Editors' picks across 8categories — the dock with the deepest channel, the winery with the view, the restaurant with the right wine list, the trail nobody's on at sunrise.
The restaurant at the center of Fontana Village, blending Appalachian character with a modern menu — house-smoked wings, an Appalachian smash burger, pulled pork, and wood-fired pizza.
Visit ↗The restaurant at the Lodge at Fontana, with the Bears Den Lounge attached — a rotating breakfast and dinner menu.
Visit ↗The lake's main marina, closest to the dam — pontoon, canoe, kayak, and paddleboard rentals, plus sunset boat tours of Fontana Lake.
Visit ↗A free TVA public boat launch near Bryson City, one of two ramps close to town.
The second free TVA public boat launch near Bryson City, on the lake's north shore.
The tallest dam east of the Rocky Mountains at 480 feet — a gravity-type concrete structure, 2,365 feet long, built by the TVA between 1942 and 1944 to power Oak Ridge's Manhattan Project war effort. Water first flowed through in January 1945. Building the dam and lake required relocating over 1,300 people and flooding the towns of Fontana, Bushnell, Forney, and Judson.
Visit ↗A small park on Fontana Lake with picnic tables, public restrooms, and a swimming area — one of the lake's few developed beach access points.