When Wilson County residents say they’re headed to the lake‚ they usually don’t mean just for a quiet day of fishing.

Old Hickory and J. Percy Priest lakes are two mammoth U.S. Corps of Engineers lakes in the area‚ and in addition to the aforementioned angling‚ they are hugely popular for hiking‚ camping‚ education programs and more.

“We have our fishing rodeo in June‚ Environmental Awareness Day in August and a lot of events that we do every year around the end of school‚” says Crystal Tingle‚ a park ranger at Old Hickory. “We also have Public Lands Day in September and always have volunteers coming out to do things that improve our public lands‚ whether it be shoreline cleanup or something to improve the recreation areas‚ like add a trail in‚ do work at the archery ranges or help us add in some native plants to some areas.”

Old Hickory Lake‚ which was created when the Old Hickory Dam became operational in 1957‚ has 22‚500 acres of water‚ 9.134 acres of property and 3‚651 acres of easement. While it doesn’t allow camping on its islands‚ the park area includes the Cages Bend and Cedar Creek campgrounds‚ which open in early April and close in early November. The lake had 8.6 million visitors in 2006‚ the last year for which numbers are available‚ Tingle says.

“We don’t do as many programs as the state parks do‚ but we do have groups out a lot‚ and we have speakers in from different organizations to talk to them about the birds and animals‚ or boat safety‚” she says. “This year we had a Boy Scout troop come and hand out water-safety fliers at a bunch of the boat ramps.”

Things are just as busy over at J. Percy Priest Lake‚ which came into existence following the completion of the J. Percy Priest Dam in 1968. The lake has 14‚200 surface acres of water at summer pool elevation‚ and it’s surrounded by 18‚854 acres of public lands – 10‚000 of which are devoted to wildlife management.

The lake also features one municipal and four commercial marinas‚ and it logged between 6 million and 7 million visitors in 2006‚ says Robert Davis‚ park ranger.

Camping on its islands is allowed‚ but there are designated islands and sites for doing so. Use of the park and lake is free‚ but there are day charges at the Cook and Anderson Road areas‚ which have sand swimming beaches‚ playgrounds‚ launching ramps‚ bathrooms‚ picnic sites and picnic shelters.

J. Percy Priest Lake also has a visitors’ center on the west side of the dam at 3737 Bell Rd.

Like Old Hickory‚ the emphasis is on educational programs for the public as well as ongoing maintenance to the lake and park areas‚ Davis says.

“We have an open house along with our annual cleanup‚” he says. “We also have our own environmental awareness day‚ and other events that we do‚ usually around the same time that Old Hickory has theirs.”

For more information on these and other lakes in Middle Tennessee‚ visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake information Web site at www.lrn.usace.army.mil/pao/lakeinfo/lakeinfo.html