CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—It’s summer camp season in Chattanooga. That means gaggles of children with matching neon T-shirts, eager hands, and pudgy cheeks squishing up against polished aquarium windows. They all ooh, aah, giggle, and shriek, while counselors laugh—or groan—behind them. A straggler caught in the rain waddles through the door half an hour late in a bright pink tutu and matching rubber rain boots.
The joyous sights and sounds are a testament to this: Chattanooga is a playground for visitors of all ages. Kids and adults alike can stroll through pedestrian-friendly streets, hike through the mountains, or spend a rainy day spotting seahorses at the riverfront aquarium—without breaking the bank. In this hotspot of natural beauty, the Tennessee River, blue and glistening, snakes through hillsides blanketed in green, while mountains hide colossal boulders and cascading waterfalls above and below ground.
