Swimming in Lake Laurel River

With plans to meet friends in two weeks on the North Carolina coast I had to start doing a little planning since there were a few places I wanted to see between there and where I was now. One of the places I had decided I wanted to go was Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on the Kentucky-Tennessee-Virginia border and so I headed east. But the last evening before I did I managed to get in another swim in one the beautiful lakes in the national forest. Lake Laurel River had lovely warm, blue-green water and some nice scenery. I had been planning to swim in a random place when I came upon on actual beach located near the dam so I instead took a dip there. Though not as stunning as Cave Run Lake, Laurel River is still pretty gorgeous and warrants a couple photos: