Watauga Lake in Tennessee is located in the Appalachian Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest. Lake Watauga is the third cleanest lake in the country, surrounded by beautiful mountain views. Started in 1942 and finished 1948, Watauga Lake is the TVA’s highest-elevated reservoir in Tennessee. Watauga Lake’s elevation sits 1,959 feet above sea level during the summertime months. Watauga Lake is accessible only by winding mountain roads.
Lake Watauga has a surface cover of 10.05 square miles in a rural part of Johnson County and Carter County Tennessee, and has 104.9-miles of shoreline. The Appalachian Trail crosses the southwestern tip of Watauga Lake. The lake is located south of Mountain City TN, west of Boone NC, east of Elizabethton TN, southeast of Bristol TN, southwest of Damascus VA and northeast of Johnson City TN.
Watauga Lake is a hidden gem in the High Country of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is one small motel and several seasonal marinas and restaurants with lakefront views. Lakefront real estate development and private build-able lots on waterfront property is limited by Watauga Lake’s steep shorelines. There are many cabins and vacation rentals on the lake and surrounding the shoreline.
The Appalachian Trail crosses the southwestern tip of Watauga Lake.
LAKE WATAUGA INFO:
Area: 10.04 mi²
Surface elevation: 1,959′
Max. depth: 265 ft (81 m)
Location: Carter / Johnson counties, Tennessee