Tennessee River (Volunteer Landing to Marine Park)
| Stretch: | Volunteer Landing to Marine Park |
| Difficulty: | Class 0 |
| Distance: | 4.25 miles |
| Flows: | If the lake is low, you will have flow for some or all of the run. Lake level max is 813 ft elevation, you can get current level here |
| Gradient: | ~0 fpm average |
| Put-in: | Volunteer Landing, downtown Knoxville |
| Take-out: | Marine Park Boat Ramp on US-129 |
| Shuttle: | 3.9 miles, (10 minutes one-way) |
| Season: | Year Round |
| Written: | © 2020 |
Aster's second day on the water was longer than anticipated. We have been riding our bike with Aster along the Greenway from Marine Park a fair bit this winter. There was always current in the river. What I didn't take into account was the lake is currently full. That means, it was ALL flat water... and with Diane sitting with Aster in the canoe to play with her and keep her happy, I got to paddle the whole length of the run, pushing their weight, against a light head wind. It took longer than anticipated and I was for sure more tired afterwards.
The best part of this paddle in my opinion is the start, when you paddle past the stadiums downtown. It was a cool way to see them, and you feel small for sure. The middle part was a mix of industrial and then scenic river side. The final part is along very nice houses which are also fun to gawk at. In the future, I will save this paddle for when the lake isn't full and there is current though.
There are a lot more access points to choose from in the Knoxville area, see the city page here to see these.
Take-out: 2.5 miles south of the river (downtown Knoxville) on US-129, immediately after the Marine training facility, turn right into the small park with a boat ramp.
Put-in: Head back north on US-129. Immediately on the other side of the river, turn right for the offramp to Neyland Drive. Turn left onto Neyland Drive and go 2.2 miles. Turn right into the parking area for Calhoun's. Volunteer park is to the right as you enter the parking area.
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