Blackbird: Porch Naps, Evening Fires, & a Splash of Color

Summary:
Talking Water’s smallest cabin sits atop Suck Creek Mountain in Chattanooga, less than 20 minutes from downtown.

Sleep up to 5 in queen bunks & a screened-porch daybed (dibs encouraged). Watch flowers sway through big windows, dine on your double stone patio, & linger by your private firepit.

Includes a kitchen, indoor rainfall shower, & a bonus hot outdoor shower with fresh mint growing nearby (closed during frost season). Explore wooded trails & Suck Creek, or stay on the porch & supervise the weather.

The Space:
Small cabin, plenty of personality

Blackbird is the smallest of Talking Water's five cabins, but tall ceilings, big windows, & bold colors give it an open, cheerful feel. Warm cedar overhead, handmade details, & built-in queen bunks make good use of the space without taking ourselves too seriously.

Watch the flowers sway from inside, turn on the electric fireplace, or head out to the screened porch. There are several good places to accomplish very little.

🛏 Sleep inside (or almost outside)

Blackbird sleeps up to 5 guests:
- Two queen mattresses in a built-in bunk bed (sleeps 4)
- A twin daybed on the screened-in porch (sleeps 1)
- Indoor hooks for 2 hammocks (hammocks & straps provided)

The porch daybed is a favorite for listening to rain on the roof, afternoon naps, & letting someone else decide what’s for dinner.

It’s screened, but exposed to outdoor temperatures & nature sounds. Plan accordingly if you’re claiming that bed. Hammocks do not increase the cabin’s 5-person capacity.

🌿 Take it outside

The double stone patio gives you space for outdoor meals & evenings around your private firepit. Bring your coffee out, put something on the camp-style grill, or sit long enough to notice what’s growing around you.

The screened porch offers another place to stretch out with a book, listen to the birds, or quietly avoid helping with dinner.

🚿 Two ways to wash off the day

Blackbird has a full indoor bathroom with a rainfall shower, plus a private hot outdoor shower (closed seasonally to protect against frost).

When the outdoor shower is open, fresh mint growing nearby adds a little good-smelling company. After a sweaty hike or an afternoon at the creek, it’s a pretty nice arrangement. The indoor shower is available year-round.

🍳 Cook, snack, & settle in

The kitchen has a refrigerator, stove, & cooking supplies for making meals during your stay. There’s also an outdoor camp-style grill.

No dishwasher, so whoever cooks may want to negotiate cleanup duties beforehand.

You’ll also have a TV, Wi-Fi, & an electric fireplace for evenings inside.

🥾 Beyond your patio

Blackbird is part of the Songbird Neighborhood at Talking Water Nature Retreat, our family-owned & family-operated retreat on 82 wooded acres inside Chattanooga.

The shared Songbird Pavilion has an outdoor kitchen with an electric griddle, cold-water sink, & cabinets, plus picnic tables & a firepit with chairs & benches. Nearby, you’ll find a slide, tetherball, & children’s climbing structures.

Walk the wooded trails, explore the bluff, or take the steep mountain trail down to Suck Creek. Look for crawdads, cool your feet, & listen to the water do its thing.

Shared guest laundry is available during daytime hours outside cabin-cleaning windows.

🐾 A note about pets

Blackbird does not allow pets. If your dog is part of the travel crew, take a look at Chickadee, Goldfinch, Meadowlark, or Whippoorwill, where dogs are welcome with prior approval & a pet fee for non-Airbnb bookings.

🪶 Need more room for your people?

Rent all five cabins in the Songbird Neighborhood: Blackbird, Chickadee, Goldfinch, Meadowlark, & Whippoorwill.

Together, they sleep up to 26 guests in beds, with the Songbird Pavilion as your shared gathering place. It’s a good setup for retreats, wedding weekends, reunions, corporate getaways, & friend groups who want time together with a door to close afterward.

The Ceremony Hut & Cob Oven are also available for scenic, earthy gatherings where the point is to connect with nature & your people.

Use of the Ceremony Hut or Cob Oven, & hosting events, require advance arrangements & additional fees.

Guest Access:
Blackbird & its immediate outdoor spaces are private to your group during your stay, including:
- The cabin
- Screened-in porch & double stone patio
- Outdoor shower (closed seasonally for frost) & adjacent green space
- Two labeled parking spaces directly in front of the cabin

Need more parking? Please message us before arrival so we can coordinate.

