Recreation

Cheatham Lake - Boating index

The lake is located northwest of Nasville, near Ashland City

• Resource Manager’s Office
• 1798 Cheatham Dam Road
• Ashland City, TN 37015
• Phone: (615) 792-5697 or
• (615) 254-3734

Location & description:

Cheatham Lake is an impoundment of the Cumberland River with 320 miles of shoreline. It is 67.5 miles long and extends all the way from Cheatham Dam through Nashville to Old Hickory Dam. In its upper reaches, the lake generally consists of a deepened river channel and is often referred to as a river. However, water levels and flows in these upper reaches are also controlled by the dam.

Boating

The water is approximately 40 feet deep at the dam. Lake levels are controlled to provide a navigable channel with a minimum depth of 9 feet all the way upstream to Old Hickory Dam. However, deeper areas are present along the high bluffs found throughout the lake. Boating is an enjoyable and popular sport on Cheatham Lake. Life jackets are required for people on personal watercraft, children under the age of 13 (unless inside enclosed cabins), everyone inside the lock chamber (unless inside enclosed cabins), and boaters operating in the posted safety zone below the dam. Sycamore Creek, Sams Creek, and Brush Creek have designated “No Wake” zones.

Daily fees

A: A $4 daily fee is charged during the peak recreation season for use of the recreational facilities in Cheatham Dam Right Bank Recreation Area. This fee applies to each vehicle or boat entering this recreation area, whether its occupants picnic, swim at the beach, play at the playgrounds, launch a boat, fish from the bank, or use one the four picnic shelters. Annual passes are available for $30. These passes are accepted in day use areas at any lake managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Click here for the Annual Day Use Pass mail order form (Adobe PDF format).

Marinas

Riverview Marina
Provides dockside diesel and gasoline sales, transient moorage spaces, scenic boat tours and a restaurant to recreational boaters. The marina is located on the left bank immediately upstream of the State Route 49 Bridge in Ashland City, Tennessee. For more information call the marina at (615) 792-7358.

Commodore Yacht Club and Rock Harbor Marina
Private club docks in West Nashville, provide fuel sales to the public. Call Commodore Yacht Club at (615) 356-4110 and Rock Harbor Marine at (615) 356-1111.

Doziers Dock
Provides a restaurant with courtesy docks at the mouth of the Harpeth River. The dock is located next to Pardue Recreation Area. Turn on Doziers Boat Dock Road off State Route 49. Telephone (615) 792-9715.

Fishing

Cheatham Lake offers great fishing opportunities for anglers of all ages and preferences. Lunker largemouth bass can be taken on a wide variety of artificial lures in the major tributaries of the lake. Sauger and white bass (stripe), are generally caught on spinners, jigs, minnows, or jig-minnow combinations in the tailwaters below the dam. Panfish, such as bream and crappie, can be caught virtually anywhere in the lake or tailwaters.