UTC Outdoors, the official campus recreation and adventure program at UTC, provides students, faculty, and staff with gear rentals and outdoor excursions. Photo by Angela Foster.
At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, one of the easiest ways into Chattanooga’s outdoor culture starts inside the Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC). Through trips, rentals and events, UTC Outdoors helps students find their footing in a city built for climbing, paddling, hiking and exploring
Located on the first floor of the ARC, UTC Outdoors is the ultimate way for students to get more involved in the outdoor aspects of the Chattanooga community, offering multiple ways to explore their interests in the outdoors.
One of the main appeals of UTC Outdoors is the many overnight group trips they plan and execute throughout the school year. For the upcoming fall semester, there are 17 scheduled trips, with trip prices ranging from completely free to $300.
“I think the trips are the best part of what we do,” said UTC Outdoors graduate assistant Sydney Robinson, who has worked with the outdoor recreation program since her freshman year. A native of Columbia, Tennessee, Robinson earned a bachelor’s degree in Sport, Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management in May. ”It’s kind of like our bread and butter. Most of our trips are beginner-friendly, but there is a chance for progression in them. I think that that’s really good because there are students that come on so many of our trips.”
Robinson also knows from personal experience that these trips are a great way for students to meet new friends and feel a sense of community, especially for incoming students.
“The incoming freshmen come in and they sign up for six trips all at once, which is huge,” she said. “You can see them progress throughout the semester in different things and it’s really cool. The overnight trips are really fun. You build a really strong bond with the people that you go with, even if you didn’t know them, because most of these people sign up for these trips not knowing anybody else on them.
“I know so many people who have met their best friends on these trips—and I met my fiancé on one of our trips. So it’s really cool.”
UTC Outdoors’ three-story indoor climbing tower.
If a student is interested in going on a trip but is unsure about committing to a full weekend, UTC Outdoors provides “Micro Adventures.”
“All the micro adventures are free and they are just an easy way to get into the activity before committing to going on a whole trip,” explained Robinson. “They’re just an afternoon.”
As popular as the trips are, they are just one aspect of UTC Outdoors. The program offers many different outdoor necessities for rent, including paddleboards, canoes, climbing shoes, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, crash pads, hammocks, life vests and rain jackets. Bicycles are also a big rental item. Students can rent bikes out for the day for $10, and can also rent them for the entire semester for a flat rate of $65. UTC Outdoors also provides a bike shop where students can sign in and fix their own bikes with as much assistance as needed.
UTC Outdoors also offers activities for students interested in climbing, with a 43-foot top wall that stretches up nearly the entire height of the ARC, and a bouldering room that sets new bouldering routes every week.
“This [bouldering room] is a lot more popular, just because I think it’s a lot less intimidating to people,” Robinson explained. “There’s always a rotation of new routes in, all set by UTC. We also have a bouldering competition in the spring that’s pretty popular. It’s called ‘Battle of the Boulder.’”
More information about UTC Outdoors can be found on the UTC website and the UTC Outdoors Instagram page. Registration for fall semester trips will open up on Monday, Aug. 24.
Robinson hopes that students continue to take advantage of a “really good resource” and learn more about the outdoors and what the Chattanooga-area offers.
“It’s just really nice to see people come in and not really know what they’re doing, and then you just watch their love for the outdoors grow,” she said. “It’s kind of wholesome to see them fall in love with something that I love so much.”
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