DOUGLAS LAKE

Douglas Lake is one of the more beautiful lakes in the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) system as it is surrounded by mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains to the south. Douglas Lake, one of the 14 TVA lakes in Tennessee, was built in 1943 for the purposes of flood control and hydro-electric power, as were all the dams in the system. Douglas Lake was created by damming up the French Board River (named for the French who settled the territory during the 1700s). Slightly smaller than neighboring Cherokee Lake, Douglas Lake has over 550 miles of shoreline and when full covers over 30,000 areas. Today, Douglas Lake attracts an estimated 1.7 million visitors per year. It is 43.1 miles long with a maximum depth of 140'. Douglas Lake is fed by both the French Board and the Nolichucky Rivers, both of which originate in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. The TVA provides recreational facilities at Douglas Dam just as it does at most of the dams in its system. Above the dam is a campground with hook-ups and showers, a picnic area, a year-around boat ramp and a swimming beach.

Besides being excellent for waterskiing, jet skiing and boating of all types, Douglas Lake is well known for its excellent large mouth bass fishing. Other game fish include blue cat, channel cat, flat head catfish, white bass, striped bass, spotted bass, bluegill, red horse, red breast sunfish, sauger and walleye. Douglas Lake is rated in the top five nationwide for crappie and top 10 for large mouth bass.