Maryville, TN Outdoor Activities

Beach Island Marina's fleet of houseboats, pontoon boats, and goldfish saddles lets visitors explore Norris Lake's tree-lined waters during single-day outings or extended stays. Back on land and nestled against the forest, wood cabins and RV campsites bring the comforts of home to natural waterfronts. For boat owners, Beach Island Marina also repairs vessels and stows them in 100-foot boat slips. Liven post nautical-navigations at the nearby Bubba Brew's Sports Pub & Grill located next to the marina on Norris Lake. Here, three bars, 25 flat-screen televisions, pool tables, and darts woo revelers who are eager for food, frosty beverages, and pints of pirate lore.

Ski Scuba Center is an aquatic activity hub where undersea sojourners purchase gear and learn to reach new oceanic depths. With more than 50 years of diving experience among them, instructors prepare flippered feet to scuba, swim, and lifeguard, edifying water-goers and offering certification during private and group classes. The Center also sends its snorkel constituents to Florida and the Caribbean on scuba trips and presents a number of tips on equipment-servicing treatments, such as filling tanks with air and feeding sugar cubes to well-behaved goggles.

A man runs through the forest, pausing briefly to take in his surroundings: rolling mountains and verdant trees as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, a twig cracks, breaking the silence, and the pristine view dissolves within a cloud of paint. The game is over.

At its outpost within the mountains, Smoky Mountain Paintball has converted the area's natural terrain into outdoor paintball fields. Here, players weave between trees and peak over walls in search of enemy combatants. The simulated battlefields are also a strategist’s dream; referees take requests, and will set up almost any type of game provided that players adhere to the rules and don't require a human-sized chessboard.

Away from the colorful warzone, a pro shop brims with camouflage and Tippmann markers, In addition to paint-fueled grudge matches, combatants can also settle scores with Smoky Mountain Paintball’s expanded arsenal of Airsoft and laser-tag battles.

Knoxville Food Tours' squadron of knowledgeable guides pilots pedestrians through downtown Knoxville's eclectic cache of local eateries, introducing locals and visitors alike to a smattering of tasty cuisine during tours that have garnered press from outlets such as the Knoxville News Sentinel. Each two-hour walking tour leads participants to a rotating lineup of local haunts, where they'll enjoy drinks and sample local fare such as pastries, pizza, sushi, vegetarian cuisine, and produce from nearby farmers. At each stop on the excursion, chefs and restaurateurs proffer friendly, insightful culinary conversation to bolster the enlightening nuggets of historical information dispensed by the well-informed guides or their sentient atlases.

In addition to cultivating a rich assortment of herbs, Erin's Meadow Herb Farm welcomes visitors into its greenhouses, fields, and classrooms to learn the best uses for its multitudinous varieties of herbs. Inside, visitors can peruse a variety of gifts and products made using all-natural ingredients, or drop in for classes that include demos, spa-centric herbal recipes, and the recipe for creating a love potion disguised as peppermint tea.