In 2024, Chattanooga, Tennessee, was named North America’s first National Park City, and this mixed-surface ride is designed to show you exactly why. Grab your basket bike, snorkel, and sunscreen, and head out of Chattanooga through protected bike lanes, urban singletrack, and quiet farm roads to the crystal-clear swimming holes of North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park. In the Southeastern U.S., it doesn’t get better than this. Mitchell Connell from Two Bikes Chattanooga takes us on a guided tour of a mixed terrain ride out to Lynne’s Blue Hole, in partnership with Bike Tennessee, below!
When the scenic route is the entire state… this post is sponsored by Bike Tennessee.
Getting to Chattanooga
Getting to Chattanooga is a piece of cake. The city has a small airport (CHA) five miles east of downtown that offers convenient nonstop service to Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and more. Chattanooga is also just an hour and forty-five-minute drive from both Nashville’s International Airport (BNA) and Atlanta’s International Airport (ATL). Other nearby cities include Knoxville (110 miles), Birmingham (150 miles), and Asheville (180 miles).
National Park City
Chattanooga proudly earned the distinction of North America’s first National Park City in April 2025. This places the small Southeastern town alongside London, England, and Adelaide, Australia, as one of only three cities worldwide to hold the title. This designation recognizes urban spaces committed to preserving nature, encouraging outdoor life, and integrating ecosystem stewardship with cultural vitality. This is a notable transformation from Chattanooga’s 1969 designation as the nation’s most polluted city. Since then, the local and federal governments have worked tirelessly to do extensive environmental remediation and weave more than 70 parks, 100 miles of trails, and extensive riverfront access into daily life.
Best Time of The Year to Ride in Chattanooga
Sometimes it’s worth it to embrace the heat. Any local from East Tennessee will tell you that finding a swimming hole is one of the best ways to survive the overwhelming summer heat and humidity. We’ve loaded this route with gas stations, swimming holes, coffee stops, and a corner market—all with the intention of breaking up the sweltering heat of the Southern summer.
Our best time to ride balances swim-friendly temperatures with rideable weather. We recommend this route any time from mid-May to mid-September. Peak summer from late June to early August is still rideable and delivers the full Southern experience, but visiting a little earlier or later in the season may offer more comfort.
What Bike to Bring
This ride is designed to feel like a mini-adventure. There’s singletrack, beautiful country roads, and a gas station with Coca-Cola, so make sure your bike has clearance for 40mm tires and some carrying capacity for things you pick up along the way. The route is consistently hilly, so I recommend a bike with gearing lower than a 1:1 ratio.
It’s also recommended to bring a change of clothes for swimming, a snorkel, and plenty of water. For the full experience, let this bike ride take all day. Stop multiple times. Stop at a yard sale. Enjoy yourself.
Lynne’s Swimming Hole Ride
This 50-mile route was developed by the avid local cyclist, botanist, and musician Lynne Welden. They’re one of the driving forces behind Chattanooga’s thriving bike community, and you’ll even pass by their house on this route! You’ll start in the parking lot behind Two Bikes and Mean Jeen’s. If the lot is full, grab an on-street spot on Lynnbrook Ave.
Two Bikes Chattanooga and Velo Coffee
Two Bikes is a nonprofit bike shop (Wed–Sat, 12–6) that provides free and affordable bikes to the community, youth workforce development, and community bike rides. They have three public work stations that are free to use, so feel free to pop in and give your bike a quick tune-up while you’re in town. They also carry a selection of fun bike accessories from Crust, Stridsland, Blue Lug, plus Nag Champa Sandalwood Incense and a well curated selection of NTS Radio Stations. Once you leave Two Bikes you’ll head towards downtown on the 14th St. Greenway to connect to Main St. and Velo Coffee.
Velo Coffee has the best coffee in the city – period. But that’s not the point. Andrew Gage and the team at Velo Coffee have been fostering the Chattanooga cycling community for more than a decade, and their Sunday Brunch Ride and Coffee Outside rides should not be missed. In many ways, Velo Coffee built the local cycling scene, and their 50+ person Coffee Outside rides are something to behold.
