Day trips from Nashville · Lake
Cheatham Lake
33 miles from downtown Nashville · about 50 minutes
US Army Corps of Engineers, Cheatham County, near Ashland City, TN
Cheatham is a 7,450-acre Cumberland River impoundment with 320 miles of shoreline, less than an hour northwest of Nashville near Ashland City. It is the quietest of the close-in lakes and the one with the best beach.
- Surface
- 7,450 acres
- Shoreline
- 320 miles
- Beach fee
- $5 per car, mid-May through Labor Day
Permits, fees and access
Lock A Campground and Harpeth River Bridge Campground run April through October. Three commercial marinas.
Swimming
Yes, at the Cheatham Dam Right Bank Recreation Area, a large sand beach with a buoyed swim zone. No lifeguards.
One thing to know first
This is a working navigation pool with barge traffic and lock operations, and the Corps warns of unannounced large releases. Life jackets are required for personal watercraft operators and for children under thirteen.
Access rules, fees and closures verified August 15, 2026 against the agency that manages this place. They change, sometimes without notice. Check before you drive.
The neighborhoods closest to it
If this is the kind of Saturday you want a short drive from your front door, these are the parts of Middle Tennessee that put you nearest to it.
I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date. If you are weighing a move to Middle Tennessee and want to know which part of it puts you closest to the things you actually like, ask me. No pitch.