Friday, May 1, 2009

Chattanooga Outdoors

From hang gliding to hiking, rock climbing to river running, Chattanooga has everything an outdoor enthusiast or extreme sports lover could want. A perennial favorite of Outside Magazine, Chattanooga has a lot to offer the outdoorsman (or outdoorswoman as the case often is).

White water rafting/kayaking
There are lots of options for Chattanoogans but the A1, end all, be all is the Ocoee River. Home of the 1996 Olympic white water events, the Ocoee has long been a favorite among Hamilton County residents. It also draws day visitors from North Carolina, South Carolina & Georgia. It's just that good. Camping facilities and gorgeous hiking trails along with the tamer Hiwassee River (inner-tubing can sometimes be as fun as surfing the whitewater) are nearby for the waterlogged.

Hang gliding
Lookout Mountain is the premier place in the South East for gliding effortlessly over a valley floor. Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding is that place. For the less experienced, tandem flights are available. If you're afraid of heights, DON'T LOOK DOWN. On the other hand, if you want an experience you will never forget, suit up and run off the edge of a mountain.

Rock Climbing
With the varying stone makeup of the surrounding mountains, Chattanooga has become a mecca for climbers with some calling Lookout Mountain's Sunset Rock the birthplace of sandstone climbing in the South. There is no doubt that Chattanooga boasts some of the best climbing in the region with a number of indoor climbing gyms to get your fix even when the weather doesn't cooperate.


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