The Ultimate Open Jaw Road Trip: Tennessee

Chattanooga

Tucked into the state’s southeast corner, Chattanooga is a city that knows how to enjoy the outdoors — and a lot of those adventures happen on the Tennessee River, which cuts right through town.

Getting here: Fly into Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) on Allegiant, American, Delta or United, with non-stop flights from hubs like Dallas, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Orlando.

Getting around: All the major national chains have rental counters at CHA.

Where you’re staying: The loft-style rooms at the Hotel Clemons include a kitchen, which is nice when making a good cup of pour-over on the road or stocking the fridge with a midnight snack, and a large dining area so you can spread out. The rooms and airy lobby have an industrial look with soaring ceilings, but they’re tempered with a comfortable vibe. Expect bright artwork on the walls, a spacious lobby with plenty of people at the bar or around the foosball and ping pong tables, access to restaurants at street level and parking in a public garage a few steps away.

What you’re doing: If you’re looking for a workout within walking distance, High Point Climbing and Fitness is less than a mile away from your hotel, with everything from bouldering to outdoor walls and gear rentals. Don’t let the Kid Zone fool you — there are routes here that will have you looking down on Broad Street. Back on terra firma, head out for a hike in Cloudland Canyon State Park, which is technically in Georgia and a 30-minute ride. It has 64 miles of pathways, including the challenging Waterfalls Trail, a two-mile hike that includes 600 steps to climb into the canyon to see the Cherokee and Hemlock Falls. While you’re in the Peach State, you’ll want to sign all the waivers you can at Lookout Mountain Flight Park where you can hang glide and paraglide with some of the best views over Chattanooga.

Back in town, do as the locals do and paddle the Tennessee River. L2 Outside rents SUPs in the middle of the city, where you can head out to explore Maclellan Island — a nearly 19-acre nature sanctuary — float under bridges and by the impressive sandstone cliffs holding up Hunter Museum of American Art. If you’re a kid at heart and enjoy either trucks or trains, Chattanooga has a museum for both. The International Towing and Recovery Museum has about two dozen old tow trucks on display, some dating back to 1913. The Tennessee Valley Railroad offers rides on old trains.

Where you’re unwinding: While Tennessee might be famous for whiskey, Chattanooga is a town built on breweries, including Naked River Brewing Company that has an impressive tap lineup and all the stainless-steel tanks that answer the question, “Is this stuff actually brewed here?” The food here leans heavy on smoked meats, cooked over white oak. Nearby Wanderlinger Brewing Company might be the only craft brewer where you’ll go for the garlicky ramen as much as the beer. For cocktails, Unknown Caller is a dimly lit and moody speakeasy (there’s a phone booth you need to access to get in), but the bartenders here blow bubbles between making drinks, so it’s not taking itself too seriously. Some of the city’s best live music happens over beers at Hi-Fi Clyde’s, which might have some of the finest neon signage you’ve ever seen.

Where you’re eating: If the biscuits don’t draw you to the Bluegrass Grill, then the corned beef hash topped with Swiss might at Chattanooga’s best breakfast spot. Plan to arrive early and fight for elbow room with the locals. For a slap in the face of ’90s nostalgia and some of the best sandwiches in the city, Lil Mama’s Chicago Style Hoagy has generously portioned heroes that, thanks to its roots, come piled high with shredded lettuce and pickled peppers. If you’re not feeling the “Full House” meal with four hoagies or the smaller “Simpsons” family meal, you can also bite into a Vienna hot dog, served in the classic Chicago style. For dinner, Little Coyote, which focuses on smoked meats and tortillas, is worth the 10-minute drive from the hotel for its patio that offers views of Lookout Mountain. A bit closer to town but still in the realm of tacos is Taqueria Jalisco Ania, which started as a food truck before growing into a trendy restaurant. Try the tortas featuring pulled pork or chorizo and Mexican-style street tacos.

When it comes time to head out of Chattanooga, get on I-24 to Nashville for about a two-hour drive to continue on this Tennessee road trip.

Nashville

You know about the music, but the capital has a growing culinary scene that will keep you busy even if you don’t know who Johnny Cash is (though shame on you). Unlike Chattanooga, where you can play meals and entertainment by ear, you’ll need a plan in Nashville because the secret to one of the South’s best cities is out.

