Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center — Attraction in Chattanooga

Unfortunately, I will be the odd man out here. I went with a large group to do the reflection riding 2 nights ago. I wanted to wait to write a review so that it would not be written based solely on my emotional state upon returning home. There was no information regarding the distance we would travel nor the pace in which we would have to keep to travel said distance. Based on the description, I assumed (yes I know, my mistake) that it would be a leisurely paddle looking for wildlife and (according to our "guide") getting a basic history of the area.

We were a large group and I brought my inflatable kayak. I invited another novice paddler to join me in my double kayak with the intention of getting all the help I could :) I figured between the 2 of us it would make the trip a bit easier for us since neither of us were strong paddlers. So, only a few minutes into the trip the guide took off and the rest of the group, which were mixed with canoes and kayaks, were keeping up with the guide but we could not. My kayak is just not made for speed. They did stop a few times to allow stragglers to catch up but this meant that by the time we caught up, they had rested , and we had to just keep going. On the return trip, the guide just took off and the entire group left us. We reached a fork and just prayed we were taking the correct one. My headlamp barely lit up 3 feet ahead of us and there was a lot of debris and low hanging trees and bushes that we could not see until we were right under them. They finally came back for us but, by the time they did, we could have take a couple different wrong turns , what a mess. We just felt thankful the Lord was leading us. In my experience with hiking, which I do fairly often, and scuba diving, which I am a dive master, a guide leads the group as fast as the slowest participant. I take responsibility of course because I should have asked more questions, but I also know with my diving history, if i see someone struggling, I would never leave them behind, not only for safety reasons but also just because as a guide, it is my responsibility to lead everyone, not just the most adept. I also would have noticed a novice participant with inadequate equipment and offered different equipment or discouraged their participation. Non of this happened at reflection riding. The guide was very apologetic and I do hope he learns from this, we asked for refunds and I will be hesitant in the future to...

Created as a public park by John and Margaret Chambliss in the 1950’s, Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center was dedicated to the study and conservation of native plant life. It is now a nature center, arboretum and beautiful place to walk in the foothills of Lookout Mountain.

Bob and I visited Reflection Riding on Friday and became members. While the place near the visitor's center was in disarray, we could tell that they were working hard to clean it up. When we were there they were busy removing invasives and were recovering from an unfortunate flood in the visitors center.

We walked around the nature center where they house native animals have been affected by humans in such a way that they can’t survive on their own in the wild. They are also one of 42 facilities in the world that house the 8th most endangered mammal in the world—the Red Wolf.

As a Level 4 Arboretum, Reflection Riding has more than 140 identified and labeled tree species. As a new resident of Tennessee, the tree and plant labels make it easier for me to learn about the native flora.

I asked the young man who processed our membership if Reflection Riding referred to horseback riding, but he said actually people used to drive their Model T's and other early automobiles on the narrow road in the mountains and around the "reflection" pools. They still allow cars on the loop road, but, as we found out, it is still very narrow, and walking the loop is the best way to get around. The loop walk is not very long, but there are 15 miles of trails thru the forests and along the creek.

A membership will allow you dawn to dusk access, primitive camping, early arrival at native plant sales, discounts at local restaurants and first notice of upcoming events,...

i am a volunteer here and i am always treated with such kindness and help from the staff members teaching and training me. i have also visited here with my family and little siblings and it’s definitely an amazing place for children as well. all the staff members are so sweet and knowledgeable and im very blessed to be able to go here and volunteer here. ive learned so much from the staff members about things like native plants and wild animals. such a beautiful place. ive seen so much kindness and fun here. ive also had the blessing to be here while seeing some of the kids at the summer camp and they always have smiles on their faces and eating snacks or playing with their friends in nature. its so beautiful to see how nature and caring people can bring together a little community. 💗 i also recommend visiting the programs and wildlife tours here. i have been on several of the tours and it was so amazing and empowering to see and learn such amazing facts about the animals and why they are so important. i also got to see one of the staff members show Winnie, a barn owl that is taken care of here, and i got to see her fly during a program and that was really fun. i really recommend reflection riding for anyone who is interested in nature and...