Pioneers (including Daniel Boone) referred to it as the Cherokee River. Now, the Tennessee River is one of the most popular lake home destinations and desirable waterways in America. Its rich fascinating history includes Cherokee Indians, early colonial pioneers, Revolutionary war heroes, and Civil War battles. Today, the Tennessee River provides a magnificent variety of boat accessible concerts, festivals, museums, Historic Sites, Landmarks, resorts and activities. It is also a great place to explore ‘beyond the immediate horizon’. From Knoxville, you are just 1 hour’s rental car drive away from Gatlinburg and the highest Peak in the Great Smoky Mountains and National Park.
During the 1930s, America was experiencing an economic downturn known as the Great Depression. As a way to help Americans recover, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced his “New Deal” programs. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was founded to help the hard-hit Tennessee Valley, where it was tasked with improving the quality of life in the region. One of the ways TVA improved the area was creating dams and reservoirs on the Tennessee River to control the river’s navigation and help with flood control.
Planning a journey on the Tennessee River begins with whether you are going upriver or downriver. Assuming you are departing from your East Tennessee Lake home on Ft. Loudoun or Tellico Lake, going down stream is the favorable route. There are nine locks and dams between Knoxville, TN and Kentucky Dam where the Tennessee River enters the Ohio River. If you are traveling downriver, each lock will act like a bathtub and lower you the next lake below the dam. Conversely, going upriver means your vessel will rise up to the next lake.
Knoxville to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
What a beautiful voyage and experience this will be, as you should time the start of your journey to be on the Tennessee River at the end of Spring and early Summer when the scenery is lush and the lakes are warm. If you have never been to or seen the Smoky Mountains, we highly encourage you to first cruise onto Tellico Lake also known as the Little Tennessee River and spend a day or two here. The views of the Smokies are like no other and crusie by the finest waterfront communities in the state There is also a varies of historical stops and active waterfront marinas. Through the Ft. Loudoun lock and on to Watts Bar Lake then Lake Chickamauga, the Appalachian Mountains in the background, you will cruise along the steep Lookout Mountain before reaching Ruby Falls waterfall and Rock City. Point Park, atop Lookout Mountain, marks the site of a Civil War battle now honored at the Battles for Chattanooga Museum. This is simply a beautiful voyage with plenty to see and do along the way.
Chattanooga, TN to Guntersville, AL: mm 358.5: This journey will take you on a history tour beginning with Chickamauga Lock and the Trail of Tears, through the Tennessee River Gorge and past the old historic Hales Bar Dam. Locking through Nickajack Dam lowers you to Guntersville Lake which is one of the top bass lakes in the United States.
Guntersville Dam and Wheeler Dam: This stretch of the river pulses with the economic potential that a river can provide to a community commerce. Prior to Wheeler Dam, the infamous shallow, rocky shoals became a barrier to shipping goods to the larger ports in New Orleans and Paducah, KY. This area is home to the famous Muscle Shoals Sound and is well worth an overnight stay to explore the museums and to hike the Muscle Shoals Reservation Trails.
Joe Wheeler mm 227 to Pickwick Dam State Park 207.6 mm: The serenity of Joe Wheeler State Park is a welcome oasis for boaters on the Great Inner Loop. Today’s journey will take you through the historic Wilson Dam, which was almost acquired by Henry Ford in the late 1920’s. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford visualized a planned model city along the river that would be built to accommodate workers at their automobile factory. This never moved from a vision, and President Roosevelt would make Wilson Dam the center of his vision for the TVA and a connected region.
Pickwick Lake touches three states- Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The lake is also just above the 234 mile Tenn-Tom canal which links the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee down to the ports in the Gulf of Mexico. The river has now become flatter and wider and weather conditions can run from choppy water to water as smooth as glass. Historic houses along the bluffs stand as sentinels and reminders of life along the river. Eat at one of the many fish houses which are serving up locally caught catfish and hush puppies
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway!
As early as 1540, European explorers visioned and advocated for this connected waterway that would help with settlement of the region. In 1810, the City of Knoxville petitioned Congress to build the waterway as an important economic trade route to the major ports in New Orleans. A project steeped in 100 years of political wrangling, construction finally began in 1977.
Often called the Tenn-Tom, this leg of your voyage is 234 miles. It is 300 feet wide and 9 feet deep and is the Loopers best route to the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of 10 Locks and connects you to the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf ICW at Mobile Bay. The waterway starts at Yellow Creek Port near Pickwick Lake and ends near Demopolis, Alabama.
The Tenn-Tom (direct) route offers 38 marinas, convenient stops, and plenty of safe anchorages, amenities, great site seeing and wonderful side trip opportunities. This is the very most enjoyable, fun and relaxing route to take compared to the much longer Lower Mississippi route from Cairo to the Gulf ICW. For those wishing to visit New Orleans, we suggest this route and heading west on the Gulf ICW from Mobile Bay.
Tombigbee River to the Gulf of Mexico
The Demopolis to Mobile portion of this journey however is about as remote and uninhabited as you will find on your entire Great Loop adventure. It is a natural river stretch of some 200 miles, and if you are going slow and easy as I always do, you will need provisions for 3 or 4 days of anchoring out. It is however a beautiful voyage.
Your last 10 miles or so before reaching Mobile harbor will get very busy. Not only is there a lot of commercial traffic, you are entering an area with a no wake speed zone. While there are choices, on both sides of Mobile
Bay, once I pass the I-10 bridge, I head east to Fairhope, and Eastern Shore Marina which is 11 miles away. Eastern Shore Marina is located in a protected area just up the Fly Creek channel at the town of Fairhope. It
offers transient slips, gas and diesel, pump out facilities, great shower and laundry facilities, and a courtesy car. It also has free WIFI access, mast stepping, marine supplies, and a full service maintenance facility. It is close to shops, restaurants, and also has on site rental cars for longer use if you need or want one. For those wanting to visit New Orleans, it is only a two and a half hour rental car drive away from Fairhope.
Mobile Bay leads to the Gulf of Mexico and also the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The ICW west will take one all the way to Brownsville, Texas and the ICW east goes to Carabelle, Florida.
Excerpts taken from Captainjohn.org
Posted by Sandor Pardi, Lakefront Living, On The Lake Realty, TN
