Destination: Rock City

If you had a farm between the 1930s and 1960s, and your barn faced a country road or a blacktop highway within a day’s drive of the Georgia-Tennessee border, and if your barn was in serious need of a free paint job and you wouldn’t mind a bit of extra cash, a Tennessee entrepreneur named Garnet Carter was your new best friend. For some sort of financial arrangement plus free passes to his wife Frieda’s quirky attraction high atop Georgia’s Lookout Mountain, your freshly painted barn might proclaim in colossal black and white letters “See Rock City,” or “See 7 States from Rock City,” or “200 miles to Beautiful Rock City.” 

For a family headed out on a road trip in those years (and even today) part of the anticipation was being the first one to spot a “See Rock City” sign. But no worries – there’d be another one around the next bend. At one time there were about 900 hand-painted “See Rock City” barns within a thousand miles of Lookout Mountain. Many were lost to interstates and gentrification, but when you encounter one the magic is still there. Nowadays you’re also sure to spot miniature barn-like “See Rock City” birdhouses on tall poles (which happen to be available in Rock City gift shops).

So what is this Rock City anyway? Well, it’s a natural wonder, pure and simple, and also a kind of fairytale land tucked into natural caverns, behind red painted garden gates, and through mysterious, ancient-looking stone arches. To reach the peak of Lookout Mountain, with its 90-foot sheer-drop waterfall, legend-infused Lover’s Leap, and stunning views, the Carters carved narrow trails through the 200 million-year-old limestone rock and primeval forests, between giant natural boulders, and across trickling springs. They put in flagstone steps and edged the trails in native stone walls. Where a path wasn’t possible, they built a bridge. The iconic one is the 180-foot-long Swing-A-Long Bridge (oh yes, it swings), and in every possible spot, Frieda created rock gardens and planted wildflowers. And then they opened their Enchanted Trail to the public.

To delight children, the Carters re-created elaborate black-lighted, Day-Glo painted scenes from beloved storybooks and fairy tales inside a network of natural caverns. Because Frieda collected gnome figures from her native Germany, gnomes became a Rock City thing. Throughout the park, visitors can spot the red-hatted creatures napping in grottos or going about their daily gnome business.

I wonder if the couple ever imagined the legend they’d create, or the picture-perfect memories of generations to come. I hadn’t had occasion to “See Rock City” since I was 10 or 12 years old. In the meantime I became a travel writer, with interests skewed more toward African safaris, Mediterranean isles, and sophisticated resorts. Besides, Rock City belonged to my childhood, not now. Still, when a road trip last year took my grownup partner and me right past a big old “See Rock City” barn, we made a snap decision – as one can do on vacation – and detoured west. As I watched some kids giggle their way through the narrow crevice called Fat Man’s Squeeze (probably not so P.C. these days), I was shocked to feel the same decades-old thrill. Even my grownup companion was charmed by the trails, the vistas, and surprises. 

We had places to be, so we didn’t linger at Café 7 for a platter of fried green tomatoes (me) or Southern fried chicken (him). But I bought the postcards. I bought the T-shirt. And if there were no watchful condo association in my life, I suspect I’d have bought a “See Rock City” bird feeder for my garden. 

Summer Music Weekends 

When there’s no major event in the park, like the holiday Enchanted Garden of Lights, Rocktoberfest, or Earth Dayz, you can do the Rock City experience in about two hours. But plan to spend half a day if you’re lucky enough to visit during Summer Music Weekends. There’s live bluegrass and folk music throughout the park, plus raptor shows (small extra admission) and more, including craft projects for kids like glow-in-the-dark firefly jars. 

Oh, there’s that memory surge again. Now I want to catch (and release) some fireflies. 

Visit www.SeeRockCity.com.