Sculpture Garden in Bluff View Arts District

Blessed with natural as well as urban beauty, Chattanooga, Tennessee offers a great landscape for biking. Whether your interest is cultural, physical, natural or all three, bike rides through Chattanooga provides every level of activity.  I’m a laid back biking enthusiast so I wasn’t looking for rigorous terrain when I signed up for a ride at Outdoor Chattanooga.   Hopping on the bike for a guided tour through the city and parks, I got just what I was looking for, which was an eyeful of the lovely Chattanooga scenery.

Outdoor Chattanooga supplies six different bike journeys,  including mountains, lakes and trails. I opted for the scenic ride over the Walnut Street Bridge, which provides fantastic views of the riverfront and at 1/2 mile long,  is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world.  We also pedaled through parks and streets, giving me a great overview of downtown Chattanooga.  After that hour-long ride, a stroll through the galleries, sculpture garden and restaurants of the Bluff View Arts District is a refreshing change of pace. Perched atop stone cliffs and spanning 1.5 city blocks of artisans demonstrating their craft, the district provide hours of entertainment and relaxation.  Start at the River Gallery Sculpture Garden, which boasts exhibits that change monthly.   Watch artisan bakers, coffee roasters and pastry chefs at work and then sample their gifts at the elegant Back Inn Cafe, located in a Colonial Revival Mansion.

Photo courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates