Ride the Incline and see the whole world

My four-year-old got to see "the whole, entire world today," so he said. We rode the Incline.

For $14/adult and $7/kid age 3 to 13, you can, too. In fact, you could probably see the whole world by driving your car to the top of Lookout Mountain and putting fifty cents in the telescope viewers at the Incline visitor's observation deck.

We planned to go on Labor Day with our out-of-town company, but there was an hour-and-a-half wait to ride the Incline. With five small children in tow, we neither felt like waiting in the hot sun nor like managing them in a crowded train car.

Today's experience was much more pleasant. We parked at the bottom of the Incline railway, on Tennessee Ave. in St. Elmo, paid our $1 to the parking lot machine, bought our tickets, waited 20 minutes under the shade at picnic tables, and then clambered on the train car. Riding up the mountain, we actually faced backward, which showed us the view of Chattanooga (which David called "the whole, entire world!"). The car has no air conditioning, but the windows were open and the 600 feet/minute speed circulated the air. I can't imagine piling in there with 43 other people in mid-July in Chattanooga, when temperatures can top 100 degrees!

At the top, we had a very steep climb out of the train car. The Incline has the distinction of the steepest ("and safest" they advertise) incline in the world--72.7% incline at the top. That means the train car is parked at almost that angle, and the stairs are designed to aid your ascent and exit. We actually traveled with a small group of elderly people, and I thought for a moment they might not be able to exit!

But they did. I know, because after we walked three blocks to Point Park, where we saw "No Picnicking" signs and then walked back, the group was just finishing up their restroom break and congregating outside the front door of the gift shop. We had planned to picnic at Point Park and then return down the Incline, but we were thrown for a loop when we saw a sign that said, "Pay at visitor's center" and then another one that said, "Steep cliffs and short walls. Pay very close attention to small children." If we had even considered it after these two warnings, the "No picnicking" sign hammered the final nail in the coffin of our Point Park plans.

So we walked three blocks, then walked back, and ended up in the Incline building on their observation deck, where they have two picnic tables set up and a very secure fence that even my adventuresome preschool climbers couldn't conquer. I also bought four slices of fudge while we were waiting for the Incline to depart (once every 30 minutes in September) for $15. I couldn't resist a good bargain. One slice was $6. Four slices for $15?? Sign me up!

After the return trip (where my husband was chastised over the loudspeaker for putting his feet up), we had ice cream at the foot of the mountain. We asked for a kiddie scoop, but were told they only had "Single Scoops." Not only that, the scooper was very generous, and our poor children ended up with ice cream on their faces, on their hands, on their elbows, shirts, shorts, knees. They also ended up with a very nice sugar rush.

All-in-all, in my opinion, the trip suited our family very well. We paid $50 for 20 minutes of train car time. If you're not interested in the Incline itself, you can certainly enjoy the view at the top of Lookout Mountain for the price of a parking meter. Make sure you bring enough quarters, since they have signs posted everywhere that they take only quarters. (It's not downtown, after all!) If your children are older, you might enjoy a tour of Point Park and the Chattanooga Electric Map and Battlefield Museum. That sounded like a real chore to us at this stage! (Our kids are currently 6, 5, 4, 2, and 2.)

For more information, see RideTheIncline.com. You'll have to dig around their website for more information, but it will be worth it when you get to see the whole, entire world from Chattanooga.