Why this park
Our Paris Landing tee shows the wide, calm water of Kentucky Lake at sunset, with a fishing pier and a lone sailboat, drawn like an old park poster. All of it comes from the park. It has a wheelchair-friendly fishing pier, and its page calls the lake excellent water for sailing. The rangers' idea of a perfect day ends with the sunset from a point just east of the Lodge, in the picnic area, and they send early risers to the same point for the sunrise.
The park sits on the lake's western shore where the lake is widest, about three miles across, the park's management plan says. It faces the southern end of Land Between the Lakes, a 40-mile peninsula of federal recreation land. The Tennessee Encyclopedia says that once the park opened in 1945, the lake soon drew visitors, and the town of Paris came to be called the Capital City of Kentucky Lake.
The story
Paris Landing was a steamboat and freight landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River, near where the park's marina is today. From the 1820s, the management plan says, steamboats and packet boats called there with goods for the communities nearby, and the park's page says the landing was a shipping point for farm goods.
In October 1864, the Tennessee Encyclopedia says, a Confederate raid on the Union supply depot at Johnsonville, upriver, began at Paris Landing. Late that month, the park's management plan says, the raiders captured a Union gunboat, the Undine, and two transports near the landing. On November 4 they shelled Johnsonville, and Union forces burned their own gunboats, transports and barges there to keep them from capture.
Then the river itself changed. TVA finished Kentucky Dam in 1944, at mile 22.4 of the Tennessee River, in Kentucky, and the lake that rose behind it covered the old landing. The park's marina now sits at river mile 66.1.
In 1945 TVA leased 215 acres here to the state for Paris Landing State Park, the fourth park the state acquired from TVA, and in September 1954 it handed the land over for good. Plans were drawn from 1949, and building soon followed: an inn and restaurant, cabins, trails, a picnic area, a swimming beach, a marina and a campground. By 1970 the park drew about 300,000 visitors a year, and in 1972 it added an 18-hole golf course.
The park has since grown to 1,126 acres. Camp Hazlewood, a former Girl Scout camp of 358 acres on the lake, about seven miles from the main park, joined it in 2007. In 2019 the original inn was torn down, and a new lodge and restaurant opened in June 2022.
When to go, and what to wear
Spring is for fishing. From late March through May, the park's page says, the creek mouths and embayments are the places for crappie, and bass fishing peaks in spring and again in fall. At Dover, about 13 miles east beyond Land Between the Lakes, April averages a high near 70°F and a low near 47°F. May is the wettest month, so pack a rain shell.
Summer is lake season. July averages a high near 88°F and a low near 69°F. The lake is about three miles wide here, with no shade on the open water, so bring a hat, sunglasses and a light layer for the wind on a boat. For the heat, the state health department advises light, loose-fitting clothing, sunscreen and plenty of water. In the warm months the park asks hikers to wear bug spray and closed-toe shoes. Against ticks and mosquitoes, the health department advises long, loose, light-colored clothing with long sleeves and long pants, so a light long-sleeve tee earns its place.
Fall and winter belong to the birds. The park's page says waterfowl are abundant from late fall through spring, and so are American white pelicans in fall and winter. Bald eagles nest along the lake and are seen more often in winter, when birds from farther north arrive. October averages a high near 71°F and a low near 48°F, and January a high near 46°F and a low near 27°F. Dress in layers: a long-sleeve tee, a sweatshirt, a windproof jacket and a hat. Bring binoculars.
Know before you go
- The Lodge has 91 lakeside rooms. Its outdoor pool is for lodge and cabin guests only, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with no lifeguard. The Restaurant at Paris Landing, in the Lodge, serves lunch and dinner every day.
- Swim at the public swim beach on the lake. Swimming isn't allowed in the marina, because of the risk of electric shock, or in the embayment, where water plants grow and people fish.
- The marina has slips, fuel, a fish cleaning station and a three-lane boat ramp with no fee. It also offers free transportation to the 18-hole golf course, where tee times are required.
- Campers should use the park's north entrance. The main campground has water and electric hookups for RVs up to 38 feet, a few primitive sites and six camping cabins.
- Hours, fees and closures change, so check Paris Landing State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Paris Landing State Resort Park" (Carroll Van West), "Henry County" (David W. Webb) and "Battle of Johnsonville" (Paul Ashdown); Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Paris Landing State Park Strategic Management Plan 2023–2033 (reviewed 2024); American Society of Civil Engineers, "Kentucky Dam," historic civil engineering landmark; Tennessee Department of Health, news releases of June 30 and July 24, 2026; NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Dover 1 W station; Paris Landing State Park, tnstateparks.com.
