Shook Branch Recreation Area

The free-to-cheap public beach on Watauga Lake

Shook Branch Recreation Area is a 20-acre day-use site on the south shore of Watauga Lake, run by the USDA Forest Service as part of the Cherokee National Forest. It is the public swim beach for the lake. $2 to park. Open sunrise to sunset. Picnic tables with grills. A roped swim area in the lake. A trailhead for the Appalachian Trail at the entrance. Nothing fancy and nothing expensive.

This is one of the first places we send guests who arrive on a hot Saturday and want to be in the lake within the hour. It is 10 minutes from the townhouse by car. You don’t need a boat, you don’t need a reservation, and you don’t need to spend money.

What’s there

A long grassy lawn slopes down to a small sand-and-pebble beach with a marked swimming area in the lake. Picnic tables are scattered through the lawn, most with grills bolted to a post next to them. Trees ring the edges and throw some shade in the afternoon. Vault-toilet restrooms. A self-pay parking station at the entrance.

The swim area is roped off with floating markers. The water gets cold the deeper you go (Watauga is a deep, cold reservoir), but the shallow end stays comfortable for kids. The bottom is firm enough to walk on without water shoes, though water shoes are not a bad idea.

The 2026 swim season is officially open May 11 through September 14. Outside those dates the parking and picnic area stay open year-round, but the swim area is not maintained.

What to know before you go

• Cost. $2 per vehicle per day, self-pay. A $30 annual Cherokee National Forest Pass pays for itself if you are visiting the lake area more than 15 days a year.
• Hours. Sunrise to sunset. No overnight.
• Alcohol. Prohibited. Enforced. The USDA takes this seriously here.
• Dogs. On leash only, and not on the beach or in the swim water.
• Lifeguards. Don’t assume one. Swim inside the marked area and watch kids the way you would at any lake.
• Restrooms. Vault toilets. Functional. Pack out your own trash.
• Cell signal. Spotty. Plan around that.

When to go

Weekday mornings. This is the right answer. Mid-week, before 11 AM, the beach is mostly empty and the water has not been churned up by ski boats. You can have a picnic table to yourself, get in the water without a crowd, and pack up before the afternoon rush.

Weekday afternoons. Fills up some but stays manageable. Bring chairs and an umbrella.

Summer Saturdays. Get there by 10 AM or skip it for the day. By noon on a July or August Saturday, the parking lot fills, the picnic tables are claimed, and the swim area is busy. We have driven over at 1 PM on a Saturday in July and turned around when we saw the entry line.

Sundays. Less crowded than Saturdays. Sundays after 3 PM are usually fine.

Off-season. Quiet. The picnic area is open with no fee in winter (the system shuts down for the off-season). It makes a nice no-cost spot for a thermos of coffee on a cold clear morning with the lake visible through bare trees.

Using Shook Branch as an Appalachian Trail trailhead

This is the underrated use of Shook Branch. The Appalachian Trail crosses US-321 right at the recreation area entrance. From the AT crossing here, you have two real options:

Walk north along the lake. The AT follows the south shore of Watauga Lake for about 3 miles to the dam, with the water visible in glimpses on your left the whole way. Easy grade, mostly shaded. As an out-and-back, this is a 6-mile day that ends with your feet in the lake when you get back to Shook Branch. One of our favorite hikes from this end of the lake.

Walk south into Pond Flats. The AT climbs into Pond Mountain on a steeper grade, with views opening up as you gain elevation. A 3- to 4-mile out-and-back is a real workout. Going all the way to Laurel Fork Falls (about 7 miles one way) is a long day that requires shuttle planning.

In both cases, parking your car at Shook Branch and paying the $2 day-use fee is the cleanest way to start. See the Appalachian Trail page for more specifics on what each section looks like and how to plan the hikes.

Our take

Shook Branch is not a private resort beach. It is a USDA Forest Service day-use area, which means it is functional rather than luxurious. The bathhouse situation is vault toilets. The food situation is whatever you brought in the cooler. The shade situation is whatever the trees feel like giving you.

In exchange, you get a public swimming beach on a beautiful clear lake for $2, 10 minutes from the townhouse, with a picnic table and a grill if you want them and an AT trailhead at the gate. For most of our guests, especially the ones with kids, this is one of the best-value half-days of a Watauga Lake trip.

Bring towels. Bring sunscreen. Bring the cooler. Bring quarters for the parking envelope in case the card system is down. The rest is just lake.

For other things to do around the lake, see the Watauga Lake overview or the fishing guide.

Related on the lake

• Trailhead for the easy lakeside walk
• AT day-hike access
• Family vacation logistics — swim beach access