Stringer’s Ridge
After Velo, you’ll sneak through downtown, avoiding major roads until you get to the Riverfront Parkway and Veterans Bridge bike infrastructure. Enjoy the protected bike lane across the Tennessee River and look over the railing to see if you can spot climbers deep-water soloing beneath the Hunter Museum of American Art. Squiggle through North Shore and Hill City until you hit one of Chattanooga’s urban trail systems, Stringer’s Ridge. These flowy trails alternate directions depending on the day of the week, so be sure to go the proper direction. Connect Stringer’s Ridge to the White Oak Connector Trail and head north through Red Bank toward North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park—or “North Chick,” as local folks say.
Riding Beneath Signal Mountain
The section of road between Red Bank and Falling Water is a series of quiet country roads that travel northeast along the base of Signal Mountain. It is believed that Signal Mountain got its name because the Creek, Cherokee, and other Native American tribes used Signal Point to send fire and smoke signals. As you travel down Mountain Creek Road, look up Leads Lake Road to find the Walden’s Ridge Lower Parking Lot, the meet-up spot for Walden’s Ridge Bike Park. This mountain bike trail system has some of the largest machine-built features in the Southeast, an amazing view of a local waterfall, and bouldering at the top. Classic Chattanooga.
All good things must end, and after enjoying the quiet back roads, you’ll need to navigate a wide shoulder on Dayton Pike for a short distance. After a snack resupply at the gas station, turn left onto Montlake Road, which will take you to the North Chick parking area.
North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park
North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park is a 6,000-acre wilderness area nestled within a 10-mile sandstone gorge carved into Signal Mountain. This park is especially popular in the summer thanks to the locally famous swimming hole, Blue Hole. Instead of heading to Blue Hole, take your first left along the gravel road and keep your eyes out for the trail on the right toward North Chickamauga Creek.
There’s a large flat rock about thirty feet down the trail that’s the perfect place to prop your bike against a tree and change into your swim gear. I typically don’t lock my bike here, but locking yours is probably a good idea. Follow the trail downhill where you’ll find more than a dozen swimming holes up and down the creek. Please remember to pack out your trash, don’t build cairns, and leave salamanders, crawdads, and wildflowers where you find them—they’re part of a delicate ecosystem.
Snorkeling in Appalachia
Did you know that Chattanooga is in the heart of one of the most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems in the world? I highly recommend bringing a snorkel in your basket or frame bag when you visit North Chick to experience some of the region’s most vibrant biodiversity just below the surface. The creek’s clear, spring-fed water and rocky pools make it a fantastic place to spot native fish up close. Look for small, bright silver Tennessee shiners schooling in the sun, or spot a banded sculpin resting camouflaged on the creek bed. Learn more on my favorite website from 1999, the North American Native Fish Association, and pick up a copy of Snorkeling the Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia while you’re at it.
Chattanooga: There and Back Again
After you’ve packed up your snorkel and towel and packed out your trash, it’s time to head back to town. This route is a classic out-and-back, so you’ll be retracing your steps. Make sure to take breaks—the heat can sneak up on you. Stay hydrated, and don’t forget to wear sunscreen. During your breaks, may I recommend a game of Rock Toss? This iconic bike tour game involves tossing rocks at an agreed-upon target with your friends. You haven’t bike-toured until you’ve played Rock Toss.
North River Corner Market
Typically on my way back into town, I opt out of Stringer’s Ridge and stop at North River Corner Market (closed Sunday). This classic corner store is a perfect place to grab a cheeseburger, a drink of choice, and a convenience-store ice cream treat before finishing the ride. The Corner Market also has a fantastic backyard area that will make you feel like you’re at a friend’s house.
Bringing It Home
As you roll through the mostly protected bike lanes toward the end of the ride, I hope you take a moment to enjoy both Chattanooga and this mini-adventure. Going on bike rides like this with a few great friends makes me feel like a kid again. There’s something special when you combine snorkeling, gas station Gatorade, and a mild sunburn that feels about as far away from a 9-5 as you can get, and there are only a few cities as magical as Chattanooga that make that feeling a short ride away.
Many thanks to Bike Tennessee and Two Bikes Chattanooga for this Dream Trail feature! See more rides in the great state of Tennessee at Bike Tennessee!