Mac Point Beach Recreation Area
Reliance, Tennessee · Cherokee National Forest
Verified · 4 independent sources · top-verified
- WATER
- lake
- ACCESS
- Designated swim area
- FEE
- No fee found
- SEASON
- Varies by conditions
About Mac Point Beach Recreation Area
Mac Point Beach Recreation Area is a U.S. Forest Service day-use beach and picnic site on a small peninsula jutting into Parksville Lake (also called Ocoee Lake or Lake Ocoee), a TVA reservoir within Cherokee National Forest near Reliance, Tennessee. Recreation.gov lists this swimming hole as a designated swimming beach with white sand, picnic tables, and grills, alongside a nearby fishing pond and campground, and it makes Parksville an easy lake to swim in within the national forest.
The site sits on a peninsula extending into Parksville Lake, a roughly 1,930-acre TVA reservoir with about 109 miles of shoreline formed by Ocoee Dam No. 1, surrounded by the forested terrain of Cherokee National Forest in the Ocoee/Hiwassee River corridor of southeastern Tennessee.
Swimming at Mac Point Beach Recreation Area
A maintained white-sand lake beach set up for casual, family-style day-use swimming rather than a wild or hike-in hole; the reservoir setting means calm, open water rather than river current or falls.
The walk in
No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. Mac Point Beach is a developed, drive-up Forest Service day-use picnic/swim beach on a peninsula reached directly off US-64, no hike is needed to reach the water. Clemmer Trailhead is a separate trail-access facility about 0.7 mi away (per the site's nearby-facilities list) but is not the access route for the swim beach itself; no source ties it to reaching the water.
Plan your visit
Bringing kids
OK with supervision
Recreation.gov describes a maintained white-sand beach on a calm TVA reservoir (no river current, no falls), which favors families, but no lifeguard presence is documented and the reservoir's water level fluctuates roughly 9 feet seasonally (per Wikipedia entry on Ocoee Dam No. 1), which can leave sudden drop-offs or submerged debris near shore in low-water periods. No source confirms lifeguards, so supervise kids directly rather than assuming a guarded swim area.
Parking
Free
Day-use, first-come-first-served with no Recreation.gov reservation system and no fee mentioned on the official listing; the site is reached off US-64 near Reliance, TN, about 1.4 mi from the Ocoee Scenic Byway per the facilities-nearby list, but no source specifies lot size, surface, or capacity.
Restrooms
Yes
Restroom/changing facilities are located near the beach (Recreation.gov POI listing); exact building type (vault vs flush) not specified in sources found.
On the water
Recreation.gov's facility listing for the broader Parksville Lake / Parksville Lake RV Campground area lists boating, canoeing, kayaking, non-motorized boating, rafting, and swimming as available activities, and separately mentions boat ramps for lake access; whether motorized craft face no-wake or horsepower restrictions was not confirmed in any source reached, so 'restrictions' is left null rather than assumed.
Rentals nearby
Inflatable solo and tandem kayaks, inflatable river rafts, and river tubes (plus cabins/camping/RV sites)
115 Ellis Creek Road, Reliance, TN 37369, in the town of Reliance itself, on the Hiwassee River (a different water body than Parksville/Ocoee Lake, but the closest named outfitter to the swim site) · Open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day (business runs May-September)
Backstory
The lake itself (Parksville Lake/Ocoee Lake) is a TVA hydroelectric reservoir created by Ocoee Dam No. 1; no site-specific history for the beach itself was found.
Mac Point Beach Recreation Area: FAQ
Is Mac Point Beach Recreation Area kid friendly?
Recreation.gov describes a maintained white-sand beach on a calm TVA reservoir (no river current, no falls), which favors families, but no lifeguard presence is documented and the reservoir's water level fluctuates roughly 9 feet seasonally (per Wikipedia entry on Ocoee Dam No. 1), which can leave sudden drop-offs or submerged debris near shore in low-water periods. No source confirms lifeguards, so supervise kids directly rather than assuming a guarded swim area.
Do I need to hike to reach Mac Point Beach Recreation Area?
No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.
Where do I park for Mac Point Beach Recreation Area?
Day-use, first-come-first-served with no Recreation.gov reservation system and no fee mentioned on the official listing; the site is reached off US-64 near Reliance, TN, about 1.4 mi from the Ocoee Scenic Byway per the facilities-nearby list, but no source specifies lot size, surface, or capacity.
Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Mac Point Beach Recreation Area?
Recreation.gov's facility listing for the broader Parksville Lake / Parksville Lake RV Campground area lists boating, canoeing, kayaking, non-motorized boating, rafting, and swimming as available activities, and separately mentions boat ramps for lake access; whether motorized craft face no-wake or horsepower restrictions was not confirmed in any source reached, so 'restrictions' is left null rather than assumed.
What are the rules at Mac Point Beach Recreation Area?
Day-use only; the site does not take reservations through Recreation.gov and operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
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