Day trips from Nashville · Town
Lookout Mountain
136 miles from downtown Nashville · about 2 hours 10 minutes
Straddling Tennessee and Georgia, above Chattanooga
Lookout Mountain rises two thousand feet above Chattanooga and holds more paid attractions per square mile than anywhere else in the region, along with a Civil War battlefield, a hang gliding school and some of the best trad climbing in the South. It sits in two states, which matters more than it sounds like it should.
- The big three
- Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway
- Point Park
- $10 per person 16 and up, credit card only
- Two states
- Rock City is in Georgia, the Incline is in Tennessee
- Free views
- Sunset Rock and Signal Point, no charge
Permits, fees and access
Almost everything on this mountain is separately ticketed, and the combination tickets sold at the attractions are worth doing the arithmetic on. Rock City is in Georgia and the Incline Railway is in Tennessee, which is a fifteen-minute drive apart rather than a walk. Point Park takes cards only. Sunset Rock and the trails are free.
Things to do in Lookout Mountain
Addresses, hours and prices as published by each operator in August 15, 2026. Hours and prices move, so check before you go.
Rock City Gardens
1400 Patten Road, Lookout Mountain, Georgia. A garden trail through rock formations to Lover’s Leap, where the claim is that you can see seven states. Open daily 10am to 9:30pm, last entry 45 minutes before close.
Ruby Falls
1720 South Scenic Highway. A 260-foot elevator ride down to an underground waterfall, then just under a mile of cave walking. Timed tickets required in advance.
Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
Lower station 3917 St. Elmo Avenue, upper station 827 East Brow Road. One of the steepest passenger railways in the world, running up the side of the mountain. Adults $24.99, children 3 to 12 $12.99. It reopened after a December 2024 wildfire, so any source calling it closed is out of date.
Point Park
The National Park Service unit at the tip of the mountain, overlooking Moccasin Bend and the site of the Battle Above the Clouds. Ten dollars a person for anyone 16 and over, valid a week, credit card only.
Sunset Rock
A sandstone outcrop on the western brow reached from a small lot on West Brow Road, or on foot from Point Park along the Bluff Trail, about a mile and a half. Free, and the best west-facing view on the mountain.
Cravens House
The oldest surviving structure on the mountain, built in 1856 and the focal point of the fighting in November 1863. The Park Service currently lists it as not open to the public, but the grounds and parking are accessible and free.
Lookout Mountain Flight Park
7201 Scenic Highway, Rising Fawn, Georgia. Hang gliding and paragliding since 1980, with tandem flights off a concrete launch ramp. Open Thursday through Monday, 9am to 6pm. Call for pricing, and know that flights are weather dependent.
One thing to know first
The road up the mountain is slow in summer and parking at the attractions is genuinely limited. If you are doing more than one paid attraction, start at the top of the mountain and work down rather than driving up and back twice.
Access rules, fees and closures verified August 15, 2026 against the agency that manages this place. They change, sometimes without notice. Check before you drive.
I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date. If you are weighing a move to Middle Tennessee and want to know which part of it puts you closest to the things you actually like, ask me. No pitch.