Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga, TN

This is a 42,000 sf of pure fun and hands on entertainment for kids. The kids got to dig for dinosaur bones, record music, make sculptures, paint and create their own inventions. It was inexpensive, and the kids had a blast! As always, we packed a lunch and had a picnic on the grass outside the aquarium. Then, it was off to explore. We walked across the glass bridge and found Coolidge Park. The walk wasn’t bad, the scenery was beautiful. Coolidge park is a 10 acre park in Chattanooga, that features a carousel, and an interactive play fountain to cool off in. It’s a great park to relax or play ball. As we were walking over the glass bridge, something caught our eye…we noticed kids “sledding” down a huge hill. After we played at the park, we decided that we had to find that hill to continue the fun. We asked around, and sure enough, we weren’t imagining it. The locals pointed us to the grass hill and kids were sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes, you read it right; Card board boxes!! We had to try it. No need to bring your own box, there’s plenty to go around. What a blast!! The kids stayed on that hill for at least an hour, maybe more! It took us about 1 hr 25 min to get to Chattanooga, we stayed all day, spent $30.00 between the museum and ice cream, and it was SO worth the trip!!!

Indian Boundary Lake in the Cherokee National Forest

Looking for somewhere to go that has swimming, beautiful views, and waterfalls? If you haven’t been to Indian Boundary Lake in the Cherokee National Forest, what are you waiting for? Pack a lunch, sunscreen, swimming trunks, and floats and head out. This lake is beautiful. Surrounded by mountains, the views are breathtaking. When you are done eating and swimming, on your way home, follow the signs to the waterfalls. Trust me on this one. It’s not a big hike, in fact, you can enjoy the view from the road. But those of you that want to venture, you’ll be happy you did. Climb all the way to the top (there are stairs), and it’s like you have found your own little paradise. The kids had just as much fun swimming up there, as they did at the lake. They did not want to leave. So, for just the cost of gas, you can have a fun filled day out at Indian Boundary Lake. Don’t forget the camera!!

The Gatlinburg Community Center

Ok, it’s cold, the kids are bored, what IS there to do around here? Well, we all know about Gatlinburg, and what a great place it is. But, it can get quite expensive. Here’s a place we found, that, if you pack your lunch, you can spend a fun filled day for just a little bit of cash. The Gatlinburg Community Center is a great place with an indoor pool, bowling, ping pong, basket ball, and If you get a big enough group together, they will have a blast playing tag in the gymnasium. It only costs $1.50 to swim for kids, and all of the other fun things have minimal charges. The most expensive was bowling, at $1.75/game + $1.25 for shoe rental, but even that cost was minimal. If you wanted to play basketball, they only ask for your drivers license, and ping pong was .25 for the ball. There is even an area to eat, so go ahead and pack snacks and lunch. We splurged and bought ice cream at the bowling area for $1.00. We spent the day with several friends there. We bowled, we swam, we ate, and we had a blast running around. The cost for the day was $13.00 for my two kids. I’ll take it. We’ve been back several times, it is a great place to go have fun!

Ft. Loudon State Park

Want a fun filled day, but don’t want to spend a lot of money? Check this out. Ft. Loudon State Park in loudon county, is a beautiful park with hiking, a lake, and a lot of history. You can lounge on the grass by the lake, or hike some of the trails. Go into the museum and watch a movie about the fort, then venture down the trail, and you will get a glimpse of what it was like back in the 18th century.

Visit the Ft. Loudon State Park Website