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.
A floating-dock restaurant at Hurricane Marina, widely regarded as the premier dining spot on Center Hill Lake — Southern fare with waterfront views from the water itself.
Visit ↗A dog-friendly Mexican restaurant at Center Hill Marina & Yacht Club, with a spacious covered waterfront patio — bold Mexican flavors alongside lake views.
The restaurant at Edgar Evins Marina inside the state park — open Friday and Saturday for lunch through dinner, Sunday for lunch, a straightforward option for anyone already docked at the marina.
Visit ↗Center Hill Lake's oldest marina, on one of the lake's few natural harbors just three miles south of I-40 — tritoons, wave runners, ski boats, kayaks, and paddleboards, plus a 24-hour fuel dock and golf cart valet.
Visit ↗The state park marina, with over 338 slips — fuel, pontoon and houseboat rentals, a ship's store, bait and tackle, fishing licenses, and a launch ramp.
Visit ↗A yacht club and marina in Lancaster renting 30-foot double-deck pontoons with 90-115 horsepower motors, some with a water slide — home to El Lago restaurant.
A full-service marina and resort on Sligo Road near Smithville, with its own restaurant and pontoon rentals.
Visit ↗A marina on Floating Mill Road in Silver Point renting pontoons, deck boats, fishing boats, and houseboats.
A roughly 6,000-acre state park headquartered on Center Hill Lake's DeKalb County shore, named for state senator James Edgar Evins. Established in 1975, the park leases its land from the Army Corps of Engineers, which built and still administers Center Hill Dam.
Visit ↗Built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1948 on the Caney Fork River for flood control and hydroelectric power — the dam that created a lake stretching 65 miles with over 400 miles of shoreline across four counties, displacing the communities that had lived in the Caney Fork Valley for generations.