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The Tennessee Riverwalk runs for 13 miles through downtown Chattanooga reaching all the way to the Tennessee Riverpark in the north.
About the Route
Leaving off from the southwest at Tennessee Riverpark Wheland, the trail winds along the edge of Chattanooga. The southernmost section runs alongside some active railroad tracks. The trail passes under the highway and then travels alongside the Tennessee River along a wooded corridor. As the trail winds the curve of the Riverbend, a spur trail takes trail users across Walnut Street Bridge to Coolidge Park. The main trail heads north away from downtown Chattanooga through a mix of wooded and suburban environments.
The trail passes through the Amnicola Marsh, across the South Chickamauga Creek, and the Tennessee Riverpark at the Dam, where the trail reaches its northern endpoint.
Connections
At the northern end of the trail near the Tennessee Riverpark, the Tennessee Riverwalk connects to the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway.
The Tennessee Riverwalk runs between 1503 Middle St (Chattanooga) and 4637 Amnicola Hwy (Chattanooga), with parking at both ends.
Parking is also available at:
See TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Beautiful ride, takes you right into downtown if you want to stop for refreshments. Clean facilities along the ride and very well maintained. Connects to the South Chickamauga Greenway to extend the ride
We started north and east of downtown at Tennessee Riverpark Curtain Pole Road. Free parking! There are several places along the trail like this, so look around. In downtown, you’ll have to pay for 2hr parking at Ross Landing. It was a really nice ride out to the end of the trail at the dam and back. Mostly park-like with some industrial sprinkled in as well. All of this area is well manicured. We saw areas where a nearby business had dedicated the improvement to their employees. We then made our way downtown. It’s beautiful, with a lot of pedestrians so take care. There are a couple of switchbacks on the trail there, but you can do it! Downtown you’ll need your gps maps to confirm the bike routes. The Walnut Street Bridge affords a great many views. As we made our way west and south, the trail went through some of the older industrial areas and ends near the Lookout Mountain Railway. A great fall ride for us.
We did this last year traveling across country again this year on our way to FL. I often wish TrailLink had some kind of mile markings on their map. But we started at the RiverPark and it is 6.5 miles down to the bridge to ride over the river. And right there at the bridge crossing. Is the best ice cream parlor ever!
We biked this lovely trail from the Springhill Suites, which is right on the trail, to the dam. The paved trail follows the Tennessee River and is pretty easy to navigate, with a few tricky areas around the Hunter Museum and Walnut Street bridge. I loved all the art displays including the mile markers which are metal silhouettes of various people. We felt safe the entire length and enjoyed it immensely.
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.
Great scenery and accommodations. The directional signage for the trail is poor, especially for newcomers to the city. The maze of trails south of the art museum is very confusing. Although there are warning signs for the wooden plank bridges, they can be very slippery when wet.
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!
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!
Great 10 mile ride. narrow in some sections and VERY busy on weekends. We rode on a warm day in the middle of the week. Will do again in Speing!
Great urban trail that goes along the waterfront, and through wooded and swamped areas. All paved
This trail is beyond amazing. It was the most enjoyable ride I have ever taken. Chattanooga must be pround. There are other trails around the city that I would rate with 5 ****"s as well. The scenery, the historical markers, the cleanliness, the river views, all are awesome!
I biked this with my family last month. Definitely one of the best bike paths I’ve ridden on. Not crowded, flat, and gorgeous scenery! Part of the trail was closed but there is a detour around it (if you’re coming from downtown, you turn into the big parking lot and follow the highway, and turn left after the railroad tracks. That road veers to the right and then you’re back in business). There were bathrooms nicely spaced out and even some water stations. Highly recommend and will becoming back!
We parked at Chickamauga Dam Riverpark and got on the trail heading towards downtown Chattanooga. The trail is well maintained and utilized by a variety of residents, all of whom were respectful and mannered. However, when we got to the Rowing Center we discovered the trail had closed two days ago for a three week period. Just FYI as we were not aware. There were other people surprised at the trail closing as well when we were there.
We biked from the southern terminus to the boat launch, about 10 miles. Real nice, very scenic , lots of sculptures along the way. Trail along river north of there was closed. We probably could have and should have worked our way around the closed section but we did not.
Lots of variety. Some old abandoned buildings from a previous time and some new ones from today.
Markings were poor in some places.
Put together the ride between downtown and the dam with lunch over the River.
From downtown to the dam this is one of the nicest urban trials I have ever ridden. The trail follows the river with great views. The surface is smooth concrete with many restrooms and adjacent parks. Downtown is confusing, be careful or you may inadvertently be riding down steps. I would suggest not parking downtown as it is hard to find the trail. Park at one of the trail heads and ride toward downtown.
West of downtown the trail is mostly in the sun and goes through an industrial area. The trail is not scenic but appears safe and is a good ride.
Great ride, needs better signs. Great playgrounds piers and many public restrooms along the way. Started at Chickamauga dam to wheland foundry around 13 miles. Around downtown/ross’s landing confusing and busy but past that theres not many ppl and signs seem some better. Well worth the effort, will do again.
I tried the trail from both ends. The Dam side offers some superb views of the river and the marsh area and quite a number of wildlife along the way. The downtown side offered a great view of the historic and industrial era of the city and a number of good views of the city riverfront and opportunities to digress up to the Aquarium and downtown. The center of the trail is a bit confusing. I needed to ask several folk how to stay on trail, especially around the Hunter museum. Signage needs improved there and at other points where the trail options point in multiple directions.
