I read the suggestions about the hotels that was posted recently, good info. I was looking at Holiday Inn Exress, anyone familiar with it? I am looking at hiking, one of the boat canal rides, Ruby Falls, Incline railroad. Anyone have any comments on those? We like to do outdoor things, doubt we will hit the Acquarium. Or would like any other suggestions as a must see. tks.

I was looking at the Holiday Inn express Lookout Mtn, not downtown. I think it might be close to some of th outdoor activities.

I would advise against the Lookout Mtn area unless you have NO interst in going downtown. The Lookout Mtn area is NOT actually all that convient to stuff you have expressed interest, and is in an area which looks like a giant truck stop. There will only be a few chain restaurants in the immediate area. I would reconsider downtown. Cahttanooga has a particularly nice downtown area that is nice for strolling, especially, a nice pedestrian bridge that goes to the park area on the north side. This downtown area has an abundance of nice restaurants, as well. The activiites you mentioned are all good. In particular, there are few towns in the US with as extensive Civil War History, so the electic map visit at the Barrleground is worth a the time.

I would advise against the Lookout Mtn area unless you have NO interst in going downtown. The Lookout Mtn area is NOT actually all that convient to stuff you have expressed interest, and is in an area which looks like a giant truck stop. There will only be a few chain restaurants in the immediate area. I would reconsider downtown. Cahttanooga has a particularly nice downtown area that is nice for strolling, especially, a nice pedestrian bridge that goes to the park area on the north side. This downtown area has an abundance of nice restaurants, as well. The activiites you mentioned are all good. In particular, there are few towns in the US with as extensive Civil War History, so the electic map visit at the Barrleground is worth a the time.

This website might be helpful to you:

www.alltrails.com/us/tennessee

We stayed near Lookout Mtn, and spent one day seeing sights in that area and one day DT. We thought it was a convenient place to stay, although I would NOT recommend the Ramada.

We liked Incline RR and Rock City, but thought Ruby Falls was a waste of time & money. The park and the Civil War museum were very good.

I love staying on the mountain and going down to the city for sight-seeing. Here's my favorite place on Lookout Mountain -
http://stayatchanticleer.com/

Consider eating at Cafe on the Corner in Lookout Mountain. Very good food. The Holiday Inn Express looks OK. It is in an area off the Interstate. The entire area is fairly compact, not more than a 25 minute or so drive from the river (downtown) to the mountain attractions.
Great area to visit.