Cove Lake State Park

Site Directions: Cove Lake is accessed via I-75, exit 134. From exit 134, travel east on US 25W for one mile and turn left into park entrance.
Lat: 36.3087°N Long: -84.2131°W
Hours: 8:00 am until sunset
Seasonality: year round
Fees: none

Site Description: Cove Lake is a lake that is rapidly filling with silt, but this filling process has created one of the largest freshwater marsh systems in east Tennessee. Nature trails and bike trails lead through open grasslands and woodlands. Nearby is the Devil's Race Track whose steep pinnacle rock affords a panoramic view. One trail takes hikers on a gentle path to Buckeye Spring.

Wildlife to Watch: During spring and summer, listen and watch for vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Wood Thrushes, Yellow-throated, Black-and-White, Swainson's, Kentucky, and Hooded Warblers, and Ovenbirds in this area. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Winter Wrens, Hermit Thrushes, and White-throated Sparrows are present here during the winter. Both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles nest in large deciduous trees near the lake. Another attraction is the one or two pairs of Swainson's Warblers nesting in the park. In the winter, several hundred Canada Geese make this lakeshore their feeding ground.

Other regularly occurring waterbirds include Great Blue Herons, Mallards and Wood Ducks year-round, and wintering Pied-billed Grebes, Gadwall, Ring-necked Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers. Several other ducks are occasionally present. One or 2 Bald Eagles have been regular winter residents in recent years, and Red-shouldered Hawks are present year round in the low wet woods.

For more information:

Tennessee Ornithological Society - Bird Finding

Cove Lake State Park map

Birds of Cove Lake State Park from eBird submissions

State Park web page

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