The ultimate guide to getting weird in the ‘Noog

Deep inside the heart of Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain, you'll find one of America's tallest and most incredible natural features: Ruby Falls. A hike through the mountain's cave system takes you right to the base of the 145-foot waterfall, which is believed to be the result of 30 million years of erosion through the limestone rock. Water from rain and natural springs gathered and worked its way through the mountain's core to form the falls, which collect at the base and wind their way through and out of Lookout Mountain to join the Tennessee River.

The waterfall remained a hidden secret locked within the mountain until the mid 20th century. Few people dared to enter the cave system to explore, and the natural entrance was eventually closed to build a railway tunnel. It wasn't until the 1920s that a local spelunker named Leo Lambert decided to open up the caves again and raised money to drill into the mountain. By 1928, he was ready to begin cutting in. As he and his team dug further into the mountain and did some exploring through the natural cave system, they discovered the magnificent falls. Leo decided to name the falls after his lovely wife Ruby (cue the 'awwws'). It proved to be a popular tourist attraction; it was one of the first caves to have electric lights, and an elevator was eventually put in as well.

Fun fact: Highways in the region are famously lined with billboards proclaiming "SEE RUBY FALLS." Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison co-wrote a song called "See Ruby Fall" inspired by the ubiquitous ads plastered on barns and billboards across Tennessee and beyond.

Ruby Falls isn't Lookout Mountain's only attraction; the feature is also home to Rock City Gardens. Like Ruby Falls, billboards painted onto barns encouraging people to "SEE ROCK CITY" are a staple around the region, and it's just as fun to visit. The 7-state view from Rock City's Lover's Leap is famous, but the history of Rock City Gardens is much more than just a scenic overlook. Rock City had been a well-known overlook for years before a man named Garnet Carter decided he wanted to develop the area around Rock City into a residential community called Fairyland in 1924.

Carter wanted to include a golf course at Fairyland, and to appease those who wanted to play golf while he figured out how to build the course, he constructed the country's first mini-golf course, which he called Tom Thumb Golf. He even franchised out the popular concept. In the meantime, Frieda, his wife, decided to develop Rock City itself into a rock garden "to end all rock gardens.” She forged a trail out to Lover’s Leap, today known as The Enchanted Trail, and added flowers, plants, and gnome statues along the way.

Despite the attraction's slow start in the middle of the Great Depression, it has grown into an iconic roadside stop (thanks to Carter's innovative barn advertising). Rock City Gardens is now home to Fairyland Caverns, filled with statues from European fairy tales and folklore, a 180-foot-long Swing-a-Long bridge, restaurants, a calendar of popular annual events, and tons more. It's the kind of classic roadside gem that the whole family will love, and the nostalgic touches are sure to bring out everyone's inner child.