Why this park
Harrison Bay State Park covers about 1,200 acres on a peninsula on the east shore of Chickamauga Lake, and its edge runs for some 40 miles along the water. This is a Tennessee Valley Authority lake: Chickamauga Dam, at Chattanooga, holds back the Tennessee River for about 59 miles, up to the foot of Watts Bar Dam.
What makes the place worth drawing lies under the bay. It is named for Harrison, once the seat of Hamilton County, and the lake covered much of the old town. In winter, when TVA keeps the lake several feet lower than in summer, paddlers can see what is left: building foundations, old roads and guardrails. Above the water are the wooded shore, the boats in the marina and the birds. The region's tourism association counts great blue herons, ospreys, bald eagles and wintering waterfowl among them.
The story
At first Hamilton County stopped at the Tennessee River. The Tennessee Encyclopedia says the land south of it remained Cherokee country until 1835, when a disputed treaty led to removal on the Trail of Tears. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Joseph Vann, a wealthy Cherokee leader who held people in slavery, moved to a plantation on the Tennessee River after Georgia forced him from his home in 1834, and went west in 1836. Goodspeed's history of East Tennessee, from the 1880s, puts his home on the site where Harrison was later laid out.
In 1840 the county seat moved across the river from Dallas to the new town, named for William Henry Harrison, elected president that year. Chattanooga grew far faster, and in 1870 the seat moved there.
In 1936 TVA began building Chickamauga Dam, and in January 1940 its gates closed. Families had to leave first, and TVA removed several churches, schools and cemeteries ahead of the rising water. The lake covered much of old Harrison, though the town's Bell Cemetery still lies on Patten Island in the bay.
TVA planned a park on the new lake's eastern shore, a recreation demonstration area it called Harrison Island Park. Under segregation it was meant for white visitors; Booker T. Washington Park, to the south, was for Black visitors. In July 1938 the National Park Service reported that work had begun there after a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, TVA P-15, was set up. Later that year TVA leased the land to the state. The Tennessee Encyclopedia says that over the next four years CCC Company 4495, working with the state, built roads and picnic grounds, places to swim, boat docks and maintenance buildings, and that the park first welcomed visitors in 1942. The park's management plan counts some of its shop buildings as original CCC work, calls Harrison Bay the state's first state park and dates it to 1937.
In the late 1990s the park added a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, the Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.
When to go, and what to wear
Summer is lake season. TVA raises Chickamauga in the spring to its summer level and lowers it again for winter. Nearby, in Chattanooga, July days average a high near 91°F and a low near 71°F. For the heat, the state health department advises light, loose-fitting clothing, sunscreen and plenty of water. On a boat, Tennessee law says children 12 and under must have a Coast Guard-approved life jacket on whenever they are on the open deck, unless the boat is anchored, moored or aground.
Spring and fall are the easy seasons for the trails. April averages a high near 74°F and a low near 50°F, and March is the wettest month, so pack a rain shell. October is the driest, with highs near 74°F and lows near 51°F. Parts of the longest trail, the Bay Point Loop, cross low ground that can flood and turn muddy after rain, so wear shoes you don't mind getting dirty.
Winter is the season for the old town and the birds. The lake is at its lowest then, paddlers can see Harrison's foundations and roads, and wintering waterfowl arrive. January averages a high near 51°F and a low near 32°F, so dress in layers: a long-sleeve tee, a sweatshirt, a windproof jacket and a hat. Bring binoculars.
Know before you go
- The park has two public boat ramps: at the marina, and on Wolftever Creek along Highway 58. TVA posts Chickamauga's lake level, so check it before you launch, especially in winter, when the lake runs lower.
- The park's swimming pool has closed for good, so check the park's page, linked below, for where you may swim in the lake.
- TWRA names largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass, walleye, sauger, bluegill and catfish among the lake's game fish, and says a 15-pound, 3-ounce largemouth caught in Chickamauga in 2015 set the state record.
- Digging for or taking artifacts is against the law in the park and on TVA land, including old Harrison's remains along the shore at low water. Leave what you find where it lies.
- Hours, fees and closures change, so check Harrison Bay State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Harrison Bay State Park" (Carroll Van West) and "Hamilton County" (John Wilson); Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Harrison Bay State Park Strategic Management Plan 2023–2033 and news release of December 6, 2021; National Park Service, The Regional Review, "With the CCC Camps" (July 1938); Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, James County, via TNGenWeb; New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Joseph Vann" (N. Michelle Williamson); Tennessee Valley Authority, Chickamauga Dam facts, "Understanding the Drawdown" and "Laws Governing Cultural Resources"; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-02-02-.18; The Living New Deal, "Chickamauga Dam" and "Booker T. Washington State Park"; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, "Chickamauga Reservoir" and "Regulations and Safety"; Southeast Tennessee Tourism Association, "Harrison Bay: Tennessee's First State Park" (2020); Calvin Sneed, "Harrison, Tennessee: Hamilton County's hidden Atlantis," NewsChannel 9 (2017); John Martin, "The lost town of Old Harrison," Local 3 News (2021); Tennessee Department of Health (2026); NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Chattanooga Lovell Field station; Wikipedia; Harrison Bay State Park, tnstateparks.com.
