Day 2 Downtown Chattanooga, Mile TN-

On the way downtown, another scene typical of the river: construction and a busy railroad bridge (the train was moving, not parked).

Worried about the construction of bridges lately?  Many we saw were like this but none fell down.

Note the clearance height of >75' and the low water.  Our trip was during unusually low water which caused problems at the boat ramp at the end of the trip. 

Tennessee River Park and ramp just upstream from downtown Chattanooga.

Typical heavy industry on the river, but don't let that scare you away.  The vast majority of the river is undeveloped.

Some nice places on the river.

Nice clubhouse for a Golf course.

Nice view from the museum.

This is the upstream set of downtown waterfront docks, managed by MarineMax of Chattanooga.

Here's a close-up of that dock; it's next to the new pedestrian bridge.  Note that you cannot tie up on the bank side of the dock (it's too close to the rocks) and the dockable side is exposed to the wakes from the open river.  We were getting slammed by boat wakes, including the water taxi, who should know better.  The very helpful dockmaster at MarineMax let us move to the downstream dock on the inside. 

When making a transient slip reservation, be sure to ask for the dock near the marina office and a spot on the bank side.

<soapbox on> Even though Tennessee law says "no-wake" within 300' of any marina, it's rarely posted and needs to be.  It's only fair to let boaters know where it's OK to cruise and where it's not.  It's also fair to require (and give permits to) marinas to install breakwaters instead of imposing no-wake zones on everyone and wasting countless gallons of fuel. <soapbox off>

Upstream is on your right.  The docks were drawn in because this photo predates them.  Downtown Chattanooga is a must-see.

This is the place you want to tie up for the night.  That dock is very heavy and really chops down the wakes from the open river.  That's the US-27 Bridge in the background.  The MarineMax office is at the top of the dock ramp.  They do not have showers or night time rest room access.  Yes, the dock is stable enough for a satellite dish.  I knew you were wondering.

Note the people walking up the stairs covered with water (behind the fountains).  Downtown is chock full of wading areas to keep cool on a 95 degree day.  It made visiting downtown fun despite the heat.  Hats off to the designers who put this in!  The water taxi goes to the other side of the river for even more nice waterfront park area.

Enjoying those coooool steps...

This is where those steps end up, right by the docks.

More fun downtown.  Where's the remote?

The two aquariums, one for salt water and one for freshwater, are a must-see.

Two of our guests this beautiful day...

Enjoying the view from up top...

Bouncing around on the bow...

Enjoying the breeze upstairs...

On summer weekend nights there is entertainment on a floating stage.  Sorry I didn't have a tripod to steady this picture.

Next: Day 3A - Downtown Chattanooga; Morning at Rock City

All photos and text Copyright 2007 Paul Kempter, except for the charts which are Army Corps and Google Earth pictures.  They contain watermarks.  Please give credit if you copy to your personal non-profit web site.  High resolution copies of the photos are available for licensing (usually free to non-profit organizations).