Just Outside Of Chattanooga Is Tennessee's Quirky Riverfront Town With Cute Shops And Outdoor Recreation

Along the Tennessee River and just 30 minutes west from Chattanooga is a small town with over 150 years of history. South Pittsburg is the perfect place for a Chattanooga vacation without actually staying there. It has a slew of opportunities for indoor and outdoor thrills as well as southern-style museums and shops. Whether travelers use South Pittsburg as a launch point for a vacation to Tennessee's unsung state park near Chattanooga with the state's best swim holes and whitewater thrills or to attend some of the local town festivals, the city has something for everyone and is worth a stop.

South Pittsburg is the perfect summer destination for music lovers and accessible via Interstate 24. The town was developed to be a major iron production city in the 1870s, but this dream quickly crumbled when better iron was found in Birmingham, Alabama. Thus, the town had only one claim left to fame: Cast irons. The Lodge Cast Iron company was founded in 1896 in South Pittsburg and has been manufacturing cast-iron products for around 130 years. Cast-iron cookware is used to make cornbread, a major staple in Southern cuisine. South Pittsburg now hosts the annual National Cornbread Festival because of this connection.

Visit South Pittsburg's skillet museum

The Lodge Museum of Cast Iron is the place to visit for everything cast iron-related. This museum is home to the world's largest cast iron skillet, which spans 18 feet in length from the long handle to the short handle. While the huge frying pan is more than enough reason to snag a few pictures, the museum also has several interactive exhibits to educate guests about how cast irons are made and their contributions to the wide world of home cooking. Don't forget the Lodge Cast Iron flagship store with lines of products and souvenirs ... or their Big Bad Breakfast restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch menu items to show off what cast irons can do in the kitchen.

For the best experience in South Pittsburg, visit during the last week of April to celebrate the National Cornbread Festival. It's the perfect opportunity to experience some of the town's signature cornbread offerings from Cornbread Alley, which has nine recipes for you to try. There will also be live music, carnival rides, cook offs, and the Cornbread Fondo event — a cycling challenge that explores the Sequatchie Valley's scenic bike trails through two different states.

Festivals offer the perfect excuse to wander through the historic downtown with multiple buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. There are charming shops tucked away in the old buildings, such as the South Pittsburg Antiques store. Visitors can check out the multitude of clothing stores, a bead therapy shop, boutiques, and more along the town's commercial street, Cedar Avenue.

South Pittsburg has many thrilling adventures waiting to be explored

Have an old Jeep or RV that excels at off-road and trail driving? Head to the northwest side of town to the Adventure Off Road Park and Nature Center. Here, ATV enthusiasts can participate in scheduled trail riding and off-road racing events. There are 600 acres of land and 120 rugged trails to conquer with your all-terrain vehicle, or visit the dirt track, obstacle course, and Battle Creek Beach for any outdoor thrill-seeking needs. The park doubles as a campground with full RV hookups available and rental bunkhouses.

Outdoor enthusiasts looking for more casual experiences in nature can camp out at the Sasquatch Farm RV Park, which can accommodate full-sized RVs with water, sewer, and electric hookups. The park has many relaxing forest trails through the woods and its own pristine lake for water recreation. With a reservation, guests can get a peaceful spa treatment and spend some time in a sauna. When the sun goes down, live music performances fill the night air under an ocean of stars. Plus, the park is less than an hour from Lookout Mountain, a Tennessee mountain town home to a gorgeous hidden waterfall, which makes for a fun day trip.

For chill-seeking ghost hunters, check out the Old South Pittsburg Paranormal Research Center. From sundown to sunup, you can stake out the abandoned South Pittsburg Hospital. Many believe the hospital is one of the most haunted locations in the country. There have supposedly been sightings of full-body apparitions along with sounds of baby cries recorded in hospital halls after dark. Time slots are available for full-night stays and half-night stays where guests can bring their own ghost-hunting equipment.

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