Lookout Mountain

One mountain, three states, and a whole lot to see. 

Lookout Mountain is not actually a mountain. It’s more of a ridge on the southernmost part of the Cumberland Plateau. It extends from Tennessee, through Georgia, to Alabama, over 90 miles. (For reference, this is the best map I could find.) Lookout Mountain contains several parks and tourist attractions. I explored a few.

Starting off with Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. The canyon was created by water from a couple of streams higher up on Lookout Mountain.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, GeorgiaJana Irving

It’s a very scenic canyon.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, GeorgiaJana Irving

The morning started out a bit foggy.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, GeorgiaJana Irving

I headed down the Waterfalls Trail. It was mostly stairs. A lot of stairs.

Cherokee Falls. Cloudland Canyon State Park, GeorgiaJana Irving

Cherokee Falls. This waterfall alone made the climb back up to the top of the gorge worth it.

Hemlock Falls. Cloudland Canyon State Park, GeorgiaJana Irving

Hemlock Falls. This one was a bit difficult to get any closer to it without slipping and dying.

Now heading up to the northernmost point of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

On the top of Lookout Mountain, overlooking Chattanooga, is Point Park, part of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

Point Park is a 10 acre memorial park. There are a bunch of memorials, the New York Peace Memorial being the largest.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

It’s also a great place to get a view. Or so I have been told.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

I took the Bluff Trail from Point Park. It wasn’t the most exciting trail, but at least there was fog.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

Sunset Rock has a bit of a view, of warehouses. It probably was once nice.

Point Park, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

I went back to Point Park after the hike to finally see the view.

One of the top tourist attractions in Chattanooga is Ruby Falls, which features a 90 ft. tall waterfall. This is definitely a show cave. There’s colored lighting and they cram way to many people in there (and I was in a really small group). The pace was go really fast and then stop for a while just for another group to pass. On the other hand, the cave was still really neat.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

There is no natural entrance to the Ruby Falls Cave. It was found only because a guy was trying to find another entrance to a cave that sits lower in elevation. Pictured is the original height of the passageway to the falls. A taller walkway was created to allow access for the general public.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

The cave features some interesting cave formations like these stalagmites.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

The Chrystal Chandelier and the Totem Pole.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

A whole lot of flowstone.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

The Leaning Tower.

Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga, TennesseeJana Irving

And there it is, Ruby Falls.

Now down to Alabama. I stayed at DeSoto State Park. It has this wonderful waterfall.

DeSoto Falls. DeSoto State Park, AlabamaJana Irving

Part of DeSoto Falls. Not sure why there was a super small reservoir behind it.

DeSoto Falls. DeSoto State Park, AlabamaJana Irving

The big drop of the waterfall from the picnic area.

DeSoto Falls. DeSoto State Park, AlabamaJana Irving

You can take a trail to get a full view.

Next up is another canyon that bisects Lookout Mountain, Little River Canyon National Preserve.  There isn’t a ton to this park but the areas I did visit was lovely.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Little River Canyon as seen from a bridge. Not seen from here, the waterfall.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

There’s a small cascade near the bridge.

Little River Falls. Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

There it is, Little River Falls.

Little River Falls. Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

A bit of a closer look.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Little Falls is super easy to reach from a paved/boardwalk pathway and then a hiking trail. The Little Falls Trail is a super easy trail (except for all the rocks) until the very end, where gets a bit steep.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

A little cascade.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Very scenic again.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Little Falls. It is easy to walk out to see it in the river, unless the water is high.

The preserve has a scenic drive that was interesting. The road is very curvy and has a lot of up and downs. I made a wrong turn somewhere and lost the scenic drive at some point. The pull offs also were a bit dicey because I have a low clearance vehicle. There was a big drop from the road to the pull off.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Little River Falls from further away.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

Looking down the canyon.

Little River Canyon National Preserve, AlabamaJana Irving

The scenic drive ends at Canyon Mouth Picnic Area after a very steep drop to a bridge.

 

This is only a taste of all you can find on Lookout Mountain. There are more state parks and tourist attractions, so there is plenty to do in the area. It is a reason to check out where Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia meet.

 

Check out my next update where I explore a huge cave in Alabama!

or

Explore more nature and public lands!

About Wandering Jana

Traveling the world to discover the past.
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2 Comments

  1. Hey Jana! If you ever come over to Sewanee/Monteagle to hike Fiery Gizzard, let me know, and I’ll take you to lunch at the Mountain Goat. 🙂

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