Water for Leisure Around Nashville (Hendersonville, Henderson: 2014, homes, to buy)

[Kristin85]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I visited Nashville 2 years ago and fell in love with the area. We're planning to start a family and move by the summer of 2014. Where we'll be moving is up in the air but the surburbs of Nashville are near the top of our list. We love the people, the scenery, the music, the slower pace of life...practically everything!

The biggest concern my husband and I have about moving to TN is water for leisure. We are both beach bums--we grew up in a city by the water, currently live in a beach town, and vacation in coastal Maine. When we visited we stopped by an area of Old Hickory Lake. Even though it was 75 degrees outside we only saw 4 or 5 people enjoying themselves by the water.

Is Old Hickory Lake the place where most Nashville & suburb residents go for water leisure? If not, do they go to the reservoir? Can you swim in either body of water or are there restrictions or tons of leeches? Do most residents rely on community pools or prefer to buy homes with pools? We're sunbathers & swimmers so having access to large bodies of water for boating isn't a priority for us.

We'll be coming back to Nashville this September and would love to have some areas to check out while we're there. Thanks!

[CountryGirl2b=]

Biggest lake here is Percy Priest:

J. Percy Priest Lake - Tennessee Vacation

Or you can drive down to Pensacola, FL on the Gulf Coast of Fl in 7 hours.

[BirdieBelle]

It's a different kind of water leisure here. Not at all coastal, of course.

Watersports, meaning boats, Jet Skis, tubing and skiing, are HUGE here. Nobody really swims/sunbathes at the lakes here unless it's off the back of a boat or in front of your lake house. The public beaches aren't the first choice for most.

You may not be able to do the same thing here, but you might find that you enjoy something new like paddleboarding or canoeing.

[Kristin85]

Love canoeing so it makes me feel a little better that water sports are a big part of life near Nashville. Sounds like a pool is really the way to go for swimming. Thanks so much!

[vivelafrance]

You should definitely check out the Hendersonville area. Old Hickory is very popular for water activities. Although it is mostly jet ski and boating, there are some waterfront parks and even a few small beaches where you can swim. I think most people feel more comfortable swimming in the deepest part of the lake though and therefore do so from their boats. A lot of lakeside residents in Hendersonville had piers or docks with decks where they sunbathe in the summer.

Also 75 degrees is still a bit cool by TN standards so lake activities won't really pick up until its above 80.

[Trequartista]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

Also 75 degrees is still a bit cool by TN standards so lake activities won't really pick up until its above 80.

u wot m8?

75 degrees may be cool for Qatar or Saudi Arabia, but im pretty sure everywhere else on earth that is a nice warm temperature

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by Trequartista

u wot m8?

75 degrees may be cool for Qatar or Saudi Arabia, but im pretty sure everywhere else on earth that is a nice warm temperature

Well then maybe it's just that people spend more time at the lake from Memorial Day through Labor Day when the high temperature in Nashille is consistently well above 75 degrees.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Trequartista

75 degrees may be cool for Qatar or Saudi Arabia, but im pretty sure everywhere else on earth that is a nice warm temperature

75 degrees may be warm ON EARTH but WATER that's been around air temps in the 70s tends to be a tad cool.