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Nickajack Bat Cave: Kayak Wildlife Tour Chattanooga
4.9
157 Ratings
Marion County
Join our Kayak Wildlife Tour in Chattanooga and explore the Nickajack Bat Cave. Learn about gray bats, osprey, and more while enjoying the scenic beauty of Nickajack Lake. Witness the awe-inspiring sight of thousands of gray bats leaving the cave at sunset.
Duration:
2 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Mapleview Road - Join Chattanooga Guided Adventures to see endangered grey bats begin their nightly hunt for insects! The Nickajack Bat Cave and Wildlife Refuge in the Tennessee River is the summer roost for up to 100,000 of these animals. These tours run from late April to early October. Enjoy a 3-mile paddle around Nickajack Lake to the cave entrance during which you may be lucky enough to observe such local treats as osprey and bald eagles. Take in the thrill as thousands of bats leave the cave at dusk. Reflect with your new friends about the dangers white-nose syndrome poses to the bat population and its impact on the ecology of other species in the area. Bring your binoculars and enjoy the sights on this bat cave kayak tour. This trip is a fun way to meet new friends or get your old friends off of the couch to try something new. This trip runs on Eastern Time.
What's Included
- Kayak
- Lifejacket
- Paddle
- Experienced guide
- Group safety gear including Throwbag, Towline, and First Aid Kit
- Kayak light for visibility
Additional Information
Embark on a fantastic three-mile journey just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee at Nickajack Lake where you’ll become acquainted with various wildlife such as gray bats, osprey, cliff swallows, and blue heron. Your guide will explore their interconnections, the efforts in place to conserve these species, and how you can contribute to the survival of the fascinating endangered gray bat. Get a taste of the history of the Tennessee River and its transformation. The spectacular highlight of the expedition is witnessing 100,000 gray bats exiting the cave at dusk.
Please note, this excursion operates on Eastern Time.
Location
Mapleview Road
Please Note THIS TRIP RUNS ON EASTERN TIME.
Meet us at the Mapleview Recreation Area in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Our guides will have kayaks laid out in the grassy area next to the boat ramp and swimming beach. Please arrive 10 min before trip departure time to get checked in and sign waivers.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(157 Ratings)
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Martin_d
Jun 12, 2024
Great Experience! - Our guide was great and personable. He knew the history of the area, and the perfect spot to see the bats.
Review provided by Viator
Lauramf6375tg
Jun 9, 2024
Can’t go wrong with Chattanooga Guided Adventures! - I cannot recommend this company enough!! I have never kayaked before and they took great care to teach me and look out for everyone in the group. The guides were awesome and put us in the perfect place to have an amazing experience with the bats flying around. I am 100% doing this again soon!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Holly_t
Jun 7, 2024
I loved the beautiful... - I loved the beautiful views and the interesting information shared by our guide Bill. Definitely a memorable experience!
Review provided by Viator
37hollyo
Jun 5, 2024
Bat cave tour - This was an experience ill never forget, im already an animal person who loves the facts and figures about any species but this was different! Our tour guide was very knowledgable about the wildlife and eager to help if there was any issue with our kayaks.
Its very beginner friendly, not a lot excersize paddling required.
We did the 7:30 start and it was the best! The bats flew out of the cave around the sunset time and there were whole swarms of them around us buzzing by catching insects!
Very neat, great vlog footage! We'll be posting a vlog including this experience on my YouTube channel @HollyOwens11
Thanks from Holly & Thomas for a unique and memorable time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Speechiev
Jun 3, 2024
Bats , birds and beauty - Simply wonderful trip with Thomas our brilliant guide. The lake was stunning and the bats and birdlife amazing . Visiting the lake in the evening at sunset was a magical experience and we had the lake to ourselves , kayaking was easy and I can’t recommend this trip highly enough .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Phil
May 31, 2024
Fun Bat tour - Had a great time. Guides extremely knowledgeable about the area. Only disappointing part of the trip was that I was in a tandem kayak. Did not expect that. Should have option to pick single or tandem.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joshua_h
May 28, 2024
Bats and Sunset - Awesome experience. I was a complete newcomer to kayaking and me and my wife had an amazing time. I would highly recommend this to anyone both for the bats and for a peaceful quiet sunset on the lake.
Review provided by Viator
671kasieb
May 28, 2024
We had a blast! - I love bats! There were so many!!! This tour was amazing. Our guide was awesome. He was so friendly and helpful. He was very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area. We had never been in a kayak before today, but we learned quickly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anne_k
May 25, 2024
Beautiful kayak experience - Anne and Bill were wonderful guides! Very knowledgeable and set a good pace. I was a tad concerned that it might be too strenuous, but it was just a delight to be on the lake at sunset.. and seeing the bats was terrific!
Review provided by Viator
David_a
Jun 8, 2024
Great fun however??? A little disapointed... - This was a trip we have been looking forward to for a long time. The guides were great. The experience was good, however .......
From the beginning the trip, the guides state there will be 100,000. Grey Bats flying out of the cave entrance. They stated they all come out at once at the same time nightly.
So our expectations were set at this is what would happen.
Well actually we all were at the cave entrance right before the flight of the bats to start.
At the moment they were supposed to swoop from the cave our guides shifted gears and had us paddle about 50 yards away and in front of a tree line stating the bats will need cover from predators and actually fly from cave straight to woods and swoop over out boats at our new tree front location.
Now the words of 100,000 bats are our expectations because those words were used repeatedly during the trip.
We maybe seen 150 bats . Which was a great disappointment from what the hype was.
I understand nature is nature and with the great hype of 100,000 bats all at once expectations, of course I really expected 30 to 50,000 bats at least. Nope not even close.
With all this said.
The weekend was great we live this area and we will return as much as we can for just the wonderful Tennessee outdoors many things to do ....
The kayak trip was fun , the people and guides were wonderful.
My recommendation would be for the guides just to set expectations up from the beginning.
Please do not think I'm a jerk for through all this I left each guide a 50 dollar bill.
Thank you
David &Rene
Review provided by Viator
