Where Spring Break never ends

A crow's nest view of the weekend action at Two Foot. (Credit: Samuel M. Simpkins)

Photos:

Two Foot is a little slice of paradise—if Panama City Beach is your kind of fun—right here in Music City. It’s a spot where every weekend you can re-create your wildest spring break, and it’s only 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, in the middle of Old Hickory Lake.

“You take the always-rowdy Nashville bar scene, strap on some revealing swimwear and throw them into two feet of water and beer. Then just sit back and watch the show. It never fails to entertain!” says Chris Reeves, a 27-year-old Knoxville resident. “I like to call the place my weekend home.”

Old Hickory Lake is a man-made lake that snakes across five counties and covers 22,500 acres. Most of the lake is approximately 445 feet deep. However, there’s a shallow cove near Drake’s Creek Marina, known popularly as “Two Foot.” Named for the depth of the water, it provides a convenient spot to drop anchor, toss a Frisbee, have a drink with the cute girl you saw in that other boat and blast your stereo loud.

“Two Foot is the summer hangout for the Old Hickory boating community,” says Sean Buschkotter. The 30-year-old Nashvillian says he’s been “a lake rat since childhood. I’ve experienced many years on the water, and I don’t know of any other lake in Tennessee that has a sandbar right in the middle of the lake.”

WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

We don’t know for certain, but the myth among Two-Foot regulars is that, long ago, a barge loaded with sand was coming off the Cumberland River Channel when it ran aground. To free itself, it had to dump its entire load of sand, creating a shallow spot.

“It’s truly unique, if you think about it, since we live in rocky, mountainous terrain,” Buschkotter says. “There’s not a beach or shoreline to dock your boat. In Florida, most of the lakes have a white sandy shore for you to beach your boat. But in Tennessee, most of the shorelines consist of rock. Two Foot gives boaters the opportunity to beach their boat and socialize in the shallow water.”

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET THERE

While Old Hickory Lake offers tons of outdoor entertainment options, from hunting, fishing, camping and hiking to picnicking, boating and water skiing, Two Foot’s main attraction is people-watching.

On hot weekend days, as many as 100 boats are packed into the two square acres of shallow water and tie off together. Boaters of all ages, many on colorful floats, drift from pontoon to fishing boat to waverunner to party boat, catching up with friends and making new ones.

There’s a volleyball net directly in the center of Two Foot, and a new game is always getting ready to begin. Folks gather around tossing footballs and Frisbees, telling jokes and gazing at the bevy of beautiful young ladies who are always game to make a show out of oiling up with sunscreen.

“My only complaint about Two Foot comes from the oversized, thumping speaker racks on boats these days,” Buschkotter says. “Usually, there are 18 boats simultaneously blaring Lil’ Wayne’s ‘Lollipop’ as loud as possible.

“But then again, the bikini-clad beer-soaked ladies seem to love shaking their moneymaker to that song, so I’m not going to complain too much!”