You’ll also have shared access to:
- The Songbird Pavilion, with an outdoor kitchen, firepit, picnic tables, & seating
- Hiking trails & the steep mountain trail down to Suck Creek
- The slide, tetherball, & children’s climbing structures
- The guest laundry room in the nearby garage (daytime access outside cabin-cleaning windows)

Other cabins may be occupied during your stay. Chat with the neighbors, join a game, or retreat to your porch with a book. Either is completely fine here!

The Ceremony Hut & Cob Oven can be reserved separately. Use of these spaces, & hosting events, require advance arrangements & additional fees.

The Neighborhood:
Blackbird is one of five cabins in our Songbird Neighborhood. Each cabin has its own private indoor & outdoor spaces, while shared areas offer room for gathering, games, & spending time together.

Talking Water comes with a mountain soundtrack: birds, bugs, frogs, wind in the trees, chickens, & yes, roosters. Nobody has successfully negotiated a later start time with the roosters. You may also hear occasional road noise.

We’re tucked into Chattanooga’s Suck Creek Mountain community & surrounded by some of the area’s best natural spaces:

- 🌲 Prentice Cooper State Forest borders the southern edge of the property.
- 💧 Nearly a mile of Suck Creek runs along the eastern side of our land.
- 🌊 The Tennessee River follows the road at the base of the mountain.

Before our family purchased the property in 2022, much of the land had been logged for decades without much stabilization or replanting. Since then, we’ve been restoring it through native planting, trail work, erosion control, natural building, creative reuse, & a lot of hands-on care.

Talking Water is still evolving. You’ll find wild mountain land, handmade spaces, quirky details, & usually a project or two underway. Our family lives & works here, slowly bringing the property back to life.

Getting Around:
We’re tucked into the mountains, but still surprisingly close to Chattanooga. A car is strongly recommended, and drive times can vary with traffic.

Under 10 minutes:
- Prentice Cooper State Forest
- Suck Creek swimming holes & outdoor recreation
- Tennessee River access
- Aldi, restaurants, and coffee

Under 20 minutes:
- Downtown Chattanooga riverfront
- Tennessee Aquarium
- Creative Discovery Museum
- Coolidge Park & North Shore
- Countless downtown restaurants, breweries, shops, & attractions *Chattanooga's restaurant scene is on point!
- Numerous climbing, mountain biking, hiking, & paddling spots

Under 30 minutes:
- Ruby Falls
- Rock City Gardens
- Incline Railway
- Chattanooga Zoo
- Big Soddy Gulf
- Erlanger Park / Chattanooga Lookouts

The drive to Talking Water follows the Tennessee River and climbs Suck Creek Mountain, so you get the feeling of a real mountain getaway without giving up easy access to Chattanooga.

Other Things to Note:
A few things to know before booking:

🛏 Sleeping Arrangements
- Blackbird sleeps up to 5 guests.
- Two queen mattresses in a built-in bunk bed sleep 4.
- A twin daybed on the screened-in porch sleeps 1 (exposed to outdoor temperatures & nature sounds).
- Indoor hooks for 2 hammocks are available (hammocks & straps provided). Hammocks do not increase the 5-person guest limit.

🚿 Bathrooms & Showers
- Blackbird has a full indoor bathroom with a rainfall shower.
- The private hot outdoor shower is closed seasonally to protect against frost. The indoor shower is available year-round.

🚗 Parking
- Two labeled parking spaces are directly in front of the cabin.
- Two pay-per-use EV charging spaces are available beside Meadowlark.
- Need more parking? Please message us before arrival so we can coordinate.

🌿 Mountain Life
- You may hear occasional road noise, along with chickens, roosters, frogs, birds, insects, & other normal nature sounds.
- Talking Water is an active mountain property with animals, trails, uneven terrain, water, landscaping, & occasional construction or maintenance.
- The trail down to Suck Creek is steep. Children must be supervised throughout the property.

🐾 Pets & Visitors
- Pets are not allowed at Blackbird. Our other cabins welcome dogs for non-Airbnb bookings with prior approval & a pet fee.
- Registered guests only unless additional visitors are approved in advance.
- Use of the Ceremony Hut or Cob Oven, & hosting events, require advance arrangements & additional fees.

More than anything, we sincerely want you to be happy here. We built our cabins with a lot of love, creativity, & hands-on work. Seeing people enjoy them, laugh in them, gather in them, & carry those memories home is our favorite part.