I’ve lived in Chattanooga all my life and I had never been to the Raccoon Mountain Caverns until recently. Spurred on by my enjoyment of other cave tours I’ve taken, I checked it out and was really pleasantly surprised!

Now, Raccoon Mountain Caverns is not on the level of other Chattanooga attractions, like the Tennessee Aquarium or the other cave tour at Ruby Falls. Don’t be fooled by its TripAdvisor claims. But it’s still a lot of fun and if you’re local you should check it out! Especially while it’s so hot outside – it stays a cool 58 degrees year-round in the caverns.

Raccoon Mountain Caverns

Raccoon Mountain Caverns is located at the base of Raccoon Mountain, kinda behind Lookout Mountain and Lookout Valley. There’s a campground, and within that, the entrance to the caverns.

There used to be a historic stone building that housed the gift shop. You’d buy your tickets there and enter the caverns through the back of the building. Earlier this year, they tore it all down due to water damage and now the gift shop and tickets are housed in a nice mobile unit across the parking lot. There’s a wood deck with plenty of room for groups to gather here and wait for their tour to start, plus a resident cave cat.

(There’s another stone building that houses machinery and storage. I think this used to be the base station for a tram to the top of the mountain? I remember – looong ago – there was a chairlift and an alpine slide here. But I’m not entirely sure where it was located.)

Crystal Palace Walking Tour

Unlike Ruby Falls, where you take an elevator deep into the mountain, at Raccoon Mountain Caverns, you can walk straight ahead into the side of the mountain and into the cave.

We had a fantastic tour guide, a geology (and, I think, anthropology) student who genuinely gets excited talking about rocks and salamanders.

And we saw plenty of both! A flat, wide room opens out into a huge beautiful central chamber lit with colored lights they call the “crystal palace.” The tour takes us along one edge and into several other tunnels and rooms before ending back at the bottom of the central room. Tours take about an hour and are really entertaining.

Our guide was careful to point out anything of interest, particularly the salamanders. There are bigger orange ones and tiny little black ones that she was always scouting for to make sure we didn’t step on any.

I’d recommend taking the tour if you’re at all interested in natural history, local history, geology, or just want something fun to do out of the house that’s not in the blazing hot sun. All pathways are paved and/or flat, though there are sections of steps so it’s not a wheelchair or stroller-friendly route.

If you’re really into geology, take one of three wild cave tours, ranging from 2-4 hours, and where you can get muddy on a guided exploration of the unpaved portions of the cave system.

Hours

Raccoon Mountain Caverns are open every day from 9 am-5 pm and on Saturday until 6 pm. The first tour starts at 9:30 am and the last tour leaves at 4:30 pm, or 5:30 on Saturdays. You might be able to walk up and get a ticket at the gift shop, but I recommend calling ahead to reserve your spot so you don’t have to wait for a later tour. And that way they know how many people are coming.

The first tour on Saturdays is the most popular, so definitely book ahead for that one. In the middle of the week, it might be more lenient.

Tours & Prices

Crystal Palace Walking Tours are $25 per person, and I think that’s no matter what age you are. Any kids will have to walk on their own, no carrying allowed. Wear closed-toed shoes and maybe a light jacket.

If you’re interested in the Wild Cave Tours, there’s a 2-hour “canyon crawl” for $35, a 3-hour “fossil crawl” for $45, and a 4-hour “echo room expedition” for $55. There are minimum ages, heights, and weights for each of those tours, so make sure to check the website or ask when you call. All of those tours you would definitely need to book ahead, I think they do them on an as-booked basis. You provide long pants and a long-sleeved top that can get dirty and they provide a helmet, headlamp, gloves, and kneepads.

We passed an entry point for most of the wild cave tours, a “mail slot” to squeeze through that serves as a test for how good you are in tight spaces before you get too far into the cave. It didn’t look bad at all.

Whichever tour you take, it’s an awfully fun way to get out of the house and see something new!