Burt's Pumpkin Patch + Hillcrest Orchard

These two farms located next to each other, only 1.45h from Chattanooga are the places to go in the fall. You will enjoy beautiful scenic ride on the way there. Burt's Pumpkin Patch is full of pumpkins of all shapes, including those giant ones. You can also take a hey ride that will take you through the farm. http://burtsfarm.com

Hillcrest Aplle Orchard (on the same road, just few miles away) is a place where you can get the best goodies made of apples. They also have plenty of good food, petting zoo, pig races, pony rides, wagon rides and much more. www.hillcrestorchards.net

These places are great for a day trip on a sunny weekend. Just make sure to leave earlier to beat the trafic. Usualy there is plenty of visitors later in the morning and lunch time so there is lot of cars coming in.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel

In Nashville, about a 2 hr drive from Chattanooga is this huge beautiful resort. What's so great about it — it is all indoors, so this makes a wonderful weekend trip for those cold months. Waterfalls, rivers, gardens, even a boat are all contained in this wonderland. Great for an overnight stay or just for a day trip. Check this website for more details: www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-opryland

Downtown Chattanooga - Tennessee Riverpark

The Tennessee Aquarium, Riverwalk, Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, Ross's Landing and Walnut Street Bridge are all in one area in Downtown Chattanooga. To really take in all the city offers, make sure to allow at least a long weekend. Even then, you may find yourself planning another trip back in order to see all Chattanooga offers.

Some Chattanooga highights:

Tennessee Aquarium: A great salt and sweet water exhibit offers a ton of fun for kids and grown ups.

River Gorge Explorer: This boat trip offers breathtaking views of Tennessee's beautiful and rocky river gorge. Sunset cruises also available.

Walnut Street Bridge: The longest walking bridge in the US spans the Tennessee River. Very popular with pedestrians and bikers.

Ross's Landing: A fun place to hang out by the river, hosts many concerts and events — right next to the Aquarium.

Renaissance Park: Great restaurants, beautiful views of TN River, fun area to walk around and see some art.

Tennessee Riverwalk: 13 miles of paved trail along the Tennessee River from Ross's landing to the Chickamaga Dam. Perfect for jogging, biking, rollerblading, walking. Path offers several restrooms along the way with drinking water, vehicle parking areas every few miles, a couple of parks, swamps, bridges, etc.

Rccoon Mountain pumped-storage plant

This unique area is located 15 minutes from downtown Chattanooga. Basically it's a reservoir, one huge sink full of water generating a ton of energy, built on the very top of Raccoon Mountain overlooking the Tennessee River Blueway that is flowing through the river gorge.

Check out this website for details on the reservoir: www.tva.gov/sites/raccoonmt.htm

This area of Raccoon Mountain offers one of the best places for mountain biking in Chattanooga. It also features a scenic ride around the reservoir, scenic views of the TN river and TN River Gorge, and is great for hiking, picnics, and family fun. Laurel Point offers a volleyball court and baseball field, as well as restrooms and picnic tables. The Visitors Center has a helpful staff that offers a variety of information about the area.

Cloudland Canyon

Only 30 minutes from Chattanooga, Cloudland Canyon is a wonderful area and well worth the short trip. Have a picnic, play a disc-golf game, and check out the beautiful views. Don't forget to hike down to the waterfalls and you have just a perfect day.

Go here for more information on Cloudland Canyon: www.gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon