The best date night near Chattanooga, TN happens one exit off I-75, and you park once. On Camp Jordan Pkwy in East Ridge you can have drinks or a cigar at Cigars International (495 Camp Jordan Pkwy), an hour of axe throwing at our lanes (619 Camp Jordan Pkwy), and a late plate at Jonathan’s Grille (631 Camp Jordan Pkwy, kitchen open to midnight or later) - all within about a third of a mile.
We run Craft Axe Throwing near Chattanooga at 619 Camp Jordan Pkwy, Suite 121 in East Ridge - about ten minutes from downtown Chattanooga, right off I-75 Exit 1. Buddy’s Bar-B-Q shares our street address; Pizza Bros is next door. That density is the whole point of this guide: every other Chattanooga date-night list sends you downtown to hunt for parking between the aquarium and Lookout Mountain. Those are great, and they are also 20 to 35 minutes from here. What follows is three sequenced plans with clock times, not a pile of attractions.
The Camp Jordan block at a glance
| Stop | Address | From 619 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craft Axe Throwing | 619 Camp Jordan Pkwy, Ste 121 | You’re here | $20-$35/thrower |
| Buddy’s Bar-B-Q | 619 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Same building complex | $ |
| Pizza Bros | 627 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Next door | $ |
| Jonathan’s Grille | 631 Camp Jordan Pkwy | About a 2-minute walk | $$ |
| Twin Peaks | 500 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Across the parkway | $$ |
| Cigars International | 495 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Across the parkway | $$ |
| Topgolf Chattanooga | 490 Camp Jordan Pkwy | Across the parkway | $$-$$$ |
| Dairy Queen Grill & Chill | 633 Camp Jordan Pkwy | About a 2-minute walk | $ |
| Camp Jordan Park | 323 Camp Jordan Pkwy | About a 3-minute drive | Free |
A note on “across the parkway”: Topgolf, Twin Peaks, and Cigars International face us from the other side of a four-lane road. It is a one-minute drive, not a stroll - move the car for that leg.
Our lanes are open Tuesday through Thursday 4-9 PM, Friday and Saturday 12-11 PM, and Sunday 2-7 PM. We are closed Mondays, so every plan below is a Tuesday-through-Sunday night.
The Exit 1 night: 6:30 dinner, 8:00 axes, 9:30 nightcap
This is the plan we watch play out on Friday nights.
6:30 - dinner. Twin Peaks (500 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is the sports-lodge option, scratch-made food and 29-degree draft beer with a big patio; it typically runs late, but check their hours before you build the night around a late seating. If you’d rather eat fast and cheap and spend the money on the activity, Buddy’s Bar-B-Q (619 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is hickory-smoked Tennessee barbecue in our own building complex, open daily from 10:30 AM and closing at 9 PM Sunday through Thursday, 10 PM Friday and Saturday. Pizza Bros (627 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is the hand-tossed, split-a- pie alternative right next door.
8:00 - axes. Walk or move the car back to 619 Camp Jordan Pkwy, Suite 121. A one-hour session is $25 per thrower - about $50 plus tax for two - and includes the safety briefing, coaching, the standard axe, and a small ninja star. Ten lanes, end-grain targets, chalk scoreboards, a full bar with cold craft brews and seltzers, and a table at each lane so your drinks come with you.
9:30 - nightcap. Two good answers. Cigars International (495 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is the one nobody expects: a 6,500-plus square foot superstore with a full-service bar and indoor and outdoor lounges. One of our own Google reviewers, Ruth Verijnikova, ran that leg in the other order: “This was our first time, we came by after having a drink and cigar at cigar’s international.” If you want food instead, Jonathan’s Grille (631 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1 AM Friday and Saturday - the latest kitchen on the block, and the reason an 8 PM session doesn’t have to end the night. Dessert people: Dairy Queen is at 633 Camp Jordan Pkwy, a two-minute walk (call ahead for hours).
Reserve a lane in East Ridge - the 8 PM slots on Friday and Saturday go first.
The Southside run: 6:00 throw, 7:30 dinner, 9:00 dessert
For the nights when you want a real sit-down dinner, flip the order. Throw first while you’re hungry and competitive, then drive.
6:00 - throw. A Tuesday-through-Thursday session fits neatly inside our 4-9 PM window. Take the 90-minute tier ($35 per thrower, $30 each for groups of three or more) if you want the large ninja star and “The Stick All” included - the premium blades are the part first-timers end up talking about.