Where you’re staying: Technically part of the Marriott family, the Noelle feels far too unique to be painted with the cookie-cutter brush. The bones of the building date back to the 1930s and lean heavily on local art and artists, which along with the art deco styling give the 224 rooms a luxe feel, right down to the marble bathrooms. The location in downtown has you close to big sites like the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is only about 10 minutes away. The price for that — and some of the amenities like a solid restaurant in the basement, a rooftop bar where you’ll find guests and locals mixing it up and a coffee shop at street level — is reflected in the parking, which runs about $55 overnight.

What you’re doing: Noelle puts the music bucket list experiences so close to your room you could jog back to get an iPhone charger. Start at the Country Music Hall of Fame, an iconic building that has a few interesting exhibits inside, like “Night Train to Nashville,” which digs into the obscure rhythm and blues scene of the 1940s and ’50s. Other installations take a contemporary look at country music through the lens of Taylor Swift, Jelly Roll and Luke Combs. Nearby, RCA Studio B offers a look at what came to define the Nashville sound, so you can stand where Elvis, Dolly and Waylon did. If you’re more Man in Black than Elvis, The Johnny Cash Museum is a smaller and far more intimate environment that looks at Cash’s life, from his Air Force days to that prison concert tour, using the largest collection of memorabilia and artifacts in the world. The biggest of them all will require a car ride; Grand Ole Opry is about 20 minutes outside of town. What started as a radio show in 1925 helped put Nashville on the music map by branding country music to the rest of the United States. You can take daytime tours or ones after the show, though you will need a ticket to the performance for the latter. If museum hopping gets a little stuffy, take a stroll through Cumberland Park, a 6.5-acre green space with views of Pedestrian Bridge and the city’s skyline.

Where you’re unwinding: It’s time to see how Music City lives up to the hype with some live performances. You should walk the Honky Tonk Highway on Lower Broadway for the experience of music pumped out onto the street until 3 a.m., but it can feel a little like Epcot. For honest bluegrass, check out The Station Inn within the Gulch neighborhood, a walkable swath of industrial area that’s full of live music spots, breweries and restaurants. But if swing music and cheap beer are more your speed, Robert’s Western World has a mix of country fans, college kids and tourists taking in talented bands with a friendly staff and great burgers. You can still find smaller venues where the focus is less on the drinks and more on the talent on stage. The Bluebird Cafe checks that box with fewer than 100 seats; this non-profit is where Taylor Swift got her start, along with Vince Gill and Lady Antebellum.

Where you’re eating: If you timed your arrival from Chattanooga correctly, you’re in town before hotel check-in so you might as well spend the morning tucking into a classic southern breakfast at Monell’s, which is housed inside a Victorian-era building that dates back to 1905. But if biscuits and gravy and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with locals sound a bit too heavy, there’s Yeast Nashville. This bakery’s two outposts have display cases full of light and airy kolache, a Danish-like yeasted dough filled with fruit or cheese. You’re going to hear a lot about Hot Chicken, the city’s iconic fried fowl served on sliced white bread. Prince’s Hot Chicken is often credited as the origin source, developed around 1945. The dish is so popular now that chains like KFC and Shake Shack have offered versions that can’t compare to the original.

But Nashville has more than Southern staples. Kisser, a neighborhood cafe, focuses on Japanese comfort food like beef udon and sweet potato salad with miso in a small but wide-open dining room with a full view of the chefs. Locust continues that theme, where chef/owner Trevor Moran cut his teeth at Noma in Copenhagen. There you’ll find dumplings, kakigori, cups of sourdough soup and a modern version of shrimp toast tucked into a dough, creating more of a purse. If you’ve come to Nashville looking for the meats, you’ll find them at the upscale Pelican & Pig where the beating heart is a wood-fired hearth outfitted with racks and food suspended from cables. Chefs use it for everything from homemade focaccia to pork chops, rib eyes and garlic roasted Yukon golds.

If you’ve got time after checking out, you can explore some of the Natchez Trace scenic parkway, which ends in Nashville. Find it about 17 miles southwest of the city, following I-40 west to exit 192 McCrory Lane, and then about five miles after that you’ll find the entrance. Native Americans, Europeans and soldiers used this 444-mile stretch of road, which is free of commercial traffic, to weave all the way down to Natchez, Louisiana. Today, it’s enjoyed by hikers, bikers and folks on horses, with the opportunity to pull off and do some hiking. A more direct route is taking I-40 West for about three hours to Memphis.

