Nashville info

[h20skiluvr]

My family and I are looking at a Nashville vacation this year. We hit Lake Cumberland (Ky) last year and had a great time. We plan to hit some of the top spots in Nashville and would also like to get in some skiing and wakeboarding. Any tips regarding parking and the best ski spots would be great.

 

[Glowplug007]

Re: Nashville info

I know percy priest is the big lake there in nashvegas, but sorry i cant help with "local" knowledge. However if you skip nashville and head to knoxville instead there is WAAAAYYYYYY more water and things to do, just google map it!

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Nashville info

Forget Nash(ty)ville, and drive right past that ugly orange blob called Knoxville. Come on down to the "Scenic City"...Chattanooga. Even MORE water than Nash or Knox, and a crap-load of local activities. PM me if you want some local info.

Seriously...unless there is something specific you just HAVE to see in Nashville, it's really not all that great. I have lived in TN for my entire life, and I HATE going to Nashville. Big, nasty, smelly, and a lot of traffic!

 

[jamiemac74]

Re: Nashville info

I know percy priest is the big lake there in nashvegas, but sorry i cant help with "local" knowledge. However if you skip nashville and head to knoxville instead there is WAAAAYYYYYY more water and things to do, just google map it!

I wouldn't go to Percy Priest unless you know the lake well. If not your liable to donate your lower unit or complete boat to it. I don't go there myself because I have heard its full of stumps and underwater ledges.. I enjoy Center Hill, it is a really pretty lake, also frequent Tims Ford. Both are not far from the Nashville area....

 

[h20skiluvr]

Re: Nashville info

Thanks, appreciate the info. I remember seeing Center Hill I think on Google. If we can't find anything worth traveling to, we'll stop at Kentucky Lake on the way down to Nashville.

 

[scaffdog]

Re: Nashville info

Percy was the first lake I ever went on in TN when I moved to Nashville. It is a great lake. Very Large, Deep, and very clean. Old Hickory Lake, just about 15 minutes north of Percy is great for fishing, as long as your boat doesnt draft very deep...lots of stumps, underwater obstacles, and floating debris...Percy is just the opposite, not so great for fishing but very open with many hotspots for wake-boarding and/or skiing. Directly across the lake from the Seven points boat ramp is a good spot for watersports, there is an area next to some bluffs north of Smith Springs that is good, and all kinds of coves scattered here and there where you are likely to find "butter"

Center Hill is very good, and depending on where you are coming from Dale Hollow Lake is even better!

 

[Dick Sorensen]

Re: Nashville info

What's "butter?"

 

[h20skiluvr]

Re: Nashville info

Thanks for the tip Scaffdog! ****, I think what he's referring to is the water that's smooth as butter. I grew up calling it glass, right?

 

[mcgyver210]

Re: Nashville info

We have our boat at marina on Old Hickory Lake & as long as you have a depth finder & use some common sense on where & what speed you go you will be OK. Also we have a GREAT place to eat on the water called Anchor High Grill!!! We eat there multiple times a week although last night they forgot about us for getting seated 1.5 hrs waiting got old LOL.

You can also go thru the Lock & cruise to Nashville on the water if you want to. The lake does have some low spots but there are plenty of deep areas for playing. As for remarks about other cities everyone has an opinion & mine wasn't very good on Chattanooga last visit. IMO not much to do there even for a day trip.

Oh & Old Hickory is dirty for sure but still fun.

 

[rwilliek]

Re: Nashville info

My inlaws live two minutes off of Old Hickory. We found out the difficult way that the lake is hard to navigate. It was hard to stay in any thing more that 3-feet of water.

h20skiluvr - check out Green River....nice place, large lake with both tubing/wake boarding as well as fishing. We stay at the campground for a week each summer.

