See the Fall Colors in Chattanooga, Tennessee (FALL 2024!)

Fall in Chattanooga, TN is Magical

Autumn in Chattanooga

Roads covered in leaves, waterfalls and mountains filled with color —
it’s a sight to see in the Scenic City.

Fall is in full swing and you’re seeing it everywhere: in pumpkin spice flavored anything, in your local grocery stores & shops, in your Instagram & TikTok feeds, maybe even in your dreams! But where can you truly experience fall? We would recommend visiting our city of Chattanooga, Tennessee and booking a guided hiking tour with us at Experience Chattanooga — complete with professional photography, transportation, snacks, waters, and expert local guides! If you’re overwhelmed with planning the perfect fall trip, we make it easier than ever to explore the beautiful Chattanooga outdoors with our all-inclusive guide service.

Here’s why to visit Chattanooga this fall:

Waterfalls, Waterfalls, Waterfalls

Tennessee is home to over 500 waterfalls and Chattanooga is the perfect place to set as a home base for exploring! Within an hour of Chattanooga are some of the state’s best waterfalls… and Experience Chattanooga will drive you to them and make sure you get ALL the best photos! You can check out our seasonal waterfall tour here! Nothing beats a waterfall hike on a crisp morning surrounded by gorgeous fall colors. ***Disclaimer: Due to ongoing droughts, waterfalls may not be flowing well or at all. In 2023, we had this same drought pattern and waterfalls were dry until late November! Check our Instagram for current waterfall levels.

Views, Views, Views

Take to the endless trails around Chattanooga and you’ll get to enjoy some of the best fall hikes in Southeast Tennessee! Chattanooga’s mountains are home to a great variety of trees, which means a great variety of color. Not to mention that with autumn comes the perfect hiking weather in Chattanooga - averaging 70 degrees. When the waterfalls are dry, the mountain overlooks are the place to be!

Since we have so many different elevations nearby, colors start to change at different times on different mountains, and peak in some areas before others. It’s a lot of fun chasing down the best colors on each surrounding mountain! You may go to one area & not see much change, while another across town is popping with color.

Swinging Bridges, Fairytale Roads, Leafy Trails

It’s not all about the waterfalls and mountain views. We gotta show some love to the scenery along the way too! A few hiking trails near Chattanooga feature swinging bridges. And with a lot of scenic mountain roads, sometimes the best part of the adventure is the road trip that leads to the hiking trail! Lastly, who doesn’t love that crunch beneath your feet as you pass through the peaceful autumn woods? It’s giving us all the feels just thinking about it!

When Are The Peak Fall Colors in Chattanooga, TN?

The best time for fall colors in Chattanooga is late October / early November. Very few leaves may start to change by the end of September. Then throughout the entire month of October, various trails will start to show color, depending on elevation. There are many different factors that affect when exactly the leaves will peak, such as rainfall & temperatures.

In 2023, the peak fall colors were the last week of October (specifically Oct 26-29!) The fall colors were faded and falling by November 3rd. Chattanooga had a prolonged drought affecting the change and the colors were not as vibrant. The leaves seemed to drop faster than usual because of the lack of rain.

— 2024 UPDATES! —

Latest update - November 5th, 2024: The mountains 45 minutes to 1 hour outside of Chattanooga are past peak. The mountains 15-20 minutes from Downtown Chattanooga are at peak or almost at peak. This weekend will probably be the last chance to see great color!

October 24, 2024: Peak color has started in the mountains! Today through the first week of November, the best colors will be showing. We are seeing a LOT of colors coming in fast. Everyday there is more change.

October 9th, 2024: It’s now October and the color change is not doing much / very little color is showing at this moment. The colors that had started early in September have already fallen, leaving a lot of green currently. The trees that ARE turning color are pretty dull due to ongoing droughts straining the trees. Hurricane Helene did bring 5+ inches of rain but the ground was already too dry to absorb it properly.

August 31, 2024: The mountains are starting to show fall color change 2-3 weeks earlier than past years. This is NOT NORMAL and could be due to lack of rain/severe drought conditions we are having. It could also mean the foliage may be less vibrant and be on a shorter timeline this fall. Stay tuned for more updates!

Do yourself a favor and follow us on Instagram to be in the know as we post weekly updates on the leaf color progression this fall season!

