Guide to Rock City 

Fully restored and updated, Rock City Gardens still makes a scenic spot for enjoying dramatic natural surroundings intermixed with storybook sculptures and far-reaching scenic views. You'll even find a few modern additions, such as restaurants where you can dine with a view. Get a birds-eye view of multiple states from the many scenic vistas of Rock City.

See for Miles and Miles

You'll find unparalleled views over the Chattanooga Valley that reach more than 100 miles into seven different states. The Seven States Flag Court is where you'll find arrows pointing out each one. If you're not scared of heights, you'll find even more breathtaking lookout points along the Enchanted Trail as it winds along sheer granite cliffs. Gaze down a 100-foot waterfall at Lover's Leap or duck into Rainbow Hall to peer through multicolored glass windows in every color of the rainbow. If you're the daring sort, stand on an observation deck jutting out from the cliff face suspended in mid-air by nothing more than two cables.

The Enchanted Trail

Rock City's gardens draw visitors from Chattanooga and all around the nation. Seasonal wildflowers poke their heads skyward from rock wall planters alongside the flagstone trail leading through the wonderland of gardens and grottos. Take a break on a rough-hewn swinging bench as you listen to the kids making music on an oversize pipe xylophone. Then, descend a stairway through a narrow crevice between the cliffs—comically dubbed the Fat Man Squeeze. Follow the one-way trail along its circuitous route and you'll pass through cool, lush forest groves along sparkling streams under the seemingly precarious Balanced Rock and into centuries-old caverns.

Fairyland Caverns

Once you've breathed in the pine-scented air and grown accustomed to the music of the rushing water, you may be surprised to hear a cheerful recorded voice inviting you to use your imagination as you step through the doors into Fairyland Caverns. The caverns are dark except for the dimly lit pathways and storybook characters whose glowing paint is garishly lit with black lights. Gnomes and elves peer at you from crevices high overhead while lively nursery rhyme music sets children's feet to frolicking. Keep the beat all the way to Mother Goose Village—the centerpiece of the caverns—where nursery rhyme characters cavort below a 10-foot castle.

'Tis the Season

Every season brings something new to see at Rock City. Leprechauns join the elves and gnomes for two weekends at Shamrock City, Chattanooga's award-winning St. Patrick's Day celebration. In May, see the gardens burst into bloom during the Southern Blooms Festival. Rocktober Fest is the time to dress in your lederhosen and polka down the pathways to see miles of fall foliage from Lover's Leap. In winter, the Enchanted Garden of Lights brings a fanciful storybook theme to the entire garden as thousands of lights make Santa and his elves welcome.

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