Our Chattanooga trip was a weekend of cave exploration.  First, was the aforementioned Scary Gnome Cave at Rock City.  After Rock City we headed to Ruby Falls and on our way out of town we hit Raccoon Caverns.  Today we are going to compare the two cave experiences side by side in the ULTIMATE CHATTANOOGA CAVE SHOWDOWN.

We will start with Ruby Falls.  A little way down lookout mountain (on the way back from rock city) is a curious castle like structure that is the entrance to Ruby Falls.

After waiting in line for a little while, Kenneth from 30 Rock takes your ticket and guides you into the elevator (no joke…Brandon and I instantly looked at each other and said “Kenneth!” in unison).  Basically you walk in a long line of people through a dark underground hallway that somewhat resembles a cave until you arrive at Ruby falls.  It is not your typical cave tour experience with awesome cave formations.  The main attraction is Ruby Falls, a 145-foot tall underground waterfall with a (wait for it…) A LIGHT SHOW!

My favorite experience at Ruby Falls was when I was trying to take a picture of the falls. I couldn’t get a good one because the crowd in front of us were constantly holding up their iphones and taking video.  I turned to Brandon to tell him of my troubles and a man walks around me, stops two feet ahead of me and holds up a gigantic ipad. Ha!  That’ll teach me to complain!  In the end I just went with the iphones and incorporated them into my photo.

We couldn’t leave without an awesome photo op!

Next we have Raccoon Mountain Caverns.

Our tour group was a lot smaller than it was at Ruby Falls. We were guided through the caves by an adorable young man who was very knowledgeable and patiently answered all of our cave questions. There were all kinds of formations and large open caverns within the cave.  They even offer a more intense expedition into the unlit areas of the cave, but you have to make advance reservations.

Both experiences were pretty cool, but if you’re looking for a more authentic “cave-ey” experience, Raccoon Caverns wins by a landslide!

In the end no Chattanooga Cave Experience is complete without a trip to Lupi’s Pizza.