Learn more about Experience Chattanooga’s Guided Hiking Tours at the links below:

About Experience Chattanooga

View Tours & Book Online Here

Meet Your Guides

Check out Reviews for Experience ChattanoogA

5 Reasons To Hike this Winter near Chattanooga, Tennessee

Winter in Chattanooga, Tennessee is one of the absolute BEST times for hiking! We will convince you why, don’t worry. We’re Experience Chattanooga and we do private guided hiking tours (with professional photography and transportation included) to the most beautiful waterfalls & mountain overlooks in Southeast Tennessee. Check out why we recommend winter hiking in Chattanooga below!

1) Waterfalls within an hour of Chattanooga are a LOT bigger in the winter due to more rainfall this time of year. It’s the absolute best time to check them out. In contrast, the waterfalls are just a trickle in the summer months of Chattanooga due to droughts! We recommend our Soul Therapy Tour, Chasing Waterfalls Tour, or Fall Creek Falls State Park Tours during the winter months for the best waterfall hiking.

2) Wide open views! Now that the leaves have fallen off the trees, you can see a lot farther at overlooks & catch views you wouldn’t normally see in the lush summer months. Getting outside to hike in the winter is also a great way to exercise and not be cooped up all day.

3) Less creatures out — Do you hate ticks, snakes, and mosquitoes? Well so do we! These pesky creatures are very unlikely to be out and about in the cooler months. Enjoy the Tennessee outdoors without added worry!

4) Less crowds! There are far less people out hiking in the winter here vs. the summertime. There’s a good chance you won’t see another person out on the trails with you if you hike during the week! You are way more likely to have an entire waterfall or overlook to yourself. Whereas, if you don’t get to a trailhead shorty after sunrise in the summer, you might not get a parking spot at all.

5) Looking for cooler weather but not necessarily snow? Chattanooga is a great option as we rarely get snow. If it does snow, it usually dusts the tops of the mountains and doesn’t quite hit the valleys (or melts within an hour of falling). The weather is pretty mild in Chattanooga in the winter! Plus, the crisp air is super refreshing.

Visiting Chattanooga this winter and not sure where to hike to see the best waterfalls & mountain views? Check us out at Experience Chattanooga for private guided hiking tours with professional photography & transportation included!

The Mountains Are Calling & We'll Take You There

How do your hiking tours work and what’s included?

When we created Experience Chattanooga, our vision was to make it easier than ever to have a great outdoor adventure in Tennessee.

Forget the hours of research on the internet.
Don’t worry about getting lost on the road or on the hiking trails.
Don’t waste time trying to get the best photos when you ought to be enjoying the moment.

With Experience Chattanooga, getting out into the mountains is as easy as choosing your ideal adventure and then letting us know where to pick you up!
When you book an Experience with us, consider everything taken care of:

Lastly, we think you’ll be delighted to know that we never put two different groups together.
Don’t expect to share your Experience with strangers! It’s your own personal tour — just you, whoever you decide to bring along, the guides, and their camera!

What are people saying about your hiking tours?
Are they fun?

We believe our hiking tours are the best way to experience what Chattanooga is all about, but don’t just take our word for it — hear what our customers have to say:

I have so much to say about Ryan and Hope. I will leave you no doubt that they are top notch and worth every penny. First, I will start with their response time. I went on their website which was very easy to maneuver through and find exactly what worked for our family. We are a family of 5 with a teenager, a toddler, and an infant. The description of the hike matched our little family perfectly. We inquired and they responded back within the hour. By the next day they called and we had our tour booked. They kept open our means of communication by text, which was best for us, and responded to any of our questions.

Moving on to our hiking experience, they adjusted the starting time to our needs. They offered to pick us up, but bc we had little ones they met us there. The location was an easy find. When we met them in person they were just as kind and humble as I pictured them to be. They explained the hike to us and we were off to beautiful views, connecting with Mother Nature, and just enjoying our family to the fullest. On our rest stops, they provided snacks, water and toilet paper (lol). They interacted with our children, allowed us to take our time, took amazing family photos, and we all just connected with them like we had been knowing them a long time. They gave us an important history lesson about our hike and most importantly they kept us SAFE!

If you are ever in the Chattanooga area, booking with [Experience Chattanooga] is a must! It most definitely outweighs all of the popular tourism ‘things to do’ in Chattanooga.
(Tripadvisor + Google Review by Vonda H)

Read more of our customer reviews here!

Best things to do in Chattanooga, TN