Hiwassee Lake is a man-made reservoir in Cherokee County, North Carolina. It lies along the Hiwassee River created by the Hiwassee Dam which finished construction in 1940. Hiwassee Lake stretches along the river for approximately 22 miles (35 km) to the town of Murphy, North Carolina. It has 180 miles (290 km) of shoreline, a storage capacity of 434,000 acre⋅ft (535,000 dam), and 205,590 acre⋅ft (253,590 dam) of flood storage.

Hiwassee Lake is 6,000 acres (2,400 ha). Its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Lake. The reservoir's operating level varies by roughly 38 feet (12 m) in a typical year. The southwestern arm of the reservoir over Persimmon Creek is known as Persimmon Lake. It reaches to a smaller dam which contains Cherokee Lake. The Nottely River also flows into Hiwassee Lake from North Georgia.

Hiwassee Lake is named after the Hiwassee River. Two 18th century Cherokee towns along the river were named Hiwassee. The river's name comes from the Cherokee word for large meadow, or savanna.

The Tennessee Valley Authority started work creating Hiwassee Lake in 1936. The reservoir was completed in 1940. A small community, Hiwassee Village, developed on the south side of the reservoir.

The U.S. Navy tested torpedoes in Hiwassee Lake in 1942 during World War II. The lake was chosen due to its isolation and its depth – more than 250 feet (76 m) in places. The Navy Bureau of Ordnance installed a launcher, net, and underwater camera. Torpedoes sometimes landed in nearby farmland as the net didn't always work.

Bear Paw Resort opened on the lake in 1973.