Tour de Lakes Road Trip - The Tennessee River Valley (Part I)

The Corona Virus has stymied quite a few summer travel plans. We had two European vacations cancelled and one to Canada. But we still need to use those vacation days - use em or lose em - so we planned a road trip that was fairly close to home and tried our very best to make it a socially distant trip. I'm calling it our Tour de Lakes as we visited 2 lakes in Eastern Tennessee and continued on through Northwestern Georgia and ended at Lake Oconee in eastern Georgia. Come along on our "new normal" road trip through the Tennessee River Valley!

Where we Went

Douglas Lake, Tennessee

We started our road trip in Eastern Tennessee at Douglas Lake. Douglas Lake is a mountain lake that is close to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. It was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority for power usage in 1942. We chose it for a few reasons - it had the least expensive boat rentals prices around which meant we could get out on the lake and it was a good stopping point on our trip. Unfortunately, it was quite windy and cool the day we visited so we didn't do much swimming. But it has beautiful views and we enjoyed our day there.

Fort Loudon State Historic Park, Tennessee

Fort Loudon was a British colonial-era fort that was built in 1757 to help get Cherokee support for the British. It was one of the earliest British fortifications on the western frontier. It sits on Tellico Lake in Loudon, Tennessee and is free to visit. There is a visitor center telling the history of the fort and there are also picnic tables to enjoy a meal by the lake. And there are kayak and canoe rentals, if you're so inclined, to go for a paddle. As with most historical places, I learned a lot that I didn't remember learning in history class in school.

Sequoyah's Birthplace, Tennessee
Sequoyah was a Native American of the Cherokee Nation.( His mother was a Cherokee and his father was  a white man )He was born here before there was a Tellico Lake and his importance to the Cherokee Nation is of utmost importance - he actually invented the Cherokee alphabet. There is a museum here dedicated to his life - he fought in the Creek Wars (after fighting along side US military men he came home to find his home had been raided by the same men he was fighting with) was a silversmith and blacksmith and after twelve years of trying, with the help of his daughter, he created the Cherokee syllabary. It's a small, but interactive, museum that doesn't take long to go through. If you're visiting Fort Loudon then you should definitely make the side trip here.

Tellico Lake, Tennessee
Tellico Lake is another man made lake that was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. But this one wasn't dammed until 1979 so it's a bit newer. It has 357 miles of shoreline and covers 15,000 acres. So it's big. And it's another mountain lake so it's easy on the eyes. Several boat companies including Sea Ray, MasterCraft, Bryant and Malibu are located on the lake and they test their craft on it. While we were there we saw Yamaha Jet Ski Company filming an ad. Still don't know why they didn't ask us to join in?! And another unique feature of the lake are the silos - they are still there from when the land was farmland. I've never seen that before!

Lookout Mountain Flight Park, Georgia
At the top of Lookout Mountain outside of Chattanooga is the Lookout Mountain Flight Park. They offer individual and tandem hang gliding and are one of the oldest and largest hang gliding schools in the US. They also offer their own resort including camping and lodging adjacent to the landing zone, a private pool, clubhouse and bath house for flight students. Mr. UR would have loved to try it but he didn't make reservations so we settled for watching from the top of the mountain. It's a stunning view and being able to watch the flyers is just the icing on top.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia
Cloudland Canyon is one of the largest and most popular state parks in Georgia. It's namesake  is the 1000 foot deep gorge created by Sitton Gulch Creek cutting through it. We headed to the overlook to take in the view. And then we hiked down into the gorge to view Cherokee Falls on the strenuous waterfall trail. The state park includes cottages, yurts,  camping, hiking, mountain biking, disc golf, a fishing pond and picnicking.

Lookout Lavender Farm, Georgia
Lookout Lavender Farm is a 55 acre lavender farm located in Rising Fawn, Georgia. During blooming season they offer U-Pick which was what I was lucky enough to do. There is no entrance fee and you can pick the lavender in bundles that cost $7 per bundle. We were there on an evening pick and it was quite a beautiful farm and not crowded. They also offer a farm store selling lavender products such as hand soap, shampoo, candles, body butter and essential oils. (You can also shop online here)

DeSoto Falls State Park, Alabama
DeSoto Falls State Park is one of the most popular parks in Alabama. We'd seen feedback that it was fantastic so we decided to drive the 45 minutes from our Air BnB to check it out. After receiving directions from the staff at the visitor center, we headed some 7 miles to the waterfall. When we arrived there were a few people standing and looking at a small dam. Hmm...this certainly wasn't what I was expecting. Luckily, Mr. UR started exploring and found the actual waterfall. Viewing DeSoto Falls just requires a few steps down a staircase as opposed to Cherokee Falls strenous hike in Georgia -which probably explains its' many visitors. The area surrounding it - near the highest town in Alabama, Mentone - is quite peaceful and wooded with lots of cabin rentals. It looks like an area I'd like to explore more of. 

Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens, Georgia
Starting on our journey home, I saw a sign for Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens. Howard Finster started having "visions from God"when he was young and became a Baptist minister. He also was one of the most prolific American artists of all time. Located in Summerville, Georgia, his home and workplace are now a public park dedicated to his art. Basically he took junk and turned it into art. He called his art "sacred art" and it was used on album covers for REM and the Talking Heads, he was in music videos and was on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He has been called the "Andy Warhol of the South" and every year Finster Fest is held at Paradise Gardens to celebrate folk art. So I had to pay Paradise Gardens a visit- who knows if I'd ever be in this corner of Georgia again?

Where We Stayed
In this time of social distancing I decided to stay in a couple of lock box entry cabins which worked out very well for us. 

Sequoyah Lake Tellico Resort and Marina, Vonore Tennessee
Sequoyah Lake Tellico Resort and Marina has 7 log cabins located right on Lake Tellico just outside of Vonore, Tennessee. We rented one of the non-basement cabins with a loft that sleeps 6. Again, entry was with a lock box and there was no need for housekeeping while we were there. There is a gas fireplace, outdoor deck space, full kitchen, one bedroom, loft and one bathroom. Their outdoor restaurant - the Lakefront Grill - and Sequoyah Landing Marina are directly in front of the cabins so we were able eat outside one night and rent a boat where we were staying. It was perfect for us. 

Eureka Cabin Air BnB, Trenton, Georgia
Shannon and Skyla rent a group of cabins that they have remodeled in Trenton, Georgia. Also a perfect cabin for us, Eureka has one bedroom, one bath with full kitchen and pull out sofa in the living room. There is a gas grill and hot tub included along with a front porch swing. Located about 15 minutes away from Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding and Cloudland Canyon State park, Eureka has absolutely everything you could need for your stay including a washer/dryer with detergent, robes to laze around in and condiments in the refrigerator. They have also provided local area info for your stay and a tv with dvd's and Netflix and Amazon Prime. I highly recommend staying at one of Shannon and Skyla's cabin if you're in the area. They were wonderful hosts.

Keep following next week with Part II to find out where we ate and drank on our Tennessee Valley Road Trip!

How about you? Have you traveled in this part of the USA before?


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