Fort Loudon Lake is formed by the Holston, French Broad and Little Tennessee rivers and is named for the close by Fort Loudon. It is 55 miles long, has 14,600 acres of surface area and 360 miles of shoreline. Loudon, Blount and Knox counties surround Fort Loudon Lake. This lake offers year-round recreation including: boating, fishing, waterskiing, jetskiing, swimming, camping, public parks, public lake access areas and much more.

Fort Loudon Dam is located on Highway 321 in Lenoir City, Tennessee. It is 125 feet high, 4190 feet long and consists of 582,000 cubic yards of concrete. It is the uppermost dam on the Tennessee River's mainstream. Construction began July 1940 and was completed July 1944. TVA began filling the reservoir in August 1943. The dam cost $41,000,000 and took over 19,500,000 man hours for completion. Fort Loudon Dam's main purpose is to provide electric power, flood control, recreation, and navigation. The Fort Loudon and Tellico Dams work together to serve these purposes. Fort Loudon Dam has a 360 foot lock which raises boats and barges from Watts Bar Lake to Fort Loudon Lake. This lock provides transit for  ½ million tons of cargo annually.