Riding The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway In Chattanooga, Tennessee

Shae doesn’t like heights.

She doesn’t like missing out on the opportunity to experience something new either though, which is why she wanted to ride the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee with me.

We’d originally planned to check out the Enchanted Garden of Lights at Rock City seeing as she loves Christmas lights. Having seen 10 million Christmas lights at Christmas Town the week before, it didn’t seem worth paying ~$60 for the two of us to see “only” 1 million lights at Rock City.

Instead, we headed to the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway which is nearby.

The Incline Railway is a huge attraction in Chattanooga as, with a 72.7% grade, it’s one of the world’s steepest railways.

Boarding the train was an unusual experience. Because of the way the steps and seats are arranged to account for the tilt going up the mountain, it feels like you’re walking up the steps while going down, almost like you’re in an M.C. Escher picture.

All the seats face the front, so you ride up the mountain going backwards. The carriage has windows all around – including on the roof – to give you a great view of Chattanooga as you rise up the mountain.

The journey takes about 10 minutes, getting steeper the higher up the mountain you progress. Here’s a video of the last couple of minutes of the ride – keep an eye out for Shae making an appearance at a couple of points, including her taking a video/photos with her eyes closed due to her nervousness. Her face at the end of the video says it all 😉

Even if you’re scared, it’s worth riding the funicular as you get some beautiful views of the surrounding area from the top of the mountain.

There’s a gift shop at the top of the mountain, along with a couple of different viewing platforms. We took one of the final trains of the day in December which meant that we caught some of the sunset.

The viewing areas give you a good look back down the Incline Railway.

In addition to the viewing platforms, there are several exhibits where you can learn more about the railway’s history, from when it opened in 1895 to the present day.

You can also watch the cable traction system in action which pulls the funicular’s two cars up and down Lookout Mountain.

We caught the final train back down the mountain that night and watched it arrive. Here’s a video of it arriving which also helps give a better sense of the journey’s steepness.

I mentioned that boarding the train at the bottom of the mountain was an unusual experience. Boarding at the top of the mountain was a little more normal as you walked down the steps to the seats.

From Shae’s perspective though, we made a bit of a mistake. We boarded when it first arrived, which meant we spent 5-10 minutes sitting on the train while it was pointing steeply downwards, like you’re waiting for a roller coaster to drop which, thankfully, it didn’t.

The journey back down the Incline Railway felt like it was faster, although it travels at the same speed as on the way up. Standing at the front of the car certainly had a roller coaster view.

Once at the bottom of the mountain we got Clumpies Ice Cream (thanks for the suggestion Aunt Linda!) Shae got two scoops – one chocolate and one peppermint patty – while I got a scoop of chocolate orange which was amazing.

Final Thoughts

At $15 per person, the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is well worth experiencing. Even though Shae was nervous during the rides, she really enjoyed it too, so it gets her thumbs up as well. Be sure to also grab ice cream from Clumpies too!

Address

Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, 3917 St Elmo Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37409