It's painted on the roofs of more than 800 barns from Michigan to Texas: "See Rock City." In 1935, as a creative form of advertising, developer Garnet Carter sent painter Clark Byers on the road, offering to paint farmer's barns free, if he could paint three simple words on either side of the roof. Today birdhouses are sold at Rock City, commemorating this successful advertising campaign.

Just a few miles up the mountain from Chattanooga, Tennessee, a day on Lookout Mountain is a unique and memorable excursion worth taking.

Frieda Carter, Garnet's wife, began planting gardens on the Lookout Mountain, Georgia property in the 1920's. Over 400 species of native plants can be seen communing with the pre-historic rock formations. In 1930, Frieda Carter marked the trail that is still used today. Goblin Pass is one of many twists and turns along trail.

To get to Lover's Leap, you must take a bridge. Which one will you take? The sturdy, Stone Bridge or the bouncy Swing-A-Long Bridge? I chose the Swing-A-Long Bridge, a 180' long suspension bridge with spectacular views of the Chattanooga Valley below.

There is nothing more breathtaking and freeing than the view from the top of a mountain. Or, in this case, almost the top of the mountain. To get to Rock City, you don't have to climb, at least not on foot. A well-paved, well-signed two-lane road meanders up the mountain. A free parking lot is the bonus, once you arrive.

Published by Parachute on January 30, 2017: Written by Victoria Hart