Is a Weekend Lake Home 30 Minutes From Knoxville Worth It?

A lake home sounds like something you drive half a day to reach. If you live in Knoxville, you do not have to. Tennessee National is a private, gated lake and golf community on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee, about 30 minutes away.

This is a plain look at what a short drive gets you, three ways someone local can use it, and when it would be a waste of a good house.

How close is Tennessee National to Knoxville?

About 30 minutes. Tennessee National is in Loudon, Tennessee, about 10 minutes off I-75. From Farragut it is about 20 minutes.

That short drive is the whole point. A lake place half a day away gets used on long weekends. A lake place half an hour away gets used on a Wednesday. And use is what makes a second home worth owning.

It also means you can do both halves of a fall weekend. Saturday at the game in Knoxville. Sunday on the lake. For the full breakdown, see how far Tennessee National is from Knoxville.

What is at the end of the drive?

1,492 gated acres on Watts Bar Lake. On the property:

• A Greg Norman Signature golf course. 18 holes, 7,393 yards, par 72. See golf.
• A full-service marina with 140+ boat slips. See marina and lake life.
• A clubhouse with Kendall's restaurant. Plus a pool, a fitness center, pickleball, tennis and walking trails.
• A lakefront boardwalk in the Marina District.
• People. 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year. Trivia, live music, wine tastings, holiday parties.

It is a golf cart community. Once you park the car, you may not start it again until Sunday.

How would someone from Knoxville use it?

Three ways, and one can lead to the next.

The second plan works because there is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite. You can hold it and plan on your own schedule.

The third plan is a short move in every sense. You keep your doctors, your friends and your airport. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is about 35 minutes from the gate. Tennessee National is not age restricted, and people live there full-time as well as part-time.

Why Watts Bar instead of another lake near Knoxville?

Two things a local would notice: how little the water level moves, and what is built around the water.

You already know East Tennessee lakes are not all alike. On Watts Bar Lake, summer pool runs about 740 to 741 feet and the winter minimum is 735 feet. That is a seasonal change of about 5 to 6 feet, which is small next to tributary lakes such as Norris or Douglas. TVA posts current levels for all of them on its lake level page.

Watts Bar is also big. TVA lists more than 39,000 acres of water, 722 miles of shoreline, and a 72-mile navigable reservoir with locks that connect to the rest of the Tennessee River system.

The other difference is the setup. At Tennessee National the lake comes with a golf course, a marina and a social calendar inside one gate. Other lakes near Knoxville have their own strengths. If you are weighing them, see our Watts Bar, Norris and Douglas comparison.

What drives the cost of owning?

Three things: which way you own, where the homesite sits, and what you build on it.

There are five ways to own at Tennessee National: The Timbers (wooded homesites), lake homesites, waterfront homesites, Land & Home packages, and townhomes. Finished homes are on the properties page. Homes are custom built. Pricing is in the info pack.

Then there is the carrying side. A second home doubles some bills: power, insurance, upkeep. Ask for the HOA documents and current fees in writing. Golf membership terms come from the club, so ask the club.

What should a local ask?

Ask how you will really use it and what it takes to keep two homes. You know the area, so go deeper than a first-time visitor would.

• How will I use it each month? Be honest. A second home that sits empty is an expensive habit.
• Who looks after it when I am in town? Ask what owners who are not there every day do.
• What does the lake look like from this homesite in January? Go look.
• What will insurance cost on a second home? Ask your own agent for a quote on the address.

The honest trade-offs

• If you rarely leave town on weekends, it will sit. Try this test. Count the weekends you drove out of town last year. If the answer is most of them, a lake home half an hour away may give you those hours back.
• If you do not golf, boat or want a club calendar, the things that set this place apart will not matter to you.
• Two houses are two sets of chores. Two water heaters, two insurance policies, two of everything that breaks.
• Thirty minutes is short, but it is not zero. Time the drive at the hour you would really make it, not on a quiet Sunday morning.

You can test all of this in one afternoon. Drive out. Walk a few homesites. Stand at the marina. Bring your calendar.

Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.