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Destination guides

East Tennessee Destinations

Every place guide on the site — the Smokies and their gateway towns, the lakes, and the trails, towns and plateau country in between.

This is the directory of every My East Tennessee destination guide. For the bigger picture, start with a hub: the Smokies, the Cumberland Plateau, the lakes or attractions. Planning a stay? See where to stay and before you go.

Smokies & gateways

Cades Cove

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Cades Cove

The Smokies’ best-loved valley: open fields, wildlife at dawn, and 1800s cabins, churches and a working mill.

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Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome)

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome)

A short paved climb to Tennessee’s highest tower when the Clingmans Dome Road is open — layered ridges for miles.

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Look Rock

Blount County

Look Rock

Look Rock on Foothills Parkway West: a short paved walk to a Mission 66 tower with views of the Smokies, Cades Cove ridges and the Cumberland Plateau.

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Gatlinburg

Sevier County

Gatlinburg

When it’s worth it, how to park, and where it gets quiet — with the national park at the end of the street.

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Pigeon Forge

Sevier County

Pigeon Forge

Shows and the Parkway done deliberately — so you still have a mountain morning left.

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Townsend

Blount County

Townsend

The “peaceful side of the Smokies”: river days, quiet cabins, and the closest town to Cades Cove.

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Dollywood

Pigeon Forge · Sevier County

Dollywood

Which day to go, how long you need, and how to pair it with a national-park day.

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Lakes

For TVA history, the Tennessee River and lake tips, see the full East Tennessee Lakes hub →

Norris Lake

Clinch & Powell · Anderson / Campbell / Union

Norris Lake

Houseboats and quiet coves on TVA’s first reservoir, with a dam you can visit and an Appalachian museum next door.

Read the lake guide →
Douglas Lake

French Broad · Sevier / Jefferson

Douglas Lake

French Broad lake near Dandridge with Smokies views, built in record time during World War II.

Read the lake guide →
Cherokee Lake

Holston · Hamblen / Grainger / Jefferson

Cherokee Lake

Holston River lake on the Morristown side, with Panther Creek State Park on its shore.

Read the lake guide →
Fort Loudoun Lake

Tennessee River · Knox / Loudon / Blount

Fort Loudoun Lake

Where the Tennessee River begins — Knoxville’s riverfront down to the dam at Lenoir City.

Read the lake guide →
Tellico Lake

Little Tennessee · Loudon / Monroe

Tellico Lake

Little Tennessee lake near Vonore — Fort Loudoun State Historic Park and the snail darter story.

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Melton Hill Lake

Clinch · Anderson / Knox / Roane

Melton Hill Lake

Narrow Clinch River lake through Oak Ridge — calm water and a well-known rowing course.

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Watts Bar Lake

Tennessee River · Roane / Rhea / Meigs

Watts Bar Lake

Long main-channel lake past Kingston, Rockwood and Spring City — big water for boating and fishing.

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Chickamauga Lake

Tennessee River · Hamilton / Meigs / Rhea

Chickamauga Lake

Big main-channel lake running north from Chattanooga, with Harrison Bay and Booker T.

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Nickajack Lake

Tennessee River · Marion / Hamilton

Nickajack Lake

Main-channel lake below Chattanooga, known for the gray bats of Nickajack Cave.

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Boone Lake

Sullivan / Washington

Boone Lake

Tri-Cities lake between Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol, where the South Fork Holston and Watauga meet.

Read the lake guide →
South Holston Lake

Sullivan County

South Holston Lake

Clear mountain lake on the Tennessee–Virginia line near Bristol; the tailwater below the dam is known for trout.

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Watauga Lake

Carter / Johnson

Watauga Lake

High mountain lake in the Cherokee National Forest near Elizabethton; the Appalachian Trail crosses the dam.

Read the lake guide →
Cove Lake

Campbell County

Cove Lake

200-acre state-park lake at Caryville, right off I-75 at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains.

Read the lake guide →
Fontana Lake

North Carolina · Smokies gateway

Fontana Lake

North Carolina lake on the southern edge of the Smokies — a Smokies gateway for East Tennessee visitors, below TVA’s tallest dam.

Read the lake guide →
Big Ridge State Park

Norris Lake · Union County

Big Ridge State Park

A wooded state park on Norris Lake in Union County, with a Maynardville address.

Read the lake guide →

Towns, trails & plateaus

Appalachian Trail

State-line crest

Appalachian Trail

From the Smokies crest to the Virginia line, about 290 Appalachian Trail miles touch East Tennessee.

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Windrock Park

Oliver Springs · Anderson County

Windrock Park

Ridge-top trails, passes and the bike park — plus the story of Tennessee’s first wind farm.

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Oak Ridge: the Secret City

Anderson & Roane

Oak Ridge: the Secret City

In 1942 the Army turned East Tennessee farm country into a hidden city of 75,000, powered by TVA.

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Kingston

Kingston · Roane County

Kingston

Roane County seat where the Tennessee and Clinch meet — a restored frontier fort, a one-day capital story, and an easy stop from Oak Ridge or Norris.

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Wartburg

Morgan County

Wartburg

Bridge views, plateau gateway, and a small-town base near Windrock and the Obed.

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From our shop · My East Tennessee

Souvenirs from these places

Buying a print or a little merch helps keep these guides free.

Look Rock — Foothills Parkway West posterPrintful · poster & moreLook RockFoothills Parkway WestView on Printful →Oak Ridge: The Secret City — Oak Ridge posterPrintful · poster & moreOak Ridge: The Secret CityOak RidgeView on Printful →Wartburg Bridge — Wartburg posterPrintful · poster & moreWartburg BridgeWartburgView on Printful →Fort Southwest Point — Kingston posterPrintful · poster & moreFort Southwest PointKingstonView on Printful →Norris Lake — Anderson & Campbell counties posterPrintful · poster & moreNorris LakeAnderson & Campbell countiesView on Printful →Zazzle posterWatts Bar LakeKingstonView on Zazzle →Zazzle posterChickamauga Lakenear DecaturView on Zazzle →Walnut Street Bridge — Chattanooga posterPrintful · poster & moreWalnut Street BridgeChattanoogaView on Printful →

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