With a guide
Guides and charters near Roadside Picnic Area
Captains who run Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun and Melton Hill, with their own phone numbers. You call and book with them directly.
Tennessee River Valley Fishing Guide Service
Catfish, striper, smallmouth, drumCall 865-690-5144tnrvg.com
Fish On! Guided Tours
Striper, catfish, bass, trout, musky, sauger, crappieCall 865-455-0412fishontours.com
Tennessee River Monsters
Stripers, catfish, largemouthCall 865-207-8741tennesseerivermonsters.com
What to bring
Tackle for Roadside Picnic Area
Three picks from the smallmouth bass checklist that work for the fish here. Affiliate links: buying through them pays this site a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Spending more? The bigger purchases, compared side by side:
How to get there
Getting to Roadside Picnic Area
Roadside Picnic Area is a public access point on Little River in Blount County, Tennessee, run by the city.
TWRA holds no written directions for Roadside Picnic Area. Use the coordinates below, which come straight from the state’s access record and drop you on the access point itself rather than on the nearest town.
Roadside Picnic Area is 12 miles south-east of Maryville, the nearest town with its own page here. The closest other public access is Walland Roadside Picnic Area, 2.3 miles to the north-west on the same water. For bait, Little River Outfitters in Townsend is about 2 miles away.
Coordinates 35.67980, -83.78341
What you can catch
Fish you can catch at Roadside Picnic Area
Little River holds these, according to the county research behind this site and TWRA’s own species notes.
The upper river through Townsend is a stocked trout stream and one of East Tennessee’s best-known wade fisheries; below Perry’s Mill Dam it turns into a smallmouth float.
What you can keep
Fishing limits at Roadside Picnic Area
What you can keep from Little River at Roadside Picnic Area. TWRA sets 1 rule just for Little River. They replace the statewide limit for those fish. Everything else follows the statewide limit.
| Fish | Daily limit | Length | Where or when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth bass | 5 black bass combined | 13–17 in protected slot, one over 17 in | Rockford Dam upstream to the Great Smoky Mountains NP boundary |
From the 2026–27 Tennessee Fishing Guide (TWRA), in effect 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, checked 25 September 2026. Rules change, so check the guide before you keep a fish.
14 public boat launches in Blount County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.
What it looks like
Little River around Roadside Picnic Area
What the water at Roadside Picnic Area actually looks like. Drag or swipe through. Every picture opens that water’s own page.
Little RiverOpen the Little River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 2.5
Fort Loudoun LakeOpen the Fort Loudoun Lake page →George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Public domain
Chilhowee LakeOpen the Chilhowee Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0
Little RiverOpen the Little River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 2.5
Fort Loudoun LakeOpen the Fort Loudoun Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0
Chilhowee LakeOpen the Chilhowee Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0Next one along
More Little River access near Roadside Picnic Area
The closest other public access points on Little River, measured straight line from Roadside Picnic Area. Each one opens its own page with directions.
Roadside Picnic Area water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.
Other water close by
Other fishing near Roadside Picnic Area
Public access on other water within 20 miles of Roadside Picnic Area, including Fort Loudoun Lake and Chilhowee Lake. Handy when the wind is wrong on Little River or the ramp is busy.
Bait on the way
Bait and tackle near Roadside Picnic Area
The closest shops to Roadside Picnic Area that this site has checked. Little River Outfitters in Townsend is nearest, about 2 miles away. Call ahead in winter, when smaller shops cut their hours.
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Where to next
Around Roadside Picnic Area
Roadside Picnic Area is one access point. These pages cover the rest of the water and the rest of the county.