Hiking in Ocoee River, Tennessee Ocoee No. 3 Dam to Parksville Lake: trails, map and practical info

The Setting

The Ocoee River is one of the most recognizable whitewater rivers in the eastern United States, and this particular section — running from the Ocoee No. 3 Dam downstream toward Parksville Lake — gives you a front-row seat to the river's character without requiring you to be in a kayak. The No. 3 Dam itself is a concrete structure that controls flow along this stretch, and it's a striking piece of mid-20th-century engineering completed in 1943 as part of the TVA system, set against a backdrop of forested ridgelines and exposed rock faces.

Parksville Lake, also known as Lake Ocoee, sits at the lower end of this corridor and was created by the Ocoee No. 1 Dam. The lake is the oldest man-made reservoir in the Cherokee National Forest. The lake opens up the landscape considerably, offering wide water views that contrast with the tight, canyon-like feel of the river gorge upstream. Together, these two features — the dam and the lake — bookend a stretch of river that feels both managed and genuinely wild at the same time.