Largest lakes & reservoirs in Tennessee by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 33 articles we have published for Tennessee lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > Tennessee > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in Tennessee, only the 33 Tennessee lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Lake, KY/TN (Kentucky, Tennessee, US South Region, USA, West Tennessee, Western Waterlands Region, KY) |
2,380 mi | Kentucky Lake is the largest man-made lake east of the Mississippi when measured by surface acres at “full pond,” the normal water level: 184 miles lo… |
| Lake Barkley, KY/TN (Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA, Western Waterlands Region, KY) |
1,004 mi | Lake Barkley is one of the premier recreational destinations in Western Kentucky. The reservoir was created by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 for… |
| Lake Guntersville, AL (Alabama, East Tennessee, Mountains Region, AL, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
949 mi | Also known as Guntersville Lake, Guntersville Reservoir Alabama’s Mountain Region contains the state’s largest lake: Lake Guntersville. Cradled in the Appalachian foothills of northern Alabama, it’s located… |
| Chickamauga Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
810 mi | Also known as Chickamauga Reservoir Chickamauga Lake is a fabulous recreational reservoir. It is located in southeast Tennessee, 20 miles from Chattanooga, and includes 810 miles of shor… |
| Norris Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
809 mi | Also known as Norris Reservoir Just 25 miles north of Knoxville, Tennessee, Norris Lake is the first reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Named for Senator George No… |
| Watts Bar Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
722 mi | Also known as Watts Bar Reservoir Midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, Watts Bar Lake has been called “King of the Southern Great Lakes.” Watts Bar Lake is an impoundment of the T… |
| Dale Hollow Lake, KY/TN (Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Southern Lakes Region, KY, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
620 mi | Also known as Dale Hollow Reservoir Dale Hollow Lake, straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border, is an artificial lake that was formed by damming the Obey and Cumberland Rivers. As with m… |
| Douglas Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
513 mi | Also known as Douglas Reservoir Douglas Lake, also known as Douglas Reservoir, stretches out over more than 28,000 acres and 500 shoreline miles in eastern Tennessee. Douglas Lake is… |
| Pickwick Lake, AL/MS/TN (Alabama, Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, Mountains Region, AL, Tennessee, US South Region, USA, West Tennessee) |
496 mi | Also known as Pickwick Reservoir Pickwick Lake is a 43,100-acre reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with construction of Pickwick Landing Dam across the Tennesse… |
| Old Hickory Lake, TN (Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
440 mi | Only half an hour outside of Nashville, Old Hickory Lake offers outdoor recreational opportunities for millions of visitors to the middle region of Te… |
| Cherokee Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
393 mi | Also known as Cherokee Reservoir Cherokee Lake: Artists stop at Clinch Mountain Overlook to paint it, and photographers to photograph it, and every year millions of people come from a… |
| Cordell Hull Lake, TN (Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
381 mi | Also known as Cordell Hull Reservoir One of the premier spots for water-based recreation in the Middle Tennessee region is Cordell Hull Lake. Built by the United States Army Corps of Engi… |