rapids. Highlights of the run—and there are many—include huge waves at Double Trouble, fast, frenzied currents at Tablesaw and the boat-drenching punch through Hell Hole rapid.

In this Chattanooga escape room, you find clues, decode messages, and work together with your team to break out of prison after serving time for a crime you didn’t commit. This prison-themed game is full of realistic details that let you get lost in the game and escape reality as you race against the clock to win.

Go white water rafting in Tennessee with this half-day adventure on the Ocoee River. Get your adrenaline pumping during this seasonal excursion along 10 miles (16 kilometers) of rapids, including class III and IV rapids. A riverside picnic lunch is also included, so you don't have to worry about packing snacks. Children must be at least 12 years old to participate.

The Ocoee River formed naturally without any of the undercuts or sieves present in most waterways. For our rafters that means we can push the boundaries of what a non-professional can experience. At OAR we train for longer then any other company. We are also the only company that requires each guide to complete an EMR certification as well as a Swiftwater Rescue class. This enables us to confidently do things on the water other companies can't and take guests that other companies won't.

Solve problems, conquer challenges, and work together with your teammates to get out of an inheritance-themed escape room in Chattanooga. As you solve a mystery by finding clues and decoding messages, your guide creates a realistic experience that’s sure to thrill Chattanooga area locals and visitors alike.

Get a new perspective on Chattanooga with a rafting adventure tour on the Middle Ocoee River. After a safety demonstration, set off on a white water rafting excursion through the scenic Cherokee National Forest. Experience class III and IV rapids as you descend the river gorge. Paddle through the rapids during this exhilarating river adventure.

Take your rafting skill to the next level with this private guided excursion on the Ocoee River. Slip on your helmet and life vest and set off on a Puma raft—this narrow, short raft rides the rapids differently than standard river rafts and guarantees an adrenaline-pumping adventure that will leave you thrilled. Take a break along the way to surf and swim during a calm stretch of river and pick up tips and techniques from your expert rafting guide.

In this Chattanooga escape room, you find clues, decode messages, and work together with your team to find a vaccine for a terrible infection that’s killing off the human race. This apocalypse-themed game is full of realistic details that let you get lost in the game and escape reality as you race against the clock to win.

This digital scavenger hunt lets you learn all about Chattanooga—without a traditional tour guide—while you explore, solve challenges, and answer questions with your teammates. This is an app-led activity, so you don’t need a guide there in person and can start and finish whenever you like, but plan on approximately two hours to complete the scavenger hunt.

Discover the spooky side of Chattanooga with a ghost-themed walking tour. Meet your guide for a city stroll to hear haunted tales and ghost stories connected to city history. See local landmarks like the Fireman’s Memorial Fountain and Hamilton County Courthouse during the walk. Learn about how fires, floods, disease, and war all made Chattanooga a prime place for ghosts.

Discover London in 1963 with this gaming experience in Chattanooga. Test your problem-solving skills with an admission ticket to this escape room which puts you in the role of a MI6 secret agent. Track down the villain and immerse yourself in a historical experience with this one-hour gaming session. This tour is a shared experience, meaning multiple groups can book into the same escape room.

Celebrate the magic of the season this year with Holly Jolly Hunt. Holly Jolly Hunt is an app based scavenger hunt that you can play anywhere of your choosing. Explore the city and look for holiday related items, both traditional and not so traditional. Take a photo through the app to score points for your scavenger hunt team. Perform fun, holiday challenges that will bring laughter to your team. See your score on the leaderboard compared to other teams from all over. Holly Jolly Hunt is guaranteed to provide lasting holiday memories. Whether you play with friends, family, or even co-workers, Holly Jolly will put a smile on your face for the rest of the year!

During this small-group, guided Chattanooga food crawl, you’ll discover top delicacies in the downtown district. Sample dishes at up to four curated dining locations for the same cost and time as your standard dinner out, including optional wine pairings. Choose from three itineraries: West Village, Electric Bike Lunch Tour, and Art and Southern Cuisine.

There are so many fun activities to do during Christmastime, but many are right in the middle of huge crowds. Book this Chattanooga Saving Christmas Escape Room and have some fun without being pushed around by the masses. This experience is done with the group you choose. Play a fun, interactive game that’s holiday themed and work together to get Santa's sack back in time to save Christmas.