Watauga Lakeshore Resort & Marina

The bigger of the two south-shore marinas

Watauga Lakeshore Resort & Marina sits at 2285 US-321 in Hampton, about 20 minutes from the townhouse and roughly 5 miles up the road from Fish Springs Marina. It is the bigger of the two south-shore marinas in scale and in scope. Where Fish Springs is a focused working marina, Lakeshore is a small resort: 30 cabins, a 107-site campground, a marina with seasonal slips, a swimming pool for overnight guests, and historically the only on-water restaurant on the lake.

If you stayed here instead of at our place, you would be in a cabin or a camper. Because you are reading this page on our site, you are not. Most of what we want to tell you about Lakeshore is what it is good for as a day stop and a backup option.

The cabins

Lakeshore runs 30 cabins on or near the water, all of which include the basics: lake views, TV, mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, A/C, beds, and private balconies. They are not luxury accommodations. They are well-maintained vacation cabins that make sense for guests who want a turnkey trip with the marina right outside the door.

If a friend of yours wants to visit your party but the townhouse is full, Lakeshore is who we send them to. Call 423-725-2201 for cabin availability. They book up fast for summer weekends and fall color, so anyone trying to grab a last-minute room around July 4 or mid-October should be on the phone several weeks out.

The campground

107 sites for RVs and tents on Cherokee National Forest land adjacent to the marina. Hookups available on a subset of sites. The campground is one of the larger options on Watauga, and it fills for holiday weekends. If you have a friend bringing a camper, this is the closest serviced campground to the townhouse.

The marina and slip rentals

The marina has open and covered slips, seasonal. Rates change each year and we don’t want to print a number that will be wrong by the time you read this. Call for current pricing and waitlist. The fuel dock is on the water, so refueling is a pull-up-and-go experience.

The marina also does boat repairs and maintenance, which makes it a destination for people who own boats on the lake, not just people renting them.

Day boat rentals

Lakeshore rents pontoons and other boats by the day. Pricing structure is similar to what you see at Fish Springs (hourly minimum, day rates available, gas plus tax on top, capacity limits). When we have guests who want a rental on a Saturday in peak summer and Fish Springs is sold out, Lakeshore is the second call.

The restaurant situation

Captain’s Table is the on-property restaurant. It has been the only restaurant on Watauga Lake with a working dock you can tie up to. The Tipton family ran it for six decades; they stepped away in 2022. The space was then operated as Southern Craft BBQ, which was heavily damaged by a fire in June 2023. Lakeshore’s own marketing still references on-site dining, but the actual day-to-day status has been less than stable.

Bottom line: do not show up expecting a Saturday dinner without calling first. If the restaurant is open the week you visit, the deck is the best dining seat on the lake. If it is not, plan accordingly. We have a full note about it on the Captain’s Table page.

The pool

Outdoor pool, open in season, for overnight guests of the cabins and campground. Not open to slip renters or day visitors. If you are staying at the townhouse, you have the indoor jet tub at the property; the Lakeshore pool is not really relevant to you.

How we use Lakeshore as your hosts

The real take. Most of our guests do not need to visit Lakeshore at all during a stay. The reasons to drive over are:

1. Lunch or dinner at Captain’s Table if it is open. The lake view from the deck is the experience.
2. Pontoon rental backup if Fish Springs is sold out.
3. A look at the cabins if a friend is shopping for an overnight option for next year.
4. The Appalachian Trail crosses US-321 nearby, and Lakeshore is a useful staging point if you are walking a section. The AT page has the trail-side specifics.

If you are picking just one south-shore marina to visit and you want to be on the water in a rental boat, go to Fish Springs. If you want the restaurant deck and the bigger resort scene, this is the address.

Getting there

US-321 from the townhouse to Lakeshore is a straightforward 20-minute drive, two lanes, scenic, the kind of road where you slow down to look at the lake when it comes into view through the trees. On July 4 week and peak fall color, allow 30 minutes for trailer traffic.

For everything else about the lake, see the Watauga Lake overview.

Related on the lake

• Captain’s Table is on-site
• Fish Springs — the other marina
• The July 4 parade centers here