Ruby Falls

Well when in Chattanooga, you head to Lookout Mountain. So the CurbCrushers started their Chattanooga tour with a trip to Ruby Falls. Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall that was opened up for access to the public in the 1930s. CurbCrusher loves the “old school” tourist attractions and this one lives up to being a great place to visit. Start off with the free parking. Living in the tourist “hold-up” country of Orlando, Mr. CurbCrusher has come to expect that you not only pay outrageous admission prices, but you also pay through the nose to park. So when we pulled up to Ruby Falls and no one had their hand out for a parking fee, I knew it was going to be a good day.
There were no real lines at any of the three places we visited in Chattanooga, so once we bought our tickets, we waited about five minutes until the elevator was ready to head down 260 feet below Lookout Mountain. A short elevator ride, and you find yourself exiting into a cave. For the next hour and ten minutes you are guided through the cave. The guide stops and explains various rock formations that you encounter along the way. The trip culminates with the arrival at Ruby Falls.

The tour lets you spend about ten minutes in the falls room. The only negative is that the falls are never lit with good white light that lends itself to photography, they are constantly changing from blue, to red lights, with mood music in the background.

The trip back to the elevator is fairly quick. You walk along the same path that you took to the falls, but don’t stop to talk about anything. As you come upon groups making their way to the falls, the guides call out for the group making their way to the falls to move over for the “survivors.” The people on their way to the falls suck it up, and squeeze against the narrow cave corridor, and those going back suck it up and try and move by them without getting stuck. As CurbCrusher found, depending on your size (and CurbCrusher is not small) and the size of the person you are passing, you may get real friendly.

Another elevator ride and you’re back on the surface, at the level of the observation deck. A quick trip to the observation deck, gives you some great views of Chattanooga. Of course this is followed by the required trip through the exit gift shop.

CurbCrusher says the trip is worth the price. There are warnings that it is cold in the cave. While Mrs. CurbCrusher and Little CurbCrusher both wore long pants and jackets due to this warning. CurbCrusher himself wore a short sleeve shirt and some zip off cargo pants. Everyone was comfortable on the cave tour.

Pictures can be found here.

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