Nickajack Cave

[2] The cave took its name from the Chickamauga Cherokee town of Nickajack,[3] located between its mouth and the Tennessee River.

Some time in late 1863 or very early 1864, this area was occupied by Federal troops and mining ceased.

Musician Johnny Cash visited the cave in 1967, intending to commit suicide inside it, but had a spiritual experience there that caused him to stop his habit of drug abuse.

[2] Country singer Gary Allan recorded a song about this experience on his 2005 album Tough All Over.

By the 1940s, the cave was being run by Leo Lambert, who is also known for developing nearby Chattanooga tourist attraction Ruby Falls.

[7] In the early 1960s, before the cave was flooded, the ruins of the gatehouse were present and in concrete floors were evident in the front passages.

The cave is a maternity roost where pregnant female gray bats come each spring to give birth and raise their young.

There is an observation deck adjacent to the mouth, where visitors can watch the bats leave at dusk to go feed.