However, all in all, for an urban trail system, I must say the city planners did a tremendous job, and the maintenance of the path is absolutely outstanding! This retired teacher gives the city of Chattanooga an A+ and the trail five stars! We are so glad we selected this city and its trail for our Tennessee bike ride on our quest to bicycle in all fifty states! Also, be prepared for a couple of short climbs, and the noise of the street traffic is pretty annoying in a couple of places. It's too bad the big businesses couldn't donate a strip of their land along the riverfront to the city for the good of the community and the continuity of the riverfront trail. Well worth the time! On the downside, there were a couple of spots that left the river, veered inland, and made their way around some industry where you do have to cross some not very busy streets, but that's life in the big city. Great views up and down the river from the center of the architecturally pleasing structure. We also took the time on the way back to cross the Walker Street Pedestrian Bridge just for the fun of it. This is a great scenic viewpoint, and if you have kids with you there are several playground spots along this portion of the trail. On the way back, we took the time to take a short spur out along South Chickamauga Creek where it joins the Tennessee River. Twists and turns, bridges, spectacular river views, and more art installations than I have ever seen along a bike trail make this an incredible ride! Even though we had to come back the same way, seeing the river from the downriver angle gave me an entirely different perspective and awesome views. The trail is in superb condition, mostly concrete and some boardwalks. From there we biked upriver to the TVA Chickamauga Dam, a distance of about eight miles before returning the same way.
Traveling from Southern California, we stayed in the perfectly placed Marriott Springhill Suites right on the trail at Cameron Harbor. On a cool March morning with a threat of rain, we experienced the riverwalk on our bikes.