Tennessee River Gorge Trust

09/03/2026

Our fall season for public bird banding is just around the corner!

Join us for a boat ride down to TRGT’s Bird Observatory to watch our research team capture and band wild birds for scientific research. This research both helps advance wildlife science and informs our land management decisions in the gorge. Hope to see you there!

To learn more and register, visit https://www.trgt.org/gorgeousadventures

09/01/2026

Wendell Berry, writer, farmer, and conservationist, spent his lifetime compellingly interpreting our relationship with the natural world. Yesterday evening, he passed away at the age of 92. In honor of Berry, spend an uninterrupted moment outside today and leave everything else in its place asleep like cattle.

The Peace of Wild Things
By Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

08/31/2026

Botanists and biologists in their happy place!

Did you know, TRGT lands host some of the largest known populations of the federally threatened plant large-flowered skullcap? Pictured here are TRGT interns Coral and Dulce joining Claire Wainwright, recovery botanist with TDEC, to conduct field surveys.

08/28/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating the opening of the second phase of the Aetna Mountain Trails!

This trail expansion was community driven from the start, offering a unique addition to our region’s existing trail network. If you don’t have any weekend plans yet, we know a good spot to ride or hike…. 👀

📷 Matt Hamilton with Chattanooga Times Free Press

08/19/2026

We hope to see you there!

Aetna Mountain’s trail system is expanding with nearly finished phase two trails by the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. These new adaptive mountain biking trails add four miles, incorporating beginner and intermediate loops, and will officially open August 21st at 3:30 p.m. from the River Gorge Drive...

08/18/2026

🤝Tag your ride or die who you’d fly into a mist net for if you heard them calling.

🪶Did you know…

📢Tufted Titmouse are highly social and vocal songbirds. Their vocalizations will often attract others into the area during bird banding operations and sometimes even lead to a flock of titmouse following our researchers back to the banding station. This behavior also makes catching multiple titmouse at once quite common.

📷 Ollie LaCroix

08/12/2026

The Aetna Mountain Trails map is about to get a lot bigger on August 21 at 3:30 pm!

Join us at the Aetna Mountain Trailhead off River Gorge Drive to celebrate the opening of a second phase of trails (4 additional miles). Be sure to bring your bike or hiking shoes. Festivities will begin at 3:30 pm on August 21 followed by a casual group mountain bike ride. Everyone is welcome to hike or bike the trails following a brief ceremony.

📷 Andy Ramirez

08/11/2026

Welcome the Gorge’s newest resident!

Last month, our team encountered this young’un taking a dip in the river near Suck Creek. Did you know, fawns retain their white spots for roughly 90-120 days as a form of camouflage imitating sun-dappled light on the forest floor? Plus, they are born with minimal scent to help avoid unwelcome visitors.

📷 Coral Quering

07/29/2026

Mark your calendars! New trails opening on August 21 at 3:30 pm EST.

The second phase of the Aetna Mountain Trails is almost complete! These new multi-use trails will add 4 miles, doubling the size of the Aetna Mountain Trails system. All new trails have been built to adaptive mountain biking standards and include both a beginner-friendly green loop and intermediate blue loop.

Thank you to the Riverview Foundation, Hamilton County Mayor’s Office , Black Creek Chattanooga , Gearhead Outfitters - Rock/Creek Outfitters, the Mingus family, and the Aetna Mountain Trails Ambassadors for making these trails possible!

07/17/2026

Definitely a red card…

We love that visitors felt a connection to this special spot in the gorge, but this iconic water oak at a popular TRGT destination was not the right canvas for J and H to memorialize their love.

We hope this incident serves as a reminder for others to leave no trace when exploring the outdoors on conserved land.