For a relaxing and easy getaway, renting out a Norris Lake cabin or house is a great idea! Only a 4 hour drive from Cincinnati, this beautiful spot in Tennessee is perfect for a weekend on the water.

My husband and I took our newborn baby to Norris Lake for the chance to relax, and get in some swimming (without driving to the ocean). The cabin we rented was the ideal setup to soak up some sun, and float around in a tube!

Our Norris Lake Cabin: While the area has dozens of rental homes, including unique floating houses (details below), we just wanted something simple- a cabin right by the water. Our rental worked our great!

Unfortunately it looks like the VRBO listing was taken down by the owner, but there seem to be similar Norris listings on that rental website. I did found the lake house next door to it at least, and another similar lake cabin too (Speedwell, Tennessee)!

The Norris Lake cabin we stayed at had a swing and a jumping platform too; which in my opinion makes everything ten times better! It also had access to a dock if you have your own boat.

We went in late September, and even then the water was still warm enough to comfortably float around in it for the entire day. If you aren’t sure about the water or air temp averages, check here.

The only downside of our rental was that we were a little close to our neighbor’s dock, but if you’re like us and make friends, then it’s not a problem!

The cabin itself was older and needed some work, but given that most of our time was spent outside, it didn’t really matter. It was comfortable and clean enough for the five days we were there, and really the location speaks for itself!

Things to Do Nearby:

Boat Rental: Norris has 809 miles of shoreline and 33,840 acres of water. There’s plenty to explore!!

If you don’t bring your own boat and still want to explore the massive lake, you can rent boats from the day from a large variety of marinas. We personally stayed in the Flat Hollow Marina area.

Hiking: If you get tired of sun and water, there are some nice wooded trails in the area you can check out. Check out this link by The Hiking Project for a full list of nearby trails.

Local Restaurants: It’s a small town, but if you want to get out and meet some locals there are a few local “mom and pop” places you can try. It depends on which area of the lake you stay in, but here is a restaurant list of a few places.

Jet Ski: I thought this seemed a bit pricey, but you can rent jet skis for the day if you want to fuel your adrenaline craving!

Great Rentals to Check Out:

There are a large variety of affordable cabins, both on the water and nearby. Some rentals sleep huge amounts of people if you want to get a big group together, but you can find some for smaller parties as well. Here are some of the most promising cabins I’ve found. Please note, I have not personally stayed at any of these places. I am also not making any type of commission to promote these spots:

Private Lakefront Cabin

Floating House

Mountain Lake-View Home

Pin it for later!