Five TVA lakes lie within an hour of downtown Knoxville. They look alike in summer photographs, but they behave very differently through the year, and that shows up in docks, views and value.
The lake at Knoxville’s doorstep, with shoreline in West Knoxville, Concord and Blount County, and the first link in TVA’s navigable chain down the Tennessee River.
TVA holds Fort Loudoun at a minimum of 807 ft in winter and 812–813 ft in summer, so docks see only a modest seasonal change. 379 miles of shoreline.
Joined to Fort Loudoun by a short canal, so boats pass between the two without a lock. Home to several of the region’s planned lake communities.
TVA fills and draws down Tellico together with Fort Loudoun, so its seasonal change is similar.
Long, narrow and calm, winding about 57 miles below Norris Dam. Water passes through rather than being stored, so the level holds steady all year.
TVA operates Melton Hill as run-of-river: the level typically moves less than two feet a day, between 793 and 795 ft.
TVA’s first dam. Deep, clear water and long wooded coves, with the largest seasonal swing of the five.
A tributary storage reservoir. TVA aims for full summer pool of about 1,020 ft from June through Labor Day, then draws it down for winter flood storage.
A broad, open main-river lake running from below Fort Loudoun Dam toward Kingston and Rockwood.
As a main-river reservoir, Watts Bar changes only a few feet a year, and TVA keeps its summer level through November 1.
Water-level ranges from the Tennessee Valley Authority; actual levels vary with rainfall. See current TVA lake levels.
Tell us how you would use it, from weekend boating to quiet year-round living, and we will help you find the right cove.
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