Welcome to Norris Lake Travel and Vacation

About Norris Lake

Norris Lake, Tn – is one of East Tennessee’s best kept secrets. If you enjoy power boating, jet skiing, wakeboarding or swimming in crystal clean waters, you’ll want to make Norris Lake Tennessee one of your your top vacation destinations.

located in the Norris Highlands, where water related recreational opportunities await in one of the TVA’s cleanest lakes. Whether you come for boating, fishing, skiing, golfing, 4-wheeling or just relaxing, we feel that the area has it all.

Over 20 marinas on the lake offer a variety of accommodations from hotels, condos, houses and campgrounds to floating homes. Here at NorrisLake.travel we will feature the areas top, vacation rental homes.

Most of the marinas also offer ski boat, fishing boat, pontoon boat, party barges and jet ski rentals. There are numerous restaurants overlooking Norris Lake which host theme parties and special events throughout the year.

The Norris Lake marina association takes great pride in Norris Lake being one of the cleanest lakes in North America and continues to work together with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to keep it that way. As a result, more than half the marinas on the lake have been certified by the TVA as clean marinas. We have designed this web site with information on Norris Lake marinas, resorts and other companies to assist you in planning your next vacation. We look forward to seeing you on the lake.

Nestled in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, about 20 miles north of Knoxville just off I-75, is Norris Lake. Well known for its fishing, skiing and boating on its deep clean waters, the lake consists of two major rivers and numerous creeks. It extends 56 miles up the Powell River and 73 miles into the Clinch River. Since the lake is not fed by another major dam the water is clean and tends to maintain a steady warm temperature until fall.

Recreational use of Norris Lake exceeds that of any other TVA tributary lake. There are over 34,000 acres of water supplying endless fun-filled activities including boating, water sports, fishing, swimming, scuba diving and relaxing.

Norris Lake has over 56 species of fish and is well known for its striper fishing. Along the 809 miles of shoreline many more activities can be enjoyed like golfing, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing and camping. With hundreds of secluded coves, 3 state parks, two wildlife management areas and 59 public access sites, it’s no wonder Norris Lake has become a favorite vacation destination.

The shoreline includes over 50 miles of islands, numerous picnic areas, caves, cliffs, beaches and gradual sloping shorelines. An abundance of wildlife can be spotted including deer, turkey, great blue herons and a few eagles along with cows and horses grazing at the shoreline. There truly is something for everyone at Norris Lake, so get your family and friends together and plan your trip today!

Norris Lake is expansive and extends into five counties: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, and Union. The Clinch River is 300 miles long and drains an area of 2,912 square miles. Its major tributary, the Powell River, drains 938 square miles and is approximately 180 miles long. There are roughly 27,927 acres of Norris Reservoir shore land on which TVA can plan future uses. Of the 809 miles of total shoreline, 16 percent is privately owned, 42 percent is owned and managed by TVA, 26 percent is owned by TVA and jointly managed (Wildlife Management Areas and Parks) and 16 percent is TVA-owned residential access shore land.

BEFORE THE LAKE

The land that Norris Lake resides on was settled for 200 years prior. 3,500 families called the Norris Basin home a long with their farms that they depended on for income and food. Moving all the families and some 5,000 buried bodies needed to be moved before the water levels rised. Just before the Norris Basin was flooded a survey was completed.

94 percent of property owners didn’t have electricity.
30 percent of property owners didn’t have toilet facilities including outhouses
65 percent of property owners had to walk over 300 yards to fetch fresh water
8 percent of property owners owned a radio.
50 percent of property owners read newspapers
26 percent of property owners owned automobiles.

One of TVA’s main purposes was to increase the level of living in the area with controlled flood levels and electricity. Farmers were given cash settlements for their land and some were moved to better living facilities.

The Norris Basin area receives an average of 45 inches of rain a year. The amount of rain was devastating downstream, causing property damage and crop damage from flooding. Therefore, Norris Dam was an undeniable option needed to control flood stages downstream.

We look forward to serving you and hope you enjoy your next vacation to Norris Lake!