Days 5-9: Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga-TN, Natural Bridge State Park-VA, and Outdoor Drive-in Movie Theatre

Days 5-8: American Civil War Historical Sites and Outdoor Attractions in Chattanooga, TN (Jul 17 – Jul 20)

Madison, MS to Raccoon Mountains Cavern & Campgrounds, Chattanooga, TN – 399 miles, 5.5 hours.

Leaving our friends’ place in Madison, MS around noon, we hit the road for our next stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Along the way, we stumbled upon some unexpected gems, like the Statue of Liberty replica in Vestavia Hills, Alabama—a perfect place to stretch our legs and snap a quick photo. Dinner was a scenic break at Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden, AL, where we soaked in the beautiful waterfall views before continuing on.

Chattanooga – Yet Another Late Arrival
After another long drive, we arrived at Raccoon Mountain Caverns & Campground at 11pm (yes, we’re getting good at these late check-ins!). We had trouble finding our site after dark and ended up looping the site area three times before a helpful neighbor identified the site for us. Thank you friendly RV’er from Canada!

Lookout Mountain Battlefield – Point Park
The next day, we dove into history at Lookout Mountain Battlefield – Point Park, learning about the Battles for Chattanooga during the American Civil War. Battles for Chattanooga is the perfect starting point for touring the area’s Civil War battle sites. Don’t miss the 30-minute Battles for Chattanooga short film. The kids completed Junior Ranger activity work book and earned their first badge on this trip–adding to their growing Junior Ranger badge collection.

Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
We ascended and descended historic Lookout Mountain on the historic funicular railway system that is over a hundred and twenty-five years old. The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is about a mile long with a steep 72.7% grade. It is a fun experience way to get up to Lookout Mountain with great views. It feels like you’re in a slanted fun house. Careful at the top, feels like you might slip off your seat. Worth the cost.

The Incline Railway has convenient daily departures from the lower or upper stations. It leaves from each station every 20 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes each direction. You can also drive your vehicle up to Lookout Mountain if you prefer. Plan for 1.5 hours up here but you can definitely move through it faster.

Ruby Falls Cave Tour on Lookout Mountain
Ruby Falls dazzled us with a 90-foot underground cascading waterfall and its stunning light show. In my opinion, if you’re new to cave tours, this is a great entry-level experience that lasts about 1.5 hours. For first-timers, it’s likely worth it. The tour includes several narrow passages and low ceilings (watch your head!), but the main route doesn’t require crawling or getting on your knees.

One downside is that it’s an in-and-out route, so we had to wait twice for large groups heading out to pass by. The unique highlight is the waterfall light show at the end, but in terms of overall cave exploration, it lacks depth. If you’ve been to other caves, you might find this one underwhelming—it has the usual stalagmites, stalactites, and formations. (Let’s be honest, there’s only so many times you can hear the same geology lesson.)

What made it fun, though, were the creative names they gave to the formations such as “Potato Chip”, “Bacon”, “Dragon’s Foot”, “Beehives”, etc. We wrapped up the tour around 4:15 PM, grabbed pizza for Landon, and returned to the campground for dinner.

Coolidge Park and Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge
Later that evening, we balanced adventure with relaxation, spending time at Coolidge Park and strolling across the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. At 2,376 feet, it’s one of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges and a piece of history, dating back to 1890. We even managed to catch a quick carousel ride just 10 minutes before it closed!

Rock City Gardens
And, of course, we couldn’t miss Rock City Gardens, a natural wonder with massive ancient rock formations, incredible views, and enchanting gardens. The Enchanted Trail leads you through narrow crevices like Needle’s Eye and Fat Man’s Squeeze, past cascading waterfalls, and over a thrilling swinging bridge. At Lover’s Leap, you’ll find breathtaking views where, on a clear day, you can spot seven different states.

We spent much longer at Rock City than expected—what we thought would be a 3 hour visit turned into 6 hours! Rain and thunderstorms interrupted our day, so we took a long lunch break while waiting for the weather to clear. Unfortunately, Lover’s Leap was temporarily closed due to thunder and lightning.

As we were about to exit the park, we decided to check back, and luckily, Lover’s Leap had reopened! We spent another 1.5 hours exploring Lover’s Leap, the suspension bridge, and other scenic spots. The extra time was absolutely worth it.

But Wait…Just One More Thing
We decided to extend our time in Chattanooga by a few more hours after the 11am checkout. The campground permitted this, all we had to do was checkout of our site and move our Airstream over to overflow parking. The kids powered thru the Creative Discovery Museum, and we even capped off our visit with a memorable glass-blowing experience at Ignis Glass Studio. In just three days, we covered so much ground, making Chattanooga a perfect blend of history, adventure, and family fun.

Days 8-9: Natural Bridge State Park and Junior Ranger Badge (Jul 20 – Jul 21)

Chattanooga, TN to Lexington Natural Bridge KOA, VA – 402 miles, 6 hours.
Another day, another late campground check-in—this time just before midnight at the Natural Bridge / Lexington KOA. By now, late arrivals were becoming a theme, but we were getting the hang of setting up in the dark!

The next morning we did an easy and scenic hike thru the lush forests and rolling meadows at Natural Bridge State Park. At the center of the park, the 200-foot tall Natural Bridge sits in a limestone gorge carved out by Cedar Creek. Quite awesome natural wonder!

To top off the experience, the kids were thrilled to earn another Junior Ranger Badge, adding to their growing collection.

Day 9-10: Double Feature at the Largest Outdoor Drive-in Movie Theatre in the U.S. (Jul 21 – Jul 22)

Natural Bridge/Lexington KOA, VA to Bengies Drive-in, Middle River, MD – 251 miles, 4 hours.
Our next stop was a unique one—our first Harvest Host location on this trip. We stayed one night at Bengies Drive-In Theater, located in Middle River, Maryland, just outside Baltimore. I believe Bengies has the largest outdoor movie screen in the U.S., measuring an impressive 52 feet high by 120 feet wide (a whopping 6,240 square feet!).

We finally got to make full use of our Airstream’s rear hatch by opening it up, pulling down the bug screen, and settling in for a cozy double feature. From the comfort of our Airstream, we enjoyed Despicable Me 4 and Twisters under the stars.

The summer heat and humidity made things a bit toasty since we weren’t hooked up to shore power and couldn’t run the AC. Most harvest host stays will essentially be boondocking or dry camping. This typically means no shore power, no water connection, and no sewer. We were able to heat up food in our microwave by connecting our Airstream to the Jackery 30amp outlet. Our kind hearted cousin who came by to visit us brought us some battery-powered USB fans, which helped keep things somewhat comfortable.

Oh, and one pro-tip—do not attempt to enter through the front entrance of Bengies if you are in an RV. There is a max height of nine feet! That is, if you have no issue with holding up traffic as you back out your rig into the busy street. Don’t ask me how I know. [Ask Thao for pictures]

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