This is a new fav usa scenic bike path, my biggest gripe is most reviews suggest parking/starting at Ross's Crossing. This is a good spot to park if you are familiar with the bike path however if it is your first time you will be thoroughly confused, as there is ZERO signage, many stairs to climb which will have you scratching your head "am I really on a bike path?" many streets that have auto traffic, again; "this cant be the bike path". Once you clear these confusing obstacles you will be well on your way to a great ride, or you could just start at (Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar)/vicinity and avoid all this confusing BS.
We drove up from Jacksonville, AL, where we ride the Chief Ladiga Bike Trail quite often. Riverwalk Trail was a wonderful surprise. The only negative was we felt that the trail could have been marked better, but, we will definitely be back. The views are amazing and the trail is VERY well maintained.
We parked at Riverpoint park and rode the S.Chickamauga trail (see review there), then rode the Riverwalk east to the dam. Then turned around and rode the Riverwalk west to the Patten tennis club. The trail goes up a hill there, so we turned around and went back to Riverpoint parking. 12mi roundtrip on Riverwalk, 10mi roundtrip on S.Chick for a 22mi day. Trail is well maintained with lots of restrooms and water. It is shaded most of the way, and runs along the river with lots of good scenery. Tip: this is not a rail-trail, so there are some ups and downs, turns, and it can be a bit narrow and congested in parts.
Great way for the city to spend my tax dollars. Love the new extension to st elmo. Thing is, apparently we've lost our southern hospitality so don't expect locals to yield any sort of right of way. Nice ride though.
I ride my mountain bike on the Riverwalk almost every day. I ride from the dam to Coolidge park and back. I'm amazed at how groomed it is at all times. I don't carry water because there are bathrooms and water fountains every 1.5 miles or so. I've ridden on many trails across the country and this is my favorite.
I ride from the damn to the 6 mile marker and back at least 5 days a week. There are bathrooms almost every 1.5 miles with many places to stop and rest
just an update from my last review, i finally found what everyone is raving about. the houseman at the hotel informed us about where to pick up the trail. we went right to it and had a great ride, we were tired from riding other places so didn't get to ride full trail, but what we did ride was great the website needs to be more informative about it to us people not from chattanooga. little piece of info everything on trail is blue, thats how you know you are always on trail
Rode our bikes to river walk or what we thought it was. Found no signs or information where trail started. Talked with local people and they didn't have a clue. Finally found trail. Except it stops a starts again very frustrating. Not bike friendly especially the "turn about". Or whatever you call them they look like a six flags line that's a mile long. Maybe I missed something but I don't plan on coming back
Every time my wife and I go to Chattanooga, we try to bring our bikes and do a ride on this trail. While we absolutely LOVE the trail, the only caveat is that so do a lot of casual walkers, many of whom have a tendency not to watch out for bike riders. It is a good idea to use some sort of warning noisemaker, such as a bike bell, to let walkers know you are coming. The old bridge across the river is the highlight of the trail, but there are a lot of other great features as well.
While in Chattanooga this weekend we decided to check out this trail. We didn't have a map of the trail readily available which I am kicking myself for not having. The trail isn't well marked and we had to stop and ask as we went along. We weren't able to cover the entire trail but what we did cover was absolutely beautiful. Our eight year old loves biking like this since where we live we only have mountain biking trails. This was perfect. There are a few hills, but they are easy. The only problem we had was that our four year old has a weehoo that is attached to my husband's bike. The zip zags in some of the paths were too narrow for the weehoo, so that meant taking our four year old off the weehoo to take the stairs instead of the path. All in all though it's a beautiful ride and I would recommend it.
Definitely would do it again, but with a map next time.
We kayak down the river, skates in plastic bags, and then blade back up the riverpark to our vehicle. Great way to spend an afternoon. The riverwalk is fantastic and so is a quiet float down the river. Osprey and eagles in abundance, amazing shells for my flower garden,walking distance from downtown. Doesn't get any better. Well, until they complete the extension. Stoked about that.
This is a very nice, clean and attractive linear park trail and great for families to ride, walk, skate board, etc. However it is not a good trail for putting in a lot of miles or fast riding. It is more of a very wide sidewalk in a beautiful setting. If you like to ride casually then this is a good trail. If you are a serious bicyclist then the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia would be much more to your liking.
It is not only an absolutely well maintained paved trail, easy to walk/ ride; but it is also so very picturesque. So many wonderful photo opportunities and so beautiful overall. Highly recommend
This trail is so well maintained it is like the Disney World of trails. Everything was so well kept. The ride and scenery along Chatanooga and the river was continuosly breathtaking. If you get a chance to ride this trail you will no doubt be impressed.
This trail is so well maintained it is like the Disney World of trails. Everything was so well kept. The ride and scenery along Chatanooga and the river was continuosly breathtaking. If you get a chance to ride this trail you will no doubt be impressed.
Great for biking with the family. It's mostly flat so easy enough to bring the kids. The trail is very well maintained and clean. Lots of rest areas, picnic areas, and playgrounds along the way. Beautiful views of the river.
"This is a very nice paved that runs from downtown Chattanooga near the Tennessee Aquarium along or near the Tennessee River to Chickmauga Dam. The newest section opened has excellent lighting and regularly spaced facilities with water fountains. Regularly used by walkers, runner, bicyclers and skaters, this is a very nice trail. "
"We found this trail to be very enjoyable for running and biking. Pedestrian bridges safely take you over the busy roads near downtown. The surface is boardwalk or concrete path (in the areas we used from downtown to Little Chickamauga Creek). The path winds along the Tennessee River, through woods, and past a swamp, once you get out of downtown. The restored 1890 Pedestrian Bridge over the Tennessee River offers fabulous views of the area.
Great job Chattanooga! "
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