Memphis

A lot of what Nashville is celebrated for today got its roots in Memphis, which played a big role in blues, rock, hip-hop and soul. And that’s even before you talk about barbecue and Civil Rights.

Getting here: Fly from Memphis International Airport (MEM) on Allegiant, American, Delta, Southwest and United with non-stops from hubs like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Getting around: All the major national chains have rental counters at MEM.

Where you’re staying: A few blocks off the Mississippi, Arrive has a youthful, industrial aesthetic that warms up with vintage touches, all in an ideal location to catch Beale Street and important museums. Rooms have high ceilings — thanks to the bones of an old building — and the lobby is usually bustling with a bakery, coffee bar and furniture that almost encourages you to kick your feet up. Valet the car for a few days to avoid dealing with meter feeding on the street.

What you’re doing: Just behind the hotel is the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, the site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. During about two hours, you’ll read and experience exhibits, like walking onto a replica of the bus Rosa Parks took a stand on and a look into Dr. King’s motel room 306. The collection brings to life the African American story, from slave trade routes marked on the floor to smart tables that explore poverty, women’s rights, war and integration. The U.S. Civil Rights Trail — which spans 15 states with a collection of the churches, courthouses, schools, museums and landmarks that played a role in the social justice movement in the 1950s and ’60s — has eight locations in the city, including the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, which displays the work of Ernest Withers Sr., a photojournalist who documented the South during the Civil Rights era in a career that spanned more than 60 years and nearly two million images.

The Blues Hall of Fame is around the corner from the Arrive, and both serious and casual fans can appreciate about 10 galleries fitted with touchscreens that play music and video, walking you through the history through framed instruments, records, costumes and photos. About a 30-minute walk from the hotel is the mile-long Big River Crossing, which you can walk across to see the Memphis skyline, Ol’ Man River and the floodplains of Arkansas. After the sun sets, the neon (and music) of the nearly two-mile-long Beale Street is hard to miss with its bars, shops and cultural touchstones like the home of William Handy. The museum delves into the legacy of the “Father of the Blues,” who wrote “The Memphis Blues.”

Where you’re unwinding: Earnestine & Hazel’s may or may not be haunted, but it certainly is a pharmacy and a former brothel that turned into a live music bar that might also have the best burger in town with a patty, griddle onions, American cheese (the faker the better), onions and whatever is in their “Soul Sauce.” This dive bar has affordable drinks, good music and a chance to chat with the locals. For a bit more sophistication in the cocktails, Hen House has a bourbon-based Elvis cocktail and the rum-infused Tiny Dancer, along with shareable plates like truffle fries and chips with guac. If you’ve made it out visit Sun Studios to see where the legends (B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison) went to work, on your way back, stop into Inkwell and ask for a Harlem Renaissance, made with rye, amaro and bitters. If you want a little bit of everything (musical history, music, food, beer and cocktails), Hernando’s Hide-A-Way is worth the ride south, where there’s a roster of musicians that roll in to play where Elvis swung his hips and Cash sang his truth.

Where you’re eating: Start your day at Bryant’s Breakfast, which has been around since the late ’60s. You’ll walk it off later, so try the house-made biscuits with country ham, pork tenderloin or smoked sausage. Nashville has its hot chicken, and Memphis has Gus’s Fried Chicken, which serves old-school, hand-battered, spicy fried chicken that isn’t coated. And because this is the South, a gallery of pies are available by the slice, including the grandest of them all: coconut. Despite the popularity of that chicken, Memphis loves its barbecue — and if you ask a dozen locals what spot’s the best, you’ll get 13 answers. A safe bet is Cozy Corner Restaurant, family run since the late ’70s; its owner was inducted into the barbecue hall of fame back in 2020. The menu covers everything, like pig, poultry and beef (not to mention bologna). The other barbecue experience to look into is the opposite of low and slow. They’ve been cooking ribs hot and fast since the ’40s at Charlie Vergos Rendezvous where, four generations in, the family still runs it, making ribs and pork shoulder with a Memphis-style dry rub.

Check out, and it’s a quick 30-minute ride to Memphis International Airport.