If your family loves water, adventure, and wonderfully exhausting activities close to Knoxville, then you must visit Augusta Quarry!
Augusta Quarry is an old party dive that recently got an $11 million dollar glow-up. The City of Knoxville has created a beautiful water retreat for nature lovers of all ages complete with docks, a small walk-in beach, and ample room to explore the emerald green waters of the old Fort Dickerson quarry. The best part is, city laws mean no alcohol, no dangerous stunts, and no tolerance for violators. This gives each guest an excellent experience in a beautiful ‘natural’ escape.
Where to go
Augusta Quarry is part of Fort Dickerson Park, but don’t be confused by outdated GPS maps! The parking lot and path to the water entrance is located off of Blount Avenue and Augusta Avenue, just a few minutes from downtown Knoxville. Pro-tip: If you cross a railroad crossing and go through a rusty metal gate, then you’re in good shape. If you find yourself on top of a mountain, start over. The address is 560 Augusta Avenue.
When it’s open
Augusta Quarry is open to visitors year-round, but swimming and floating is primarily reserved for the warm summer months. The gates open at 7:45am and close at 8pm. There are family-sized bathrooms and changing rooms, and every day until October, River Sports Outfitters is there with free lifejackets and rentable stand-up paddleboards and inflatable tubes. They are open from 10:00am to 8:00pm and also offer various snacks, sunscreen, and sundries for purchase.
Reading this post in cooler months? Yeah… it’s open for fishing, too!
What to do
Here is the fun part… At Augusta Quarry, you can bring your own Type III Personal Flotation Devices! This means life jackets, Stand-Up Paddleboards (SUPs), Kayaks, Type III Tubes and floats designed for lake use. There are no pool noodles or play floats allowed and they will ask you to leave them at the top of the trail if you try to bring them in. Why? Well, because it’s a quarry and it is 200 feet deep!
Who you will see
Augusta Quarry is a great place for all ages! I’ve seen grandmas sitting in the shade while their families play, toddlers catching tadpoles in the shallow area, college students playing football across the huge dock in the middle, and kids of all ages exploring every corner of the towering cliffs on SUPs. Augusta Quarry is also home to fascinating wildlife like tadpoles, fish, snakes, beavers, birds, turtles, and more (ask me how I know)!
How to plan your day at Augusta Quarry
I’ve been enough times to figure out the most annoying pitfalls, so here are some of my best recommendations for a great first-time experience!
Most importantly, plan to arrive at 9:00am or 9:30am to get a good parking spot. (Just take my word for it.) This allows plenty of time to ooh and aah at the scenery, walk down the short trail to the dock, set up your base camp, and air up any PFDs you brought.
If you brought your own lifejackets and PFDs, then you can get straight into the water and start enjoying the quarry in all of its quiet, peaceful beauty.
If you need to borrow lifejackets (keep in mind there are limited sizes and quantities) or rent a PFD to float around on, you’ll need to wait until about 10:30ish for River Sports Outfitters to get everything unlocked, set up, and ready for business. Prices are $16/hour for SUPs and $5/hour for tubes. If you’re not sure if your children are ready for a stand up paddleboard, trust me…they are. And this is the best place to learn.
I highly recommend keeping a lifejacket on small children at all times. It is deep and the dock is a farther swim than it looks. Good news…puddle jumpers are approved as a Type III flotation device, but blow up arm floaties are not.
You can bring coolers, snacks, and drinks, so I always pack a picnic lunch and we make a day of it.
In such a beautiful environment with so much space to explore, there’s no reason why Augusta Quarry shouldn’t be at the top of your summer water adventure list!
