Smith Springs
October 2026
About
Overview
Smith Springs Recreation Area is a lakeside oasis in the hills of middle Tennessee, providing visitors with countless recreational activities on the lake and in the surrounding woods and grasslands.
Recreation
The lake provides a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for millions of visitors each year. Because of the temperate climate and relatively long recreation season, visitors have numerous activities to choose from, including fishing, hunting, picnicking, boating, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing.
Fishing opportunities abound at J. Percy Priest Lake, with a wide variety of species available, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass, Cherokee bass, and white bass. Other species such as catfish, bluegill, bream and trout provide excellent opportunities for younger anglers.
Nearby Anderson Road Fitness Trail is a paved trail winding a little over a mile through the cedar glade area beside the lake.
Facilities
Smith Springs Recreation Area offers a large group shelter for day use and can accommodate up to 50 guests. There is limited parking suitable only for 12 vehicles.
Natural Features
J. Percy Priest Dam and Lake was one of the first Corps of Engineers lakes to have recreation as part of its justification. The dam, completed in 1968, impounds 42 miles, with 14,200 surface acres of water.
In soothing contrast to the sparkling waters of the lake are the adjacent 19,087 acres of grasslands and woodlands.
A highlight of the region, the Cedar Glades Natural Area, is home to countless wildlife and plant species, including the Tennessee coneflower.
Nearby Attractions
J. Percy Priest Lake is conveniently located about 10 miles east of downtown Nashville, offering visitors countless cultural activities and the conveniences of a metro area.
Amenities
Phone: 615-889-1975
Is SMITH SPRINGS fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches SMITH SPRINGS in Antioch, TN for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching SMITH SPRINGS for cancellations is the paid part.