The questions travelers actually Google before they arrive — and the answers you'd get from a friend who lives on J. Percy Priest Lake.
Getting there & around
Logistics
How close is J. Percy Priest Lake to downtown Nashville?
About ten miles east — the closest genuine boating lake to the city. It's an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Stones River, built between 1963 and 1967 for flood control, with a 28-megawatt hydroelectric plant at the dam.
What's the closest airport to Percy Priest Lake?
Nashville International (BNA) is closest, about fifteen minutes from the lake's Bell Road marina cluster — the easiest-to-reach lake in this guide by air.
Groceries, gas, urgent care
Essentials
Where's the closest grocery store to Percy Priest Lake?
Kroger, on Old Hickory Boulevard in Hermitage at the Northlake Village complex — the closest supermarket to the Bell Road marina cluster.
Where's the closest emergency room to Percy Priest Lake?
TriStar Summit Medical Center's emergency room, on Frist Boulevard in Hermitage — a 24-hour ER serving Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, and the surrounding lake area.
Where to eat
Food & drink
Where's the best place to eat at Percy Priest Lake?
A U.S. Congressman from Tennessee, born in Maury County in 1900, for whom the dam and lake were renamed by an act of Congress in 1958 — the project had originally been authorized in 1946 as the Stewarts Ferry Reservoir.
Is Percy Priest Lake good for a day trip from Nashville?
Yes — it's the closest real boating lake to the city, about ten to twenty minutes from downtown depending on which marina. Nashville Shores waterpark adds a family option alongside the boat rentals and lakeside restaurants.
Seasons & weather
When to come
When's the best time to visit Percy Priest Lake?
Late spring through Labor Day for full marina hours and Nashville Shores' waterpark season. Fate Sanders Marina stays open essentially year-round, but most of the lake's restaurant and rental activity is a warm-weather affair.