Fun on the Chattanooga waterfront never runs dry

Chattanooga — Barn roof billboards, a view of seven states, an underground waterfall and stunning fall colors have drawn tourists here for decades. But if all you’ve seen of Chattanooga is Rock City and Ruby Falls, well, you’re missing a lot.

The riverfront downtown area, anchored by the Tennessee Aquarium, has enough diversions to keep the kids busy all day. A couple interested in art, natural history, shopping and good food will need more time than that.

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CLINT WILLIAMS / cwilliams@ajc.com

The Bluffs View Art District along the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, with its variety of shops, restaurants and pieces of public art, is great for walkers.

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Warren-McLelland Photography

The River Gorge Explorer, a 70-passenger catamaran, docks just a few blocks away from the Tennessee Aquarium.

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Everything is within walking distance, so there is no need to get into the car until it’s time to make the drive home.

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• A trip on the River Gorge Explorer is part educational river cruise, part thrill ride. The 70-passenger catamaran has the acceleration and agility of a Jet Ski. The Explorer travels downstream at speeds topping 50 mph into the Tennessee River Gorge, where the river cuts through Walden Ridge, a branch of the Cumberland Plateau.

Bird-watchers are likely to spot herons and ospreys. Hardwood forests rising sharply from the riverbank to the top of the plateau promise a spectacular display for leaf-peepers.

The Explorer, operated by the Tennessee Aquarium, started running 90-minute trips this summer.

• The Tennessee Aquarium wowed folks when it opened in 1992, sparking redevelopment of downtown, and it’s still a pretty cool place to spend time. River Journey focuses on freshwater fish, taking visitors from mountain waters filled with trout, to the still waters of the delta where alligators and snapping turtles lurk, to the Gulf of Mexico where tarpon and stingrays cruise the deep.

Ocean Journey, which opened in 2005, has a main tank 90 feet long, 50 feet wide and 30 feet deep filled with about 3,000 fish, including several scary-looking sharks. You’ll also see penguins and a mesmerizing display of jellyfish.

Here is an inside tip: Squat down when you’re looking into the delta display at River Journey. It’s the best way to spot the 150-pound snapping turtle.

• Hoof it — and huff it, it’s a bit steep — east on First Street and across a glass-bottom pedestrian bridge for a bit of culture and cuisine in the Bluff View Art District (423-265-5033, www.bluffviewartdistrict.com). The first building on your left is the Hunter Museum of American Art, (423-267-0968, www.huntermuseum.org), where one of the most stunning works is the museum’s west wing set on the edge of a bluff.

Beyond the museum is a cluster of galleries, restaurants and the Bluff View Inn, a bed and breakfast operating out of three restored homes. Stroll through the River Gallery Sculpture Garden and sit in the shade overlooking the river at the bocce court terrace.

If it’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner, get a chocolate-covered macaroon at Rembrandt’s Roasting Co. on High Street. Actually, get one no matter what time of day it is.

• Crossing the Walnut Street Bridge provides sweeping views of downtown and the river. There are shops and restaurants on the other side in an area known as North Shore. You’ll also find a carousel (50 cents for kids, $1 for adults) and an animal-themed splash park at Coolidge Riverside Park. If the walk tires you out, ride a water taxi back across the river.