7:30 - dinner on the Southside. Alleia (25 E Main St) is about six and a half miles and roughly twelve minutes up I-75/I-24: rustic Italian, hand-made pasta and Neapolitan pizza in the old Harrington Building, open 5-9 PM Monday through Thursday, 5-10 PM Friday, 4:45-9:45 PM Saturday, and closed Sunday. Book it on Resy; this is the anniversary pick. For something looser, TailGate Brewery Chattanooga (1464 Market St, roughly the same drive) pours 30 craft beers on draft alongside a scratch pizza kitchen, open to 9 PM Sunday through Thursday and 10 PM Friday and Saturday.
9:00 - dessert on the way home. Scoop Around Ice Cream Bar (831 E Main St) is about ten minutes back toward East Ridge and stays open to 10 PM Friday and Saturday - the only late dessert here we can actually vouch for after an evening session. It’s open Wednesday and Thursday 2-9 PM, Friday and Saturday 3-10 PM, Sunday 2-6 PM, and closed Monday and Tuesday, so on a weeknight, make it the Dairy Queen instead.
The daylight version: 11:00 at Camp Jordan Park, 12:00 lanes
Not every date needs to start after dark, and this one is close to free.
Camp Jordan Park (323 Camp Jordan Pkwy) is about a three-minute drive from our door and has a two-mile paved walking and biking loop, a fishing pond, disc golf, an amphitheater, and picnic pavilions. Walk the loop, throw a disc, split whatever you packed at a pavilion table.
Then come straight back up the parkway for a noon session on a Friday or Saturday - our earliest opening - or a 2 PM Sunday session. Daytime lanes are quieter, which is genuinely better for a first date: less noise, more coach attention, easier conversation. Finish with a Blizzard at Dairy Queen two doors down and you’ve spent an afternoon together for the price of one hour of throwing.
What an axe throwing date costs, and what the hour feels like
Concrete numbers, since that’s what people actually want:
- 45 minutes: $20 per thrower - about $40 plus tax for two.
- 1 hour: $25 per thrower ($22 each at three or more throwers) - about $50 plus tax for two. Includes the small ninja star.
- 1.5 hours: $35 per thrower ($30 each at three or more) - includes the large ninja star and “The Stick All.”
- Up to four throwers per lane. Sales tax not included. Full details on the Chattanooga axe throwing page.
Nobody needs experience. A coach runs the safety briefing and the throwing instruction, and most first-timers stick a throw inside the first session - that moment is the whole date. When your time is up, the ping pong, cornhole, and foosball are free to play, which is how an hour of throwing turns into three hours out.
Two of our Chattanooga guests put it better than we can. Kaylee Yoder: “My husband and I went here for a date night and had the best time! We bought the base package for an hour and got to throw both axes and ninja stars, which was perfect for us. After our hour was up, we also could play corn hole, ping pong, etc.” Tamara Rasik: “This is one of my favorite places for date night or girls night out! Great beer selection, fun atmosphere.”
New to it? Read what to expect on your first axe throwing visit and what to wear axe throwing before you pick an outfit - closed-toe shoes, and don’t overthink the rest.
Weeknights, rainy nights, and the Monday problem
Rain doesn’t touch this plan. Every stop on the Camp Jordan block is indoors
- our lanes, the bays at Topgolf across the parkway, the lounges at Cigars International, and the dining rooms at Twin Peaks and Jonathan’s Grille. If the Lookout Mountain half of your weekend gets washed out, Exit 1 is the rescue.
On weeknights, we run seasonal couples and half-off deals that can cut the cost of the night meaningfully - including a Wednesday date-night rate - but they’re time-bound, so check the Chattanooga promotions page for what’s live before you plan around one. We also host a free Thursday trivia night, Axes & Answers, at 7 PM: six rounds plus a halftime axe-throw challenge where each player’s throw gets added to the team score. It runs in seasons rather than year-round, so call (423) 216-4334 to confirm it’s on the week you want it.
The one hard rule: we’re closed Mondays. If Monday is your night off, Topgolf and Jonathan’s Grille are both open, and we’ll see you Tuesday.
Why East Ridge instead of downtown
Downtown Chattanooga is a genuinely great date - the Tennessee Aquarium, the Walnut Street Bridge, Lookout Mountain. It also means driving between stops, paying for a deck, and rebuilding the plan when something closes at 9 PM. East Ridge condenses the same evening - a meal, an activity, a drink, dessert - into one street off I-75 Exit 1, which is why couples from East Brainerd, Fort Oglethorpe, Ringgold, Cleveland, and Hixson keep defaulting to it.
Our neighbors here are neighbors, not partners - book Topgolf, Twin Peaks, Cigars International, and the restaurants directly. Buddy’s BBQ even publishes its own Chattanooga date night ideas, and yes, axe throwing made their list too.
Pick a plan, then book your lane at Craft Axe Throwing near Chattanooga. It takes about a minute, walk-ins are welcome when we have space, and if you’re planning something bigger - an anniversary group, a proposal night, a double date that grew - the Chattanooga parties and events team will help you size it.