Along the Brow of the South's Most Storied Mountain

Lookout Mountain rises straight from the Tennessee River at Chattanooga and runs southwest for nearly a hundred miles, a flat-topped ridge whose "brow" roads skim the very edge of the escarpment. This 42 mile (68 km) drive takes the mountain's finest stretch: up from the city past a cluster of attractions that defined American roadside tourism ("See Rock City" was once painted on 900 barn roofs across the South), along the clifftop through the brow communities, and down to Cloudland Canyon, Georgia's most dramatic state park, where creeks have sliced a thousand-foot gorge into the plateau. History soaks the summit: in November 1863, Union troops took these slopes in the "Battle Above the Clouds," and Point Park's cannons still aim over a bend of river and city that ranks among the great overlooks of the eastern US. Add an underground waterfall, the world's steepest passenger incline, and hang gliders stepping off the western cliffs, and one modest ridge delivers an improbably full day.

Key Stops

Chattanooga. The revived river city at the mountain's foot: the Tennessee Aquarium, the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, and the Bluff View Art District make it a destination in its own right and the natural overnight base.

The Incline Railway (St. Elmo). Billed as one of the world's steepest passenger railways, grinding up a 72.7 percent grade since 1895: ride it from the historic St. Elmo district for the classic approach to the summit, or photograph the track plunging off the brow.

Ruby Falls. A 145-foot waterfall thundering inside the mountain, 1,120 feet underground, discovered by accident in 1928 and reached by elevator and cave walk: theatrical, unique, and deservedly famous.

Point Park and the Battles for Chattanooga. The National Park Service unit crowning the northern tip: ramparts, monuments, and the sweeping view over Moccasin Bend that made this ground worth dying for in 1863. The Ochs Museum ledge below the point has the best photograph.

Sunset Rock. A short trail off West Brow Road to the cliff where Confederate generals once watched troop movements: now the locals' sunset ritual, with climbers on the crag below.

Rock City Gardens. The gloriously eccentric 1932 attraction: a garden trail through massive rock formations, the Swing-A-Long suspension bridge, gnome-filled caverns, and the famous claim of seeing seven states from Lover's Leap.

Covenant College and the brow road. The Gothic-towered hilltop campus (the former Lookout Mountain Hotel, "Castle in the Clouds") marks the start of the quiet clifftop miles: pastures on one side, thousand-foot views on the other.

Lookout Mountain Flight Park. On the western brow near the state line, one of America's premier hang-gliding schools: on flyable days, pilots launch from the ramp straight over the valley, and watching costs nothing.

Cloudland Canyon State Park (Rising Fawn). The finale: rim overlooks a few steps from the parking lot, the 600-step staircase to Cherokee and Hemlock Falls, and sunset light filling a canyon a thousand feet deep. Georgia's park of parks.

Driving Tips

Start with the attractions, end with the canyon. Ruby Falls, Rock City, and the Incline cluster at the Chattanooga end and get busy by late morning: hit one or two at opening, then enjoy the emptier brow road southwest and save Cloudland Canyon for golden hour.

Buy attraction tickets online in peak season. Summer and October weekends sell timed slots at Ruby Falls and Rock City; booking ahead saves an hour of queuing.

Come in late October for the color. The hardwood slopes peak in late October and early November, and Cloudland Canyon's rim views double in drama: the single best window for this drive.

Watch driveways and cyclists on the brow roads. The scenic highway doubles as a residential street for the clifftop communities: 35 mph is the neighborly speed, and road cyclists love the ridge.

Wear real shoes for the canyon waterfalls. The falls at Cloudland Canyon are reached by roughly 600 metal stairs each way: worth every step, but not in flip-flops.

Ride the Incline one way if time is short. Park at the base in St. Elmo, ride up, walk ten minutes to Point Park, and return: the full mountain experience in two hours.

Pack the Civil War layer. Point Park tickets are inexpensive and the ranger talks excellent; pairing the park with the Battles for Chattanooga museum at the top station turns the view into a story.

Note the state line quirks. The drive crosses Tennessee into Georgia (and the mountain's western foot sits in Alabama): Georgia state parks charge a small parking fee, payable at Cloudland Canyon's kiosks.

For more information visit: Lookout Mountain Attractions (Official Site)