Tennessee River Gorge Trust

Thank you to everyone that joined us for Another Gorgeous Evening!

We celebrated the Tennessee River Gorge with our friends and partners at with the upper stretches of this wild, twisting river canyon within sight.

Attention mountain bikers! The Aetna Mountain Trails FUND-RAC-ER is Friday May 15 in partnership with our friends at . To sign up or learn more, check out https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aetnatrails/event/theaetnatrailfund-race-er2026/

The course for this nighttime team race will include a brand new section of the Aetna Mountain Trails before the opening later this summer. Come ride new trails and enjoy the party.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day- including this bald eagle momma from Edwards Point!

The wildlife families of the Tennessee River Gorge are hard at work this spring as deer fawns, turkey poults, squirrel kits, and more make their debuts into the world.

Have you come across this mysterious matter in the forest lately?

Often confused with a fungus, this is a species of slime mold (Fuligo septica) that can actually move along the forest floor! It’s a large single-celled organism that has even been observed moving through mazes to find food in laboratory experiments. Its common names are a bit vulgar, so we’ll let you look them up on your own.

The Aetna Mountain Trails keep getting better thanks to our community! Thank you to our volunteers from Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences for their hard work helping maintaining public trails.

Spring bird banding at the TRGT Bird Observatory!

Pictured here are TRGT ornithologists, Austin and Robert, showing off a Veery and Red-eyed Vireo to a public group. A bird’s wings and tail feathers can often reveal its age thanks to features like molt limits (contrasting retained juvenile feathers and adult feathers).

🌳Happy Earth Day!!!🌎

Take a moment today to get outside and enjoy a piece of wilderness whether it’s a vast expanse of forest or backyard birds.

📷 Kevin Livingood

Have you seen the artwork for the Another Gorgeous Evening Art Auction? Check out the catalog and register for the event through https://www.trgt.org/age

This group of talented artists sought inspiration from our properties to create unique pieces that truly capture the awe-striking characteristics of the Gorge.

A Yellow-breasted Chat feasting on Williams Island blackberries. Their preferred habitat often includes blackberry bushes, so keep an eye out when you’re berry picking this summer!

The Yellow-breasted Chat is a migratory bird that spends its winter months in Mexico and Central America. Each spring, they spread out across much of the United States to breed and raise young. Their preferred habitat often included dense pockets of vegetation.

📷 Austin Young

Your friendly reminder to get outside and find some wildflowers!

Spring has arrived in full force with abundant blooming plants, long-awaited migratory bird arrivals, and seas of green in the forest canopy. Social media doesn’t do this seasonal spectacle justice, so we hope you get outside to witness the explosion of life in person!

📷 Austin Young