Huntsville to Chattanooga Roadtrip
Stops Worth Seeing
If you’re driving from Huntsville to Chattanooga, or if you’re looking for the perfect adventurous day trip from Huntsville, you’ve gotta check out this itinerary. It highlights all of the best stops from Huntsville to Chattanooga. There aren’t that many food options on this journey, so we picked up subs from Publix and would recommend you do the same or pack a lunch ahead of time.
GRAB BREAKFAST IN HUNTSVILLE
Gold Sprint Coffee or Honest Coffee Roasters are great options to pick up breakfast to go or dine-in quickly. Service is fast and the food and coffees are tasty at both places.
Stephens Gap Trails Gap Trail
The first stop on your drive from Huntsville to Chattanooga is Stephen’s Gap. Caving in Stephen’s Gap was the highlight of our day. Only 12 people are allowed to enter per day and you’ll need to obtain a permit before visiting. It’s pretty simple and FREE! to get a permit, but they can go fast during peak times. You’ll want to obtain your permits about 2 – 3 weeks before you plan to visit. We were the only people at the cave and on the trail when we visited despite all of the permits for the day being reserved! This was a super approachable introductory caving experience. We are not experienced cave hikers and still felt super safe and comfortable on this hike.
To get a permit, visit the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc website. Create a free account on their site, then check availability on the day you’d like to visit. For safety purposes, Stephens Gap requires two people minimum per group to hike. After your permit request is sent, you will receive an email with a waiver. You must have all members of your party digitally sign a waiver to receive your permit. Once you’ve all signed, you’ll receive your permits!
In the email with your permits, you’ll find the entry code for the gate to enter the parking lot. Cell service can be spotty in the area, but the parking lot has free wifi available. The parking lot also has a porta potty.
The trail to the cave is about .8 miles (each way). It’s a pretty consistent uphill walk to the cave, then once you reach the cave, you’ll hike down about 200 feet to the entrance. The walk to the cave is on packed dirt, but the 200 foot drop into the cave entrance is rocky and slippery, so make sure to wear shoes with a good grip. We didn’t bring poles, but I could see them being helpful here. The trail is pretty well tread and easy to follow. There are blue ties on trees and some yellow diamond-shaped trail markers along the way.
You can follow the path on AllTrails, but the AllTrails trail map does not include the drop into the entrance on the altitude or mileage tracker. Don’t be surprised when you reach the entrance and you see you have to do a small climb down – and then back out later!
You’ll know you’re at the cave when you reach a waterfall. You’ll see a small fork in the trail with the waterfall on your right and the cave entrance to your left. Be careful as you walk down the slippery rocks. There’s a ledge that you can walk on to see the waterfall that you were viewing from the outside.
You will have to bring your own helmet with a chin strap and headlamp to the cave. When we visited, there was a helmet, a pair of gloves, and a headlamp left at the entrance, but I wouldn’t count on it being there when you get there. There isn’t a place to rent these tools nearby, but Harbor Freight sells headlamps for under $3 a piece and Amazon has cheap helmets (we found ours for $16 each) that you can order for a quick delivery. You also need to print out your permit and put it in your car dashboard. If you don’t have a printer, you can write your name and permit number on a sheet of paper and display it on your dashboard.
Unclaimed Baggage
13 minute drive from Stephen’s Gap
The next stop on your roadtrip from Huntsville to Chattanooga is Unclaimed Baggage – a thrift store with a pretty cool back story. 99.5% of lost baggage from airlines are reunited with their owners, but .03% are never reunited with their owners. This is where unclaimed baggage comes in. They have a purchasing agreement with local airlines to acquire those orphaned bags and give the goods a second life. In addition to selling goods, they also donate a large portion of items (their goal is a 1:1 match). Items that are not in the best condition are recycled.
The store has a couple places where you can take cute, kitschy photos, a video where you can learn about their donation program, and a small museum filled with oddities that they’ve stumbled upon over the years. They even have a suit of armor on display that was found in a bag and never claimed.
Besides clothing, they have a huge assortment of electronics (even Bose headphones, Apple Airpods, computers, and tablets), books, and luggage. I picked up three new, bestseller books for $11 total which is a total steal in my opinion! Clothing-wise you’ll find everything from high-end dresses to super cheap Shein items. From what I saw, the Shein items retailed here for around $5, but the nicer dresses were a bit more expensive ($100+). The electronics were discounted, but not as heavily discounted as I would have expected. The books were the best deal, with most ranging from $3 – $5 each. Highly recommend stopping in to see what treasures you can uncover – especially if you’re in the market for a new book!
The surrounding town is also filled with thrift and vintage stores, so if you want to keep shopping, there are tons of options right along the main road.
Russell Cave National Monument
34 minute drive from Unclaimed Baggage
Russell Cave National Monument is a hidden gem on the way to Chattanooga. Now, having just left Stephens Gap, it won’t be AS impressive, but we still enjoyed this quick stop. There are two trail options here – a short boardwalk trail (half mile out and back) to the cave or a nature walk (a little over a mile). Doing both will only take about 45 minutes. We also saw a lizard with a bright blue tail, so keep an eye out for them – they’re pretty cool to see.
Lodge Museum of Cast Iron
15 minute drive from Russell Cave National Monument
When we drove by the signs for the Lodge Museum of Cast Iron, we decided to stop and give this random roadside attraction a go. It’s a museum, discounted Lodge store, and restaurant all in one. So you can learn about the process of making a cast iron pan, buy a heavily discounted Lodge pan (that will quite possibly last you a lifetime), learn recipes to cook in cast iron, and snack on some great food in the restaurant. They also debut lines with fun themes here, like Dolly Parton or Dutton Ranch, if you’re looking for a unique piece of cast iron. We spent about an hour here and enjoyed our visit. Tickets were $5 when we visited, but they’re regularly $10. Keep a look out for ticket promotions which they seem to run occasionally.