Photo: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.The place
A waterfall at the end of a cave no one knew existed.
Ruby Falls is an 85-foot waterfall inside Ruby Falls Cave, under Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The cave has electric lights, paved trails and an elevator, and the waterfall can only be seen on a guided tour.
The mountain is limestone, laid down in a shallow sea some 300 to 360 million years ago. Slightly acidic groundwater slowly widened cracks in the rock into passages. The cave holds stalactites, stalagmites, columns, drapery and flowstone, and the falls drop into a vertical shaft at the end of the main passage.
Rainwater that seeps down from the surface feeds the stream. It gathers in a pool, runs on through a deeper pit and comes out as a spring at the foot of the mountain, beside the Tennessee River. Natural flow rises and falls with the seasons, so pumps circulate water to keep the falls running all year.
Discovery and fame
Found by workers who were looking for something else.
In 1905 the natural entrance to the neighboring Lookout Mountain Cave was sealed during the construction of a railway tunnel. In the 1920s a chemist and cave enthusiast, Leo Lambert, formed a company to reopen it as an attraction, with a new entrance higher on the mountain and an elevator for visitors.
In 1928 the crew drilling through the limestone broke into a small passage about 18 inches high and 4 feet wide. Lambert explored the opening and found the waterfall. He later brought his wife Ruby and named it after her. The crew kept digging and reached the original cave, which opened to the public on December 30, 1929. Ruby Falls Cave opened the following year, and by 1935 the first cave had been closed because it was far less popular than Ruby Falls.
It was among the first commercial caves to be lit by electricity. In the 1970s and 1980s billboards reading "See Ruby Falls" began hundreds of miles away along I-75, and the slogan inspired a song, "See Ruby Fall", that Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison co-wrote in the 1960s. Ruby Falls and the Lookout Mountain Caverns complex are a National Historic Landmark, and they are often associated with Rock City, the attraction on top of Lookout Mountain.
Photos
The mountain and the cave.
The round stone tower of the Ruby Falls building, with an outdoor staircase and the Ruby Falls name on the wall. Joel Cruz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.The underground waterfall inside Ruby Falls Cave, lit in blue and pink. Jtesla16, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.A broad flowstone formation with drapery hanging from its edge inside a cave on Lookout Mountain. Yinan Chen, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Go and see it
Practical notes.
Ruby Falls is on Lookout Mountain, above the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. You enter by elevator into the cave. Tours and activities near Ruby Falls.
The waterfall can only be visited on a guided tour. Check the official website for tour times and booking before you go.
Water is circulated by pumps, so the falls run all year even when the cave's natural flow would be low.
Pair it with Rock City, the nearby attraction on top of Lookout Mountain.
Sold by Viator. Prices and review counts checked on 09/09/2026. This is an aerial experience over the Lookout Mountain area; it does not go into the cave.
Questions people ask
Before you go.
Can you visit Ruby Falls without a guide?
No. The waterfall can only be visited on a guided tour. Check the official website for current tour times.
How tall is Ruby Falls?
The waterfall is 85 feet tall and drops into a vertical shaft at the end of the cave's main passage.
How was Ruby Falls found?
In 1928 a crew drilling toward the sealed Lookout Mountain Cave broke into a small passage, and Leo Lambert explored the opening and found the waterfall.
Does the waterfall run all year?
The natural flow depends on the season and would be dry at certain times, but pumps circulate water so the falls keep flowing year-round.
More to see
Around Chattanooga
More things to do around here
Walking tours, day trips and experiences around this area, on GetYourGuide.
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