The Ocoee lakes are a result of a series of small power dams on the Ocoee River in Polk County, Tennessee. Numbers 1 and 2 were completed in 1910 and 1913 and later purchased by TVA. Ocoee 3 was built during World War II. Ocoee 1 and 3 are the only real lakes of the trio. Ocoee 2 is a diversion dam that directs water into a wooden flume, which carries water to a powerhouse downstream. It is not a lake, as such, so has no identifiable shoreline or pool levels. The largest lake of the three, Ocoee 1 is 7.5 miles long, has a shoreline of approximately 50 miles, and at summer pool is nearly 2,000 acres in size. Most of the land adjacent to these reservoirs is managed by the U.S. Forest Service as a part of Cherokee National Forest. A major recreational activity in the vicinity of these projects is whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River, which is rated among the top 10 whitewater rivers in the country.

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