Day trips from Nashville · Lake
Tims Ford Lake
86 miles from downtown Nashville · about 1 hour 35 minutes
TVA, Franklin County, near Winchester, TN
Tims Ford is a 10,500-acre TVA lake on the Elk River with 309 miles of shoreline, running thirty-four miles upstream of the dam. Tims Ford State Park sits on the north shore with a marina, cabins and a Jack Nicklaus golf course.
- Surface
- 10,500 acres
- Shoreline
- 309 miles
- State park
- 3,546 acres, marina, cabins, Bear Trace golf
Permits, fees and access
The state park is free to enter, with paid camping, cabins and golf. Eleven hiking and biking trails.
One thing to know first
TVA draws this lake down roughly fifteen feet each year. At low pool, the upper Elk River arms expose stumps and shoals that are perfectly navigable in summer. Check the current level before you launch in the fall.
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I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date.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.