Clifton, Tennessee – The Clever Boater

Location

Region: Tenn-Tom Waterway
Latitude: 35.3858° N
Longitude: -88.00591° W
Waterway Guide: Clifton, TN

Destination: Clifton

This destination is primarily for the Clifton Marina. This is one of the friendliest marinas we’ve encountered on our two Great Loop Trips and is a popular stop with Loopers. We stayed in Clifton on both our first (2019) and second loop (2023) trips and had a great experience both times.

Clifton is on a curve in the Tennessee River and its location makes a convenient stop on your way down the Tenn-Tom waterway.

Clifton Marina is run by Susan and Stacy, a mother-daughter team. While not large, they can accommodate boats when needed. On our first visit, we had 8 Looper boats staying, and on our second visit, we had 9 Loopers.

Aside from fuel and a great marina with floating docks, the Bar & Grill that Stacy and her mother run is excellent. On both visits, they went out of their way to prepare steak dinners on one night and great home-style meals on the other during our stay.

We were there for three days on our first visit due to the weather. We had some cold temperatures and freezing rain (November 11th, 2019), and the Tenn-Tom waterway was shrouded in heavy fog. When we departed on the 13th, our dock line was frozen around the cleats, and Stacy, Susan, and the marina staff came out with pots of boiling water to pour over them so we could untie them. What great service!

On our boat, Kissed Some Frogs, we have rubber frog-shaped stress balls with our name on them that we give out to visitors and people who comment on our boat name. On our first visit, we gave Stacy and her mom a frog. On our second visit, as we pulled into the marina, the two of them stood at the end of the dock to catch our lines with the frog in hand! What a warm greeting!

Clifton is a small town, about 1/2 mile from the marina. Downtown consists of a Drugstore, two banks, the library, the post office, and a small motel (also run by Susan and her mom).

The closest supermarket is about 15 miles away.

Clifton Marina, Clifton, TN — Greeting us with the Frogs!

Where To Eat

The only place you will want to eat is at the marina. All of the Loopers raved about the quality of the home-cooked meals and the great pricing. If you get stuck there for multiple days and want to try something else, there is another restaurant in town called the Purple Cow.

Shopping Therapy

The marina has a nice convenience store with basic supplies like canned goods, beer, and soda. There is a Dollar General about a mile from the marina. The closest grocery store is about 15 miles away. On our first visit, Susan was going to get supplies, so she took two Loopers with her to get a few things at the Piggly-Wiggly.

Getting Around On Shore

Uber/Lyft, No. Bus Service, No. So, if you want to get around, it’s walking or bicycling. There are a few liveaboards at the marina with vehicles who offered rides to the grocery stores for tips and gas money, sort of a local Uber, but there are no guarantees here.

Keeping Entertained

The restaurant at the marina has some local musicians come in for the evening when people are staying. On our latest visit, we had a DJ on one evening (Karokee was available) and a local band that did the 50s-80s popular songs the next night. We didn’t expect much, but they were surprisingly good!

There is a Museum on the far side of downtown, the T.S. Stribling Home & Museum.

Getting There

By boat, you will pass Clifton on the Tenn-Tom waterway. Clifton is 68 miles south of Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN, and 48 miles south of Cuba Landing Marina in Waverly, TN. The next popular stop southbound after Clifton is Aqua-Yacht in Iuka, MS.