Raccoon Mountain

Raccoon Mountain as seen from Google Maps Terrain view

Near Chattanooga, TN you will find Raccoon Mountain.  The mountain is part of the Tennessee River Canyon and it got its name from a mysterious raccoon infestation that occurred in the early 17th Century... or not. The area is home to a tourist attraction that features a cave, gem mining AND a go-cart track!  But, what makes Raccoon Mountain truly special is the large manmade reservoir found on top.  It seems pretty bizarre to find a lake of this size constructed on top of a high plateau like this.  But there's a reason.

Raccoon Mountain Lake

The mountain itself is hollowed out and is home to the Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant. Water is pumped from the Tennessee River up through the mountain and in to the lake on top. When energy is needed, water is released back down through the mountain, passing through giant turbines which generate electricity.  It's a pretty ingenious operation that the raccoons had nothing to do with.

Pump House

Electricity Flowing!

You can take the drive up the mountain and tour the visitor's center on top for free.  But there are no longer any tours down in to the plant deep inside the mountain.  At one point (pre-9/11) you could take the long elevator ride down and take a tour, but today you're limited to just the area on top.  You can also take a drive around the lake and see just how massive it is.

There are also some trails to hike and mountain bike, including one that leads to a nice view. There's also a baseball diamond just in case you get a hankering for hitting some balls while touring the area, though I'm sure it's mainly used by the TVA staff.

View from the top

As you can see from the picture, the views are spectacular from Raccoon Mountain and the river canyon is impressive.  The canyon itself is 26 miles long and it is, without a doubt, underrated as far as canyons go.  You can imagine if this canyon didn't have trees it would fit right at home with the ones found in Utah and Arizona.

Back in the river boat days there was an obstruction along the river called the Suck that made navigating almost impossible.  It was such a famous, or more appropriately, notorious stretch of river that even Thomas Jefferson reportedly knew of it's existence. Rumor has it that once he heard the news, he rubbed his chin and thought "that sounds awful" and went on inventing new things (wait, which one of the Founding Father's invented things?).

You can read a bit more about the canyon on this little informative site called Wikipedia. More information about the mountain and pump station can be found here.

P.S. - we're going to let the fact this is the first post in years just slip right by with only a PS.

Hidden Hollow

Sadly, as I write this, rumor has it that Hidden Hollow no longer exists. Throughout my college days at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, TN, my best friend, Rachel, and I would often shirk our homework responsibilities and escape to this rural retreat located off Mt. Pleasant Road southeast of Cookeville.

Hidden Hollow was created by Arda Lee in the 1970s as a tribute to his mother and is a popular destination at holidays due to the elaborate light displays. The private park includes a 50-foot tall illuminated cross at the top of a mountain (this can be seen from I-40), outdoor wedding chapel, petting zoo, game room, large swings over a pond, and various odd sculptures. Words cannot describe the crazy things you can find at Hidden Hollow. Did I mention that bunny rabbits roam the park? Rachel and I had a theory that Arda Lee had magical powers and misbehaving children were turned into rabbits and doomed to a life of roaming Hidden Hollow.


We'd often go to the park at sunset, and our favorite thing to do while visiting was to swing over the algae-ridden pond at dusk as soon as the millions of Christmas lights illuminated the park for the evening. Then we'd drive up to the top of the mountain where the illuminated cross gleamed against the night sky. Sadly, during our last year in school, Arda Lee passed away and we found the park in major disrepair. Last I heard, the park had closed but was going to be re-opened for weddings and events. I can only hope that the park "art" remains as is for the public to enjoy for years to come. I leave you with some photos of interesting "objects" found on the grounds, and ending with a shot of the cross taken at the top of the mountain.