East Tennessee: An Outdoor Paradise

While I am not a HUNTER, hunting is very popular in East TN.  What is available in this area is:  white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, black bear, rabbits, squirrels, ducks and geese.  Some like to hunt raccoon with dogs.

Fishing is also popular in this area, such as: salmon, bass, trout, sturgeon, carp, catfish, mussels, and minnows.  The best time of the year to catch salmon is May through October.  Salmon species include: chinook, coho, sockeye, and pink.

In addition to hunting and fishing in East Tennessee, there are several lakes where camping and RVs are permitted.  In addition to camping around these lakes, there are numerous places that have well defined and laid out hiking paths.  If you can camp, you can swim in the lake and have campfires and picnics.

Many people have pontoon boats and sail around the lake and up and down its tributaries.  In addition to these pontoon boats, you will see canoes, rowboats, kayaks, as well as motorized boats.  Oftentimes, these boats are pulling skiers.

East Tennessee stretches from the tri-cities area of Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City, down to Greeneville, Morristown, Jefferson City, over to Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg (Smoky Mountains), back over to Knoxville and then down to Chattanooga.

Where my wife and I live in East TN, we have two lakes on either side of us, Cherokee and Douglas.  A few years ago, we purchased two Dagger cruising kayaks, 10 feet and 12 feet in length, and kayaked on both lakes every weekend for about 2-4 hours.  

We carried the kayaks on the top of our vehicle and would pack bottles of water along with a few snacks.  Typically, we would kayak around for 90 minutes, stop at an island in the middle of the lake, rest, drink water, eat our snacks, the kayak around for another 60-90 minutes before returning home.

The only reason that we stopped kayaking was that we both began to experience back problems which prevented us from getting in and out of the kayaks, and sitting down inside the kayak for extended periods of time.

I am sure that there are other outdoor places that are equally as fulfilling as those of East TN...  it is just that after living here for over 30 years, and my wife for over 50 years, we have grown quite fond of this area.