Interstate 24 — Pulley's Mill, IL to Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel

1400 Market St, Chattanooga, TN 37402 · $$

You can sleep in a converted train car. A real one. The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel is a historic train terminal turned hotel complex, and the Victorian train car rooms are the kind of thing kids never forget. The complex has restaurants, an outdoor pool, and model trains. Is it the most practical overnight on I-24? No. Is it the coolest? By a mile. If your kids are train kids — and you know who you are — this is their Super Bowl.

Hampton Inn Chattanooga I-24

7013 Shallowford Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37421 · $$

Chattanooga is one of the most underrated cities on the road to Florida. If you've done the Lookout Mountain stops, you've earned a good night's sleep. The Hampton Inn on Shallowford is right at the I-24/I-75 interchange. Tomorrow you head south on I-75 through Georgia — Atlanta is about 90 minutes away and from there it's a straight shot to Florida. Chattanooga might be the best overnight city on any Florida route.

Ruby Falls

1720 Scenic Hwy, Chattanooga, TN 37409 · $$

An underground waterfall inside Lookout Mountain. You take an elevator 260 feet into the earth, walk through a cave, and suddenly there's a 145-foot waterfall lit up with colored lights in a cavern the size of a cathedral. Your kids will think it's magic. Honestly, you will too. Ruby Falls is right at the I-24/I-75 junction in Chattanooga and it pairs perfectly with Rock City if you're doing the Lookout Mountain trifecta.

Lookout Mountain Incline Railway

3917 St Elmo Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37409 · $$

One of the steepest passenger railways in the world — 72.7% grade at the top. You sit in a glass-front railcar and it climbs straight up the side of Lookout Mountain while your kids press their faces against the window and your spouse grips the armrest. The view from the top is spectacular. If you're doing Ruby Falls and Rock City anyway, the Incline is right there and adds maybe an hour. The Chattanooga Lookout Mountain trifecta is one of the best half-days on any road trip to Florida.

Rock City - Lookout Mountain

1400 Patten Rd, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750 · $$

You've seen the barn roof signs for 500 miles — 'See Rock City.' Well, you're here. And you know what? It's actually cool. Rock formations, a swing-out point where you can supposedly see seven states, a Fairyland Cavern with blacklight gnomes that's either charming or terrifying depending on your age, and a suspension bridge over a gorge. The billboards have been advertising this place since 1932 and somehow it still delivers. See Rock City. Everyone else did.

Stones River National Battlefield

3501 Old Nashville Hwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 · $

Right off I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga, Stones River is a Civil War battlefield that doesn't get the crowds of Gettysburg. Which means you can actually walk the field, read the markers, and imagine the history without fighting for a parking spot. The Fortress Rosecrans is the largest earthen fort from the Civil War. Free admission. If your family does history stops, this is a quick, meaningful one. If not, the rest area down the road works too.

Jack Daniel's Distillery - Lynchburg

133 Lynchburg Hwy, Lynchburg, TN 37352 · $$

About forty-five minutes off I-24, Lynchburg is where every bottle of Jack Daniel's is made, and the distillery tour is fascinating even if you don't drink. The irony is that Lynchburg is in a dry county — you can make whiskey here but you can't buy it. Your kids will be bored by the whiskey part but entertained by the town square, which has a general store, a hardware store, and a population of 680 people who all seem to know each other. Very specific detour. Very worth it for the right family.