Chattanooga 2026 — Two-Day Trip Schedule

Chattanooga 2026 — Two-Day Schedule

8th Grade trip · Tue May 12 → Wed May 13, 2026 · Day-by-day plan for students and families

Quick overview. Two days, one overnight at the Marriott Downtown Chattanooga. Activities: Blue Ridge zipline + aerial park, Tennessee Aquarium, Southside Social (games + bowling + dinner), Ruby Falls, Rock City, and a stop at Buc-ee's on the way home. Departure from school at 6:30 AM Tuesday; return ~5:00 PM Wednesday.

Tuesday, May 12

Time	Where	What's happening
6:00 AM	School	Bag check & load. Be on time — buses leave promptly.
6:30 AM	Bus	Roll toward Blue Ridge (~1.5 hr drive).
8:30 AM	Blue Ridge Zipline + Aerial Park	One group at the zipline first, one at the aerial course; we swap halfway through the morning.
~11:30 AM	Zipline base	Pizza lunch (2 slices + a drink per student). Bathroom break before the bus.
12:30 PM	Bus	To Chattanooga (~1.25 hr).
~1:30 PM	Tennessee Aquarium	Two-hour tour. Aquarium Scavenger Hunt runs during the visit — see below.
~3:00 PM	Marriott Downtown	Hotel check-in. Hotel rules read before you exit the bus.
6:30 PM	Hotel	Required: change clothes. Water bottles handed out. Be in lobby by 6:45 PM.
7:00 PM	Walk to Southside Social	~15-minute walk in groups.
7:00–9:00 PM	Southside Social	Games (top floor): ping pong, billiards, darts, skeeball, claw, pinball. Each student gets quarters. Dinner buffet at ~8 PM (queso, mozz sticks, wings, chicken fingers, sliders, fries, Caesar salad, chocolate chip cookie cake). Then flip to bowling on the lower lanes.
9:45 PM	Southside Social	Aquarium scavenger-hunt winners announced.
10:00 PM	Walk back to hotel	~15 min. Front-counter snack OK before 10:15.
10:30 PM	Hotel	In rooms, lights out, doors stay closed.

Time

Where

What's happening

6:00 AM

School

Bag check & load. Be on time — buses leave promptly.

6:30 AM

Bus

Roll toward Blue Ridge (~1.5 hr drive).

8:30 AM

Blue Ridge Zipline + Aerial Park

One group at the zipline first, one at the aerial course; we swap halfway through the morning.

~11:30 AM

Zipline base

Pizza lunch (2 slices + a drink per student). Bathroom break before the bus.

12:30 PM

Bus

To Chattanooga (~1.25 hr).

~1:30 PM

Tennessee Aquarium

Two-hour tour. Aquarium Scavenger Hunt runs during the visit — see below.

~3:00 PM

Marriott Downtown

Hotel check-in. Hotel rules read before you exit the bus.

6:30 PM

Hotel

Required: change clothes. Water bottles handed out. Be in lobby by 6:45 PM.

7:00 PM

Walk to Southside Social

~15-minute walk in groups.

7:00–9:00 PM

Southside Social

Games (top floor): ping pong, billiards, darts, skeeball, claw, pinball. Each student gets quarters. Dinner buffet at ~8 PM (queso, mozz sticks, wings, chicken fingers, sliders, fries, Caesar salad, chocolate chip cookie cake). Then flip to bowling on the lower lanes.

9:45 PM

Southside Social

Aquarium scavenger-hunt winners announced.

10:00 PM

Walk back to hotel

~15 min. Front-counter snack OK before 10:15.

10:30 PM

Hotel

In rooms, lights out, doors stay closed.

Wednesday, May 13

Time	Where	What's happening
6:45 AM	Hotel	Boys' wake-up. Breakfast 7 AM, 30 minutes.
7:00 AM	Hotel	Girls' wake-up. Breakfast 7:30 AM. Pack everything before breakfast.
7:55 AM	Lobby	Load buses.
8:00 AM	Bus	To Ruby Falls.
8:30–9:00 AM	Ruby Falls	Cave tour in three small groups (elevator capacity limits us to 7 at a time). Each tour is ~2 hours. Gift shop afterward.
11:15 AM	Green space across from Rock City	Outdoor lunch (subs). Ultimate-frisbee game while we wait for food.
12:00 PM	Rock City	Self-guided, three trails. Rock City Photo Adventure runs here — see below.
2:00 PM	Front courtyard	Restrooms and bus load.
3:00 PM	Buc-ee's	30-minute stop. Restrooms first, then shopping. School-appropriate purchases only; anything edible must be resealable (lid-with-straw drinks are not resealable).
3:30 PM	Bus home	~1 hr 15 min back.
~4:30 PM	Bus	Students text/call parents at the 30-min-out mark. Clean up the bus.
~5:00 PM	School parking lot	Pickup. ~30 minutes earlier than last year's return.

Time

Where

What's happening

6:45 AM

Hotel

Boys' wake-up. Breakfast 7 AM, 30 minutes.

7:00 AM

Hotel

Girls' wake-up. Breakfast 7:30 AM. Pack everything before breakfast.

7:55 AM

Lobby

Load buses.

8:00 AM

Bus

To Ruby Falls.

8:30–9:00 AM

Ruby Falls

Cave tour in three small groups (elevator capacity limits us to 7 at a time). Each tour is ~2 hours. Gift shop afterward.

11:15 AM

Green space across from Rock City

Outdoor lunch (subs). Ultimate-frisbee game while we wait for food.

12:00 PM

Rock City

Self-guided, three trails. Rock City Photo Adventure runs here — see below.

2:00 PM

Front courtyard

Restrooms and bus load.

3:00 PM

Buc-ee's

30-minute stop. Restrooms first, then shopping. School-appropriate purchases only; anything edible must be resealable (lid-with-straw drinks are not resealable).

3:30 PM

Bus home

~1 hr 15 min back.

~4:30 PM

Bus

Students text/call parents at the 30-min-out mark. Clean up the bus.

~5:00 PM

School parking lot

Pickup. ~30 minutes earlier than last year's return.

The two game-style activities

Aquarium Scavenger Hunt — Tuesday afternoon

Digital. Posted to the 8th-grade Google Classroom (dummy class titled Canvas — chaperones add students).

You'll have a partner (your roommate). A few rooms have three, in which case you go as a trio.
Each item on the list is a picture — and at least one of you has to be IN the picture for it to count.
Every photo = 1 point.
Top 5 pairs win snack gift baskets, announced that evening at Southside Social.

Rock City Photo Adventure — Wednesday afternoon

Same idea, three trails of Rock City.

Trail features are signed — Grand Corridor, Goblin Underpass, Hall of the Mountain King, etc. Each one you photograph (with at least one of you in the picture) = 1 point.
Bonus: 7 hidden gnomes scattered through the trails — must be IN the picture with the gnome to count. Worth more than trail features. Zoom in if you have to.
Hints: there's a gnome called Fable the Storyteller in a gathering space, and one called Edwards Crafters at the Hall of the Mountain King.
Top 8 pairs win Buc-ee's gift cards — handed out the next stop.

Hotel rules

What to bring

If you're a parent reading this

Pickup is at the school parking lot ~5:00 PM Wednesday May 13, about 30 minutes earlier than last year's return. Your student will text or call you at the 30-min-out mark from the bus. Chaperones will visually verify each parent before releasing a student to a vehicle.