Reelfoot Lake: Tennessee's Earthquake Lake

Rent a kayak or canoe at the state park marina and paddle into the flooded cypress forest that makes Reelfoot unlike any other lake in America — channels through 100-year-old tupelo and bald cypress, the water dark with tannins, bald eagles hunting the shallows and great blue herons lifting from the root systems as you pass. The Blue Basin Cove paddling loop threads through the densest cypress stands; in winter months the eagle concentration is among the highest east of the Mississippi, and you can get within 30 feet of birds perched low in the canopy.

Lunch at this Reelfoot institution on the lakeshore — fried catfish pulled from the lake, hush puppies, and coleslaw in a dining room where fishing guides and families have been eating together since 1955. The catfish here is the benchmark for West Tennessee lake cooking.

The visitor center tells the full story of the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes — the most powerful seismic events in recorded North American history, strong enough that church bells rang in Boston and the Mississippi ran backward for hours — through exhibits on the lake's formation, its unusual ecology, and the bald eagle conservation program that turned Reelfoot into a winter refuge.

A second boardwalk loop through the open lake — this one crosses open water on floating sections, putting you directly above the root systems of submerged cypress and into the heart of the lake's birdlife. Wood ducks, anhingas, and great egrets work the cypress knees; in spring, the shoreline wildflowers and nesting herons make this the best hour of the day.