The Best Swimming Holes Near Chattanooga, Ranked

There is a specific kind of relief that only exists at the bottom of a Tennessee gorge in August. The water has spent the last mile in shade, running over sandstone, and it comes out cold enough to make you swear when you get in. Chattanooga is surrounded by it. Most visitors never find any of it.

This is our ranking of the swimming holes near the city, with notes on the hike, the crowds and the risk. We also say which ones are in Marion County and which sit just over a county line.

Before you get in

• No lifeguards anywhere. Every spot on this list is wild water in a park or forest.
• Never jump or dive. Depth changes with every rainfall and there are submerged rocks in all of these pools.
• Stay out after heavy rain. Gorge creeks go from pretty to dangerous in hours.
• The water is cold even in August. That is the appeal in July and a problem in May.
• Wear real shoes. Most of these involve a steep, rocky descent. Sandals are how people get hurt.
• Cell service is unreliable at the bottom of a gorge. Tell someone where you went.

1. Foster Falls

Marion County · about 45 minutes from Chattanooga · Free day use

At Foster Falls, sixty feet of water drops off the plateau rim into a wide, deep plunge pool, with a boulder field to lay your towel on and a suspension bridge on the loop. Few waterfalls this size have a pool you can swim in.

The hike down is only about six-tenths of a mile round trip, but it is steep and rocky near the bottom. Call it fifteen minutes down and rather more coming back up. Arrive before ten on a summer weekend if you want to park.

Why it wins: Nothing else near Chattanooga combines a waterfall this big with water you can get into.

The catch: Everyone knows. Summer weekends are a scene.

Read the Foster Falls swimming guide

2. Denny Cove

Marion County · about 45 minutes · Free

Denny Cove is part of Fiery Gizzard State Park and still has not caught up in reputation with its famous neighbor a few minutes down the road. Good. The hike in runs roughly a mile and a half each way through hardwood forest to Denny Falls, with pools along the creek before you reach the falls.

Why it ranks: Similar water, a fraction of the people, and a walk in that is pretty in its own right.

The catch: A longer hike, and the falls run thin in a dry late summer. Go after rain, but not right after.

3. The creek pools along Fiery Gizzard

Marion and Grundy counties · about 45 to 55 minutes · Free

The Fiery Gizzard Trail corridor is stitched together by pools. Some are ankle deep, some are properly swimmable, and the good ones are not marked on anything. Walking north from Foster Falls or south from the Grundy Forest end, you will find quiet water in the rocks that you will have to yourself on a weekday.

Why it ranks: Solitude. This is the closest you will get to having a swimming hole to yourself near Chattanooga.

The catch: The Fiery Gizzard is a hard trail with technical boulder sections. Do not treat a mile of it as a casual stroll.

Read the Fiery Gizzard trail guide

4. Nickajack Lake

Marion County · about 20 minutes · Free

No hike, no scramble, no gorge. Marion County Park and the public use areas on Nickajack Lake give you flat shoreline, easy parking, picnic tables and water you can walk into with a cooler twenty feet away.

Why it ranks: It is the only entry on this list you can do with a stroller, a grandparent and a full cooler. Reservoir water also warms up far earlier in the season than gorge creeks.

The catch: It is a lake. If you came for cold clear water in a rock basin, look higher on the list.

Just over the county line

We are a Marion County site, but pretending the good water stops at the county line would not help you plan a trip. Two honorable mentions:

• Greeter Falls and the Blue Hole (Grundy County, about 55 minutes). The Blue Hole is one of the best swimming holes in the state, and the Greeter Falls loop stacks several waterfalls into a short hike. If you only get one day and you do not mind the extra driving, plenty of locals would rank this first.
• Cloudland Canyon (Dade County, Georgia, about 40 minutes). Waterfalls with wadeable pools at the base and a very good state park around them.

Picking one

If you want	Go to
The best all-round swim	Foster Falls
Fewer people	Denny Cove
Kids and coolers	Nickajack Lake
Solitude, and you are willing to walk for it	The Fiery Gizzard pools
The best in the wider region, county lines aside	The Blue Hole at Greeter Falls

Foster Falls has a campground at the trailhead, and Marion County has lakeside cabins and rentals, campgrounds and hotels within about 30 minutes of every swim on this list.