Noted for its excellent water recreation, the lake and river offer fishing, boating, swimming, and a marina. Accommodations in the park include a lodge and restaurant, cabins, and camping. In addition to water sports, guests enjoy golfing, birding, picnicking, disc golf, nature walks, and tennis. The park contains 1,416 acres of forested hills and hollows. The Lodge at Pickwick Landing has 119 rooms, each with a picturesque view of the lake. An indoor pool and an outdoor pool are exclusively for cabin and Lodge (hotel) guests. The Lodge has a restaurant, gift shop, laundry facilities, meeting rooms and exercise rooms.

Pickwick Landing has long been a riverboat stop, dating from the 1840s. During the Depression in the 1930s, the site was chosen as a location for one of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s dams on the Tennessee River. What comprises the park today was once the living area for the TVA construction crews and their families. The TVA Village, better known as Pickwick Village, was located where the post office, park office, and day-use area can now be found. The state of Tennessee purchased all 681 acres of Pickwick from TVA in 1969, designating the area as a state park in 1970. Since that time additional land has been added to enlarge the park.