Why this park
Panther Creek State Park covers 1,444 acres of ridges and shoreline on the south side of Cherokee Lake, about six miles west of Morristown. The lake is the Holston River, held back since December 1941 by Cherokee Dam, which the Tennessee Valley Authority built.
What makes the place worth drawing is the view from the ridge. For about half a mile the park road runs along the crest of Hunt Knob Ridge, with the lake and the long wall of Clinch Mountain to the north and the lake's Panther Creek arm to the south. The overlook deck takes in Point Lookout, the park's highest ground at 1,460 feet, some 400 feet above the water, as well as Poor Valley Ridge. Under that water is the Holston valley as it was before the dam.
The story
Native people came to the spring for generations before white settlers did, the Tennessee Encyclopedia says. Pioneers settled this stretch of the valley around 1785, The Tennessee Magazine reports. In 1792 a road was built to join the stage routes from Knoxville and Abingdon, Virginia, and by 1800 Panther Springs was one of several communities along it, in time with an academy, a church and a store. The park's page says it once mattered more than Morristown.
The spring's name comes with a story. The park's page passes on the legend that soon after the Revolutionary War a Colonel Bradley of Virginia shot a panther, and it fell into the spring. The encyclopedia says only that settlers are supposed to have named the place for a panther one of them killed there.
In the late 1850s the railroad bypassed Panther Springs for a depot at Morristown, and trade moved with it. On March 5, 1864, Confederate cavalry attacked a Union scouting party of the Third East Tennessee Infantry sent to Panther Springs; the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association counts three Union men killed, one wounded and 20 captured. In 1870 the commissioners who created Hamblen County met at Tate's Store, close to the springs.
Most families here worked small farms, about 60 acres on average, the park's page says. Inside the park, four cemeteries, four springhouses and six house foundations have been found.
With war under way in Europe, TVA built Cherokee Dam to power aluminum production. The East Tennessee Historical Society says work started on August 1, 1940, and ended on December 5, 1941, two days before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and that the project moved more than 800 families. Wikipedia, citing TVA's 1946 report, counts 875 families and 51 cemeteries, and says the water covered the ground where Bean Station first stood.
The state's draft management plan dates the park to August 10, 1967, when TVA arranged for 947 acres to pass to the state for public recreation. The state bought more land the next year.
When to go, and what to wear
The figures here are NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for the nearest station, the National Weather Service office in Morristown, about three miles away.
Spring is for wildflowers and fishing. April averages a high near 69°F and a low near 48°F. Trout lilies bloom along the Trout Lily Trail from March into May, and the park's page says bass and crappie bite best in spring. Bring a rain shell and a light layer.
Summer is warm. July averages a high near 86°F and a low near 68°F, and with about 5 inches of rain it is the wettest month. Wear a light tee and a hat, carry water, and on the lake wear a life jacket, as the park advises.
Fall is the driest season. October averages a high near 70°F and a low near 50°F, with under 3 inches of rain. The park warns that rock ledges at the lake's edge can break off suddenly, so keep back from them. A sweatshirt or fleece covers most days.
Winter brings waterfowl to the lake, and the park's page says to watch for bald eagles near the lake overlook. January averages a high near 46°F and a low near 29°F, and about 3.5 inches of snow. Wear layers, a windproof jacket, a hat and gloves, and bring binoculars.
The trails are mostly dirt, with many short, steep climbs. Wear shoes that grip, and check for ticks after walking the old fields.
Know before you go
- The playground closed for good on April 7, 2026. Since April 13 its restrooms, the swimming pool parking lot and the beach volleyball and basketball courts have also been closed while a new playground and a day-use recreation lodge are built, a job scheduled to end by mid-2027. The tennis courts and disc golf course stay open, with parking by the visitor center and the Spoone shelter.
- Hikers may use all of the roughly 28 miles of trail; bikes and horses each have about 10 miles, on separate trails. Riders must carry their horses' Coggins papers. The Trout Lily Trail, a two-mile loop that the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club built, is for experienced mountain bikers.
- The boat ramp is open year-round, 7 a.m. to sunset. The restrooms by the Spoone and Smallman shelters are shut each year from November 15 to March 1.
- Hours, fees and closures change, so check Panther Creek State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Panther Creek State Park" (Carroll Van West) and "Hamblen County" (Mrs. Burwin Haun); Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Panther Creek State Park Strategic Management Plan (draft, updated November 2, 2026); East Tennessee Historical Society, "Grainger County," teachtnhistory.org; Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, "Panther Springs"; Trish Milburn, "Jumping-Off Point," The Tennessee Magazine (December 2024); NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Morristown WFO station; Wikipedia; Panther Creek State Park, tnstateparks.com.
