Swincar E-Spider Adventure Tours

These electrically powered off-road vehicles provide a very unique driving experience, with a comfortable and stable ride. Swincar e-Spiders make almost no sound, run entirely on electricity and have a very light footprint when it comes to wearing down the roads and causing potholes. With no windshield or enclosed cabin, they're also the best way (aside from on foot) to see the property and experience the outdoors while getting a view of the entire Reflection Riding campus. 

Currently, all Swincar tours are led by a guide from Adventure Sports Innovation. If you meet a Swincar tour while hiking on Reflection Riding’s campus, feel free to say hello to fellow explorers! They’ll be keeping an eye out for pedestrians, and will try not to startle you as they quietly navigate the roads and trails.

Recently, Reflection Riding became the first location in the United States for a maiden voyage of the handicap-accessible version of the Swincar, as well as for the two-seat tandem model.

Why Do We Have Electric Cars at Reflection Riding?

Reflection Riding's founder John Chambliss created "the Riding" at the height of America's car culture, in the 1950s, and marketed the place as a drive-through roadside attraction. A sign on the roadside described a "scenic, historic, botanical drive-thru" and beckoned motorists passing through Chattanooga to take a detour. In subsequent decades, Chattanooga transitioned from being a proud industrial town—the "Dynamo of Dixie"—into being simply the "dirtiest city in America." Our success and our reliance on the automobile had become a liability as air pollution grew worse and businessmen went to work downtown with two white shirts so they could change out of their sooty shirt from the morning into a fresh shirt after lunch. 

In 2019, we experienced record flooding on our property. The original Reflection Riding loop remained closed to cars for several months as the creek bank where Gleason's Reach passes closest to Lookout Creek remained underwater for over a month. Ultimately, the creek bank collapsed making the road unsafe for cars. 

Our staff and guests noticed something during those months: they no longer had to jump out of the road into the wildflowers to let cars drive by. Dust from the gravel no longer filled the air and settled on the plants alongside the road. We were able to cut back on maintenance costs from filling potholes and re-grading the roads. In short: we liked not having cars on the loop. But, we wanted to make the loop accessible to people who couldn't make it around on their own. Eventually, we'd like to offer electric golf carts for rental at any time. After all, you don't expect to drive around a golf course. You expect to either walk or rent a cart. Why not stick with a proven model? But then we need to buy the carts, build a place to store the carts and charge them...so we'll need to fundraise for that later. 

Meanwhile, local entrepreneurs Carolina and Patrick Malloy from Adventure Sports Innovation found these fun electric carts and became the only outfitter in the Americas to offer the Swincar e-Spider. 

Now we have a solution! We're sure Mr. Chambliss—described as an inventor, a dreamer and perhaps a bit eccentric—would approve. 

Ride Along with a Naturalist Tours

You can reserve a tour to ride along with one of Reflection Riding’s knowledgeable staff Naturalists. You won’t have to wonder what an animal is or identify an interesting plant on your own… you’ll have an expert there to show you all around!