Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Image via WikipediaMost every fall we take one of the annual color cruises on nearby Norris Lake. Operated and narrated by a ranger from Norris Dam State Park, these cruises take you places you can only access by boat.

A local friends of the park group donated this nifty pontoon boat they use for the cruises.

the good ship Eleanor

This past Friday was a rainy, overcast, blustery fall day in east Tennessee but the fall colors were ready to view so off we went with our ranger/guide Lucinda and two other hardy souls from nearby Knoxville.

The colors were not at peak just yet but were very beautiful never the less. Some of the Maple trees were showing their usual spectacular red colors.

the Tennessee Valley Authority routinely drops the water levels of most all their lakes in the fall to make room for spring rains and flood control downstream. Norris lakes level routinely is dropped around 20 feet but since it is such a deep lake the average water depth is still around 75 feet.

Norris Dam was completed around 1936 and impounds the Powell and Clinch Rivers to form Norris Lake with almost 800 miles of shoreline. It’s a very popular attraction for visitors from all over.

On other cruises we have seen lots of wildlife from Bald Eagles, deer, ducks, and more, but this trip we only saw two mallards passing over and one lonely Belted Kingfisher on the bank.

It was very peaceful on the lake, we only saw one other boat with a lone fisherman trying his luck.

Now is a great time to be looking for a home in the greater Knoxville area so you can enjoy places like Norris Dam State Park and Knoxvilles many other family friendly attractions. Knoxville Home Center is a great place to look for that new home.