Leading the Way
Home to mountains, rivers, forests, and more, there is no shortage of stunning scenery to explore in and around Chattanooga. Eager to help people safely explore and engage with these natural resources are locals putting their expertise and passion to use as outdoor guides. From paddleboarding, and fishing to hiking, climbing, and horseback riding, read on to meet business owners leading unforgettable adventures in our area.
Photography by Tall Tails Media
Guided Rock-Climbing Tours
I specialize in taking people outdoors for their first-ever rock-climbing experience. I also teach skills to any level of climber looking to improve. I have been guiding professionally for more than 12 years, though I started climbing more than three decades before that. Initially, I was drawn to the thrill of the adventure and the beautiful places that the sport took me to.
Guiding is an opportunity for me to enrich my clients’ lives by getting them into the outdoors and providing them with the same thrill I found in rock climbing! It is rewarding to help people overcome their fears and achieve more than they thought possible.
I have an instructor certification from the American Mountain Guides Association and a provider certification from the Climbing Wall Association. I coach a nationally renowned climbing team out of Synergy Climbing and Ninja, and I have coached youth students on Synergy Climbing Team to national championship wins at both the youth and elite adult level. The physical climbing knowledge I pass on comes from 45 years of experience, and I am always learning.
Sunset Rock is my favorite local spot.
How do you prepare for these? Sometimes people find the outdoor challenge tougher than they expect it to be! Climbing can look easy when watching a skilled practitioner or perhaps to a client who climbs well at the gym. But then, outdoors up on a rock face, it becomes more daunting and confusing. I like to set realistic expectations and allow plenty of time.
The excitement and satisfaction I see on the faces of my clients and the texts I get from them afterward telling me how much they enjoyed it or what they gained from the trip.
The proximity to lots of fantastic climbing areas with great rock quality and beautiful settings.
Guided Horseback Trail Rides
I started out as a “backyard horse girl.” It was a dream come true when my parents were able to buy me a horse when I turned 13. I explored our family farm on horseback and helped round up the family beef cows each fall. During my college years, I worked at summer camp in the horse barn. After college, I got married and worked with my husband guiding groups in all sorts of outdoor adventures, including horseback tours. In 2003, we were able to start Hidden Hills Farm & Saddle Club back on our family’s land. We quickly realized that there was room for a good horseback guiding service in Chattanooga, and since we loved horses, loved our land, and loved sharing horses and the land with other people, it was an easy draw!
Horseback riding can be intimidating to some, for sure! Luckily, our horses are pretty chill and we definitely do our best to make the ride safe for even newbies. Some folks wish for more “exciting” rides, but chaos can happen really fast with horses, so we opt for safer, slower, and more relaxing types of experiences.
Horseback riding requires a guide who knows horses and knows how to protect riders from the horses and the horses from the riders! At the same time, a great guide helps their guests notice and appreciate their horses, the surroundings, and the history of the area.
Since Chattanooga is such a beautiful area and attracts so many tourists, we love meeting folks from all over the world on our farm. We’ve enjoyed helping to orchestrate a few marriage proposals on our rides. The most memorable trips to me, though, are when the local wildlife becomes a part of the ride: one time, a bobcat bounded across the trail; another time, we quietly rode by a family of skunks; and we often see deer or turkey while we ride.
Once on the ride, it’s just a peaceful way to spend an hour, often with good company.
Guided Fishing Tours
Like all Scenic City Fishing guides,I learned early on that it is best to focus on what you do best. I began guiding for all species but soon realized I serve my clients best focusing on catfishing. The same philosophy is true for all of our guides, whose focuses include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, and even walleye.
We provide all the necessary safety equipment and instructions on how to use it at the beginning of every trip. And part of being a successful fishing guide involves being a good teacher. In fact, three of our guides are actually school teachers by trade.
One memorable day was the time a big catfish hit so hard it yanked the fishing rod out of my hands. Inspired by sheer instinct, I dove into the water after it. I remember looking around for light from the surface. Finding it, I swam back to the top. My clients were standing there bug-eyed in shock. I expected one of them to ask if I was okay or if I needed any help. Instead, the very first words they uttered were, “Is the catfish still on it?” Laughing, I told them it was, so I got to the boat, handed the rod back up to one of them while, thankfully, the other one helped me climb back in.
I am incredibly proud of the fact that I have clients who brought their young children fishing with me 15 or nearly 20 years ago. And now those children sometimes call me to book trips for their children. It is humbling to know that you’ve created memories and provided experiences being passed along to future generations.
Simple: the Tennessee River … You can fish for almost any freshwater, warmwater species that exists.
Now, at 70 years old, I have “semi-retired” from guiding myself and concentrate more on marketing, client contacts, and doing my best to keep calendars full for my eight other guide partners.
Guided Hiking Tours
We specialize in all-inclusive private guided hiking tours for families, couples, solo travelers, and small groups visiting Chattanooga. We got started in 2018 out of our passion for hiking and photography. Every tour includes transportation, hiking trail guidance, snacks and waters, and a professional photo gallery of the experience!
Ryan and I were both working restaurant jobs before we started our business. Many times, out-of-town visitors would ask us what else there was to do beyond the tourist attractions. We would tell them about hikes and places to go, but they were worried about getting lost or not being able to find their way. We wanted to show people visiting Chattanooga just how beautiful our outdoors is here in the easiest and safest way possible!
We are First Aid/CPR and Leave No Trace certified. We were also the first hiking tour guide company in the state of Tennessee to receive a commercial use authorization for the Tennessee State Parks.
We love utilizing our local state parks like North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park and South Cumber-land State Park.
Professionalism, kindness, listening, and patience. We do our best to make people feel like they’re on a tour with some old friends.
We’ve taken many people on their first-ever hike. We’ve also shot three surprise proposals while on tours!
There are so many beautiful overlooks, waterfalls, and creeks within an hour of Chattanooga, and many visitors don’t feel comfortable venturing out on their own or are overwhelmed by the options. We are grateful to provide a local service that helps get people outdoors safely.
Guided Paddleboarding Tours
I began stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) in 2010. I grew up in a boating family and love being on the water. I had already been doing yoga for about 15 years when I heard about yoga on the water – SUP Yoga. What a cool way to do two things that I love! I wanted to share my passion for SUP Yoga, so I began teaching it a few years later. I soon met people who were interested in paddleboarding but not doing yoga. So, I began taking people out on paddleboarding tours.
In 2012, I got my yoga certification to teach SUP Yoga. By 2020, I was taking so many friends out to paddleboard, so I got certified as a Class 1 SUP instructor with the World Paddle Association. I maintain both of my certifications in paddleboarding and American Red Cross First Aid/CPR.
I had tried SUP racing early on, but I was not competitive by nature. I’m a social paddler and enjoy being on the water with people. Each season, I count the number of people that I have paddled with, not the miles that I have paddled. It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
I am constantly exploring new places to paddle. The Chattanooga area has an abundance of natural beauty on the water. But every year, I like to take a group of people to Burgess Falls, which is less than two hours from Chattanooga. It’s an easy two-mile paddle to the base of a breathtaking 136-foot waterfall. This view never gets old, and I love showing it to people for the first time!
One of the special types of guided tours that I now offer is a Glow Paddle. I have LED light kits to install under paddleboards that creates a beautiful under-board glow in a choice of vibrant colors. We are on the water in time to watch the sunset, then the lights glow even brighter as it gets dark.
