KNOXVILLE – After another successful recreation season, the Tennessee Valley Authority campgrounds and visitor centers are closed for the winter months. The campgrounds and visitor centers will reopen the spring of 2019. During this year’s recreation season, the campgrounds hosted more than 113,000 campers, an estimated 18 percent increase from the previous year.

Douglas Dam; image by Jeaneane Payne

TVA campgrounds closed are:

Cherokee Dam - Cherokee Reservoir in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Douglas Dam Headwater - Douglas Reservoir near Sevierville, Tenn.

Douglas Dam Tailwater - Douglas Reservoir near Sevierville, Tenn.

Melton Hill Dam - Melton Hill Reservoir near Lenoir City, Tenn.

Pickwick Dam - Pickwick Reservoir near Savannah, Tenn.

Watauga Dam - Watauga Reservoir near Elizabethton, Tenn.

TVA’s four staffed visitor centers also had a great year with approximately 131,000 visitors over the seven-month season. Visitor centers at Norris, Fontana, and Kentucky Dams are closed and will reopen next spring. Visitor centers at the Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage facility near Chattanooga, and unstaffed centers at South Holston and Fort Patrick Henry dams in northeast Tennessee remain open year-round. Informative display panels at Wilson and Guntersville dams in Alabama will also remain open. Visitor centers will close for major holidays and during severe weather. Additional information on all of TVA’s visitor centers is on TVA’s website.

Raccoon Mountain/Laurel Point, located off Raccoon Mountain Road near U.S. Highway 64/72 west of Chattanooga, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. November through March.

Wilson Dam, located off Reservation Road in Muscle Shoals, is accessible year-around.

Guntersville Dam, located off Snow Point Rd. (CR-50), is accessible year-around.

South Holston Dam, located on South View Dam Drive, Bristol, Tenn., is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. April through October; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.

Fort Patrick Henry, located off Interstate 81, Exit 59, is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. April through October; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.

While the campgrounds are closed, TVA and Recreation Resource Management will make upgrades to the facilities. Upgrades include bathroom improvements, renovating camp stores and upgrading electrical service at the sites.

TVA’s day-use recreation areas on dam reservations remain open year-round. These recreation areas are used for hiking, fishing, boating, picnicking, wildlife viewing and swimming.