 

[mcgyver210]

Re: Nashville info

My inlaws live two minutes off of Old Hickory. We found out the difficult way that the lake is hard to navigate. It was hard to stay in any thing more that 3-feet of water.

h20skiluvr - check out Green River....nice place, large lake with both tubing/wake boarding as well as fishing. We stay at the campground for a week each summer.

You are correct Old Hickory can be difficult to navigate but we still have fun & keep the depth finder & GPS Navionics on at all times. There are plenty of areas for tubing etc & some really nice scenery also.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Nashville info

If you're staying in Nashville proper, then Percy Priest Lake is the closest - it's right in metro Nashville. There are plenty of places to put in, and the lake is pretty good. I use it for our "quick trips" out on the lake because from my house (I'm about 30 miles southeast of Nashville) I can be on the water in about 1/2 hour. It's not the cleanest lake, traffic can be rather congested on holidays and weekends and the water can shallow up on you quick if you're not paying attention. Lake bottoms in Tennessee tend to be made of rock rather than sand or muck too - I've ground a little off the keel in the past.

If you're willing to drive a little (at least an hour depending on where your staying in Nashville - maybe longer) Center Hill Lake is probably the nicest lake around. It's big, open and pretty. Because of it's size, it doesn't typically get too congested, and it's DEEP. It's probably an hour and a half for me to get on the water from home - but if I'm going in for the whole day it's worth it.

I've not been on Old Hickory because it's farther away for me than even Center Hill, but the trip down to Nashville by boat would be fun sometime. Can't speak to the lake though.

There are a couple of other places to go around the area, but I would say pick Priest if you don't want the extra drive - especially if you're going to be out there during the week when the locals will be stuck at work. If you don't mind the extra travel time, Center Hill is worth the trip. There are even a couple of waterfalls you can boat to (Fanchers is the easy one if you put in near Smithville, TN).

Hope y'all enjoy the trip.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Nashville info

As you can tell, Middle Tennessee is not lacking in places to boat. There are few places with two really major lakes within the city limits. I grew up in Nashville, and know all these lakes very well.

I'll stick with Percy Priest as the easiest place to get to, as I-40 East is within sight of the dam. It's a very wide, open lake and there are a number of islands to picnic from.
There are good facilities--including large marinas with restaurants, places to camp and parks with sand beaches. Forget all the other Tennesssee cities' attractions, as Nashville has them all beat for things to do.

Old Hickory Lake is about 10 miles north of Percy Priest, and it's much more residential. I once stopped in the middle of the lake close to Hendersonville, only to find the water about waist deep. It is a lake you need to know where you're going, as you can easily damage your boat. Old Hickory is navigable, however, and you can always stay in the marked channel following buoys for tugboats. Old Hickory also is serviced by good marinas and parks.

The Cumberland River is below Old Hickory, and it's just a 1/4 mile wide river--always cold water and generally boring to be in.

Center Hill is also on I-40 about one hour east. It's a very pretty lake, and very popular with houseboats and fishermen. Unfortunately, it's land locked and those yachtsmen cannot go anywhere in their 85' barges. It's a good place to go, however I suspect water levels are down dramatically since the dam is being rebuilt.

Dale Hollow is 1 hour northwest of Center Hill (2 hrs. from Nashville), and it's a magnificent secluded lake. It'd be a great place to rent a houseboat for a week.

I live on Wilson Lake, Alabama--a 15 mile long lake between Pickwick and Wheeler Lakes. We've got 140,000 people in two counties with the river in middle. Don't tell anyone about this place, as it's a secret. #1 in big smallmouth in the U.S and #1 in big catfish--and the largemouth aren't too bad. Joe Wheeler State Park Resort is close by and three Robert Trent Jones golf courses within sight of our house. This is a great deep water lake that's mostly rock bottom. I cannot believe that Franklin (TN) residents have not discovered this place to buy 10,000 square foot second homes on, as we're just 1 1/2 hrs. away. The Tennessee River is the #1 cruising lake in the U.S. for yachts and houseboats. This is where I've chosen to retire.