Chattanooga Times Free Press

Chattanoog­a is in the running for Top Adventure Town

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine’s online contest is still underway

- BY MARY FORTUNE STAFF WRITER

Chattanoog­a is up against seven other cities in the Top Adventure Town contest by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine in its 10th annual Top Adventure Towns Contest.

In voting that runs through Sept. 7, the magazine’s readers select their favorites to ultimately choose the region’s best towns for outdoor adventure in four categories: large (population 75,001+), medium (population 16,001-75,000), small (population 3,001-16,000) and tiny (population less than 3,000).

The contest is the latest recognitio­n

of the region’s fun factor and outdoor recreation options. In July, the Tennessee Aquarium came in fifth in USA Today’s 10 Best Reader’s Choice awards to determine the nation’s premiere aquariums.

In October, Chattanoog­a’s natural attraction­s and public spaces landed the city on the top 10 list of best small cities in the U.S. in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards. The Scenic City came in at number eight, tucked between Greenville, South Carolina, and Monterey, California.

Charleston, South Carolina, topped the list.

In March 2019, Chattanoog­a was ranked among the top 100 best places to live in America in a study by Livability.com of more than 1,000 U.S. cities. And In both 2011 and 2015, Chattanoog­a was voted ‘Best Town Ever’ by readers of Outside magazine.

In the Top Adventure Town contest, the Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine team narrowed the field to 100 contenders for 2020. The towns are mountain biking meccas, whitewater havens, climbing paradises, hiking nirvanas, booming craft beer epicenters and live music hubs, according to an announceme­nt from the magazine.

In the third round of selection, 32 towns remain in four categories, with Chattanoog­a going up against cities in Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina in the large category. The four winning towns will be featured in the November issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine.

The contest includes towns in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. In 2019, Roanoke, Virginia, took home the top spot in the large town category, while Knoxville was a runner-up.

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