Explore the best rated trails in Chattanooga, TN. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Savage Day Loop and Volkswagen Drive Sidepath. With more than 11 trails covering 62 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We started this bike path at the Sterchi trailhead. The trailhead had a nice gazebo and clean bathrooms. We headed south starting around mile marker three. The path was asphalt until it turned into a boardwalk. The boardwalk was amazing and continued for a majority of the trail until mile marker six when we turned around because we started heading into a neighborhood and closer to the airport. A lot of the trail is shaded so we will definitely come back in the summertime to have a cool ride. The boardwalks are beautiful along the creek.
We took this ride in April 2023 and enjoyed it immensely. We travel and have been on multiple bike trails. This is the most beautiful and robust bike trail I have ever been on. It is very well maintained. We have e-bikes and this trail was perfect. They have bathroom buildings, bike repair stations, picnic tables, and emergency phone stations along the route.
This trail is very accessible. Can park in a lot at the trailhead in Swanee. Old railroad bed that has been paved. Slight elevation contours and relatively straight. Coupled it with a really good ride at the Universities’s campus. Very quaint and beautiful campus. Rode when school was not in session so we had unobstructed ride. Great little sandwich shops downtown. Would recommend all the above.
Boardwalks and bridges are amazing! Trail is now completed for 13 miles from Riverwalk to Camp Jordan. A little confusing at Shallowford Road and Caine Street. Zoom in on Google maps to see sidewalks to connect. Great ride!
What a great experience! My wife and I are new to TN trails and had heard a lot about this trail - it DOES NOT disappoint. Tons of shade, places to stop and view nature, architecture, rest - even places to put air in your tires and repair your bike. The trail has myriad places to stop if restrooms are needed. There are several places on the trail where it really isn't the best for inexperienced bikers. This is related to ramps that weave back and forth at 90 degree turns-not good for crowds- definitely need to walk the bike in these spaces. Next time we are taking a picnic or perhaps stopping and one of the many eateries near walnut street bridge. What a great day!
This trail is really well done. The trail is easy to follow. Fairly wide and well kept. Plenty of shade in most parts. Nice views of the river and from the bridges.
Awesome biking experience on the Riverwalk Trail. Beautifully maintained and great to experience!!! Highly recommend!!!
On a cool March morning with a threat of rain, we experienced the riverwalk on our bikes. Traveling from Southern California, we stayed in the perfectly placed Marriott Springhill Suites right on the trail at Cameron Harbor. From there we biked upriver to the TVA Chickamauga Dam, a distance of about eight miles before returning the same way.
The trail is in superb condition, mostly concrete and some boardwalks. Twists and turns, bridges, spectacular river views, and more art installations than I have ever seen along a bike trail make this an incredible ride! Even though we had to come back the same way, seeing the river from the downriver angle gave me an entirely different perspective and awesome views.
On the way back, we took the time to take a short spur out along South Chickamauga Creek where it joins the Tennessee River. This is a great scenic viewpoint, and if you have kids with you there are several playground spots along this portion of the trail.
We also took the time on the way back to cross the Walker Street Pedestrian Bridge just for the fun of it. Great views up and down the river from the center of the architecturally pleasing structure. Well worth the time!
On the downside, there were a couple of spots that left the river, veered inland, and made their way around some industry where you do have to cross some not very busy streets, but that's life in the big city. It's too bad the big businesses couldn't donate a strip of their land along the riverfront to the city for the good of the community and the continuity of the riverfront trail.. Also, be prepared for a couple of short climbs, and the noise of the street traffic is pretty annoying in a couple of places.
However, all in all, for an urban trail system, I must say the city planners did a tremendous job, and the maintenance of the path is absolutely outstanding! This retired teacher gives the city of Chattanooga an A+ and the trail five stars! We are so glad we selected this city and its trail for our Tennessee bike ride on our quest to bicycle in all fifty states!
Now completed to Camp Jordan. Beautiful scenery along the creek on incredible board walk system. Bonus - on weekends perfect train spotting location where it crosses the TVRM track. See the Southern 4501 steam engine from different angles crossing the bridge over the creek.
This trail is completed!! It is now time to get the map on this app updated. We started at Riverpark and rode to Camp Jordan. This trail in the first 2/3s is made up of boardwalks. The boards are spaced together and fairly smooth. I was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of this trail. The southern 1/3 of the trail is constructed of decaying asphalt and needs repair. There are two places that signage needs to be placed to help riders make the correct turns. The first is about a mile from Riverpark. There needs to be a sign indicating staying to the right. The second signage needs to be at Shallowford and Airport Roads. Riders need to turn West on Shallowford and stay on the sidewalk.
This trail has been built in many sections over the years with the last middle connector nearing completion. There was a period that some repairs seemed to have been ignored but within the last few months they have repaired a lot of damage that was either done by fallen trees or some rotten wood on the decking. The section that is currently connected to the Riverpark has parking at that location as well as North Hawthorne, Sterchi Farms and Faith Rd. Sterchi Farms is currently closed due to the upgrades that are being done on this area. The trail is technically closed at this point but most people just continue on because they are only disturbing about a 100 yard length of the trail and typically aren't even working on the trail itself anymore. The 2 bridges in this section are really nice bridges. This section stays right on the creek for the most part except where it goes behind Waterhaven Subdivision (thank you to those owners for their easement along their properties). There is an elevated section that climbs pretty far up the hillside to get around a large rock outcrop but gives a very nice elevated view of the creek. They have added bathrooms at Sterchi Farms recently as well as a covered picnic area. Adjacent to this area is a large area for climbing and playing.
The section currently connected to Camp Jordan has the levee that is pretty level and smooth but is mixed sections of packed and loose gravel so be aware of that if you do not like that type of surface. It does return to asphalt prior to going under I-75. There is a point where it crosses Brainerd Rd that you have to cross, at a traffic light, or go down the stairs, under the bridge then back up the stairs. The rest is all paved surface including the loop around Camp Jordan that used to be gravel.
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