Lookout Mountain is in Chattanooga on the border of Tennessee and Georgia. It has several prime tourist attractions. One of the most spectacular is Ruby Falls. This is our Ruby Falls Guide.

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Overview

WEBSITE: https://www.rubyfalls.com/

Ruby Falls is a cave tour with a spectacular underground waterfall at the end. It is located on the Tennessee side of Lookout Mountain about ten minutes from downtown Chattanooga.

A tour of Ruby Falls takes about 2 to 3 hours and can be combined with the other Lookout Mountain attractions, Rock City and the Incline Railway.

The entrance to Ruby Falls is 250 feet above the actual cave system on a winding road above Chattanooga. From the entrance you take an elevator down to the start of the cave trail. The walk through the cave to Ruby Falls is about half a mile each way.

The cave remains a constant 60 degrees throughout the year so it is the perfect bad weather destination. We have toured Ruby Falls in the summer and winter. Our last visit was on a rainy New Years Day in 2019.

Tickets

Ruby Falls is one of those attractions advertised all over the south. There are all kinds of ticket packages. Many hotels will offer packages or discounts. There are also combo passes with other nearby attractions, most notably Rock City and Lookout Mountain Incline Railway.

The basic tour runs from 8 am to 8 pm and costs $21.95 for adults and $12.95 for children (3 to 12). You can reserve ahead online with tours leaving every half hour.

Lookout Mountain sales combo tickets to its core attractions. A combo ticket for Ruby Falls and Rock City is $43.90. However, each attraction is priced at $21.95 so the savings is not clear.

Many Chattanooga hotels offer packages that can get you into Ruby Falls and other attractions.

Attraction	Price
Ruby Falls	$21.95 adult; $12.95 child
Ruby Falls & Rock City	$43.90 adult; $25.90 child
Ruby Falls & Rock City & Incline Railway	$56.90 adult; $31.90 child
Ruby Falls Lantern Tour	$31.95 adult; $31.95 child
Ruby Falls Extended Tour	$31.95 adult; $18.95 child
Rock City	$21.95 adult; $12.95 child
Incline Railway	$15 adult; $7 child

History

The area around Tennessee and Kentucky is noted for its cave system. The largest is Mammoth Cave National Park, a personal favorite for years. These cave systems are hundreds of millions of years old. However, Ruby Falls was not discovered until the 1920s.

You can read a detailed description of the history here. The short version is the entrance to what was known as Lookout Mountain Cave was located on the banks of the Tennessee River, a few hundred feet below the present Ruby Falls entrance.

The entrance was closed in 1905 because of railroad construction. In the 1920s, Leo Lambert got the idea of reopening Lookout Mountain Cave by digging an elevator shaft down to the cave.

They started digging the shaft over 400 feet above the cave entrance. At 160 feet above the Lookout Mountain Cave they found an open void in the rock about 18 inches high and 5 feet wide.

Lambert started exploring this new passage. After crawling for awhile he was able to standup. As he got deeper he saw many beautiful rock formations. Eventually he made it to Ruby Falls.

Lambert decided to open Ruby Falls as a tourist attraction. At the top of the elevator shaft he built a castle modeled after a 15^th century Irish castle. Tours opened in 1930 and have been going ever since.

The Tour

Your tour starts in the Cavern Castle located above the Tennessee River. From here you get a nice view of the Chattanooga area. On top of the castle is an observation deck. There is of course, a gift shop and dining options. You can also take a zipline tour (an extra $20).

We have only done the core cave tour. We note on Friday nights they offer a Lantern tour and about once a month they have extended cave tours. During Christmas they offer a special Christmas Underground experience for kids.

The tour starts at the top of the elevator. You go down 260 feet in the elevator to the cave. At the bottom of the elevator you wait for your tour guide. All tours are guided in groups of about 30 to 40.

The walk to Ruby Falls is about a half mile along a flat surface. Of course, it is a cave so it can be slippery. There are also narrow passages. The first part of the tour you can see where Lambert and early explorers had to crawl through the cave that was only 18 inches high. Today this area has been dug out but there are parts where you can see how claustrophobic it must have been.

Ruby Falls Guide — You can see the original passage they had to squeeze through in 1928

A sign marks the spot where Lambert was first able to stand up. Along the way you will see all kinds of rock formations which have interesting names. Most of these formations are named after what they look like such as “Steak and Potatoes” or “Dragon’s Foot.”

When you get near the falls you may have to wait to let other tour groups out. You go into Ruby Falls one group at a time. They turn off the main lights and light up the falls. The experience at the falls last about five minutes.

After visiting Ruby Falls you head straight back the way you came. Overall, with waiting in line, you should probably plan on two hours for your visit.

Is it Worth It?

Personally I have been to Ruby Falls three times. So I definitely think it is worth it. Ruby Falls seems very touristy but everyone I go with agrees it is better than they anticipated.

In terms of caves I have visited, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico are the best. Ruby Falls is not in the same league but it is very unique. The rock formations are really cool and the underground waterfall is one of a kind.

Visitors seem to like Ruby Falls as the rating on TripAdvisor is 4 out of 5 stars. 80% rank it as excellent or very good. That rating is not quite as good as nearby Rock City at a whopping 93%. However, it is still a solid rating.

Most of the complaints are about the crowded nature and claustrophobic conditions. Like most cave tours that can be an issue. Personally, we try and do attractions like this in both the off-season and off-times. I can definitely see overcrowding being an issue.

To make your own decision you can check out some of our pictures below.

Check out our guide to Chattanooga for some other places we have visited.

Chattanooga Travel Guide

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