8 North Georgia lakes, with who manages each and the public access, beach and camping facts as the managing park or agency publishes them. Lake Sidney Lanier is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers; Recreation.gov lists 14 campground and shelter facilities for it.
Several lake pages from the Army Corps of Engineers refused our requests, so those lakes rest on other official pages and say so below. Every fact below was read on the cited official page and checked ; anything we could not read is listed under What We Could Not Confirm instead of guessed.
| What to know | Source |
|---|---|
| Lake Sidney Lanier is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers; Recreation.gov lists 14 campground and shelter facilities for it. | recreation.gov |
| Georgia Power’s North Georgia Lakes page covers Lake Burton, Lake Rabun, Lake Yonah, Lake Seed, Lake Tugalo and Tallulah Falls, and marks boat ramps and parks it owns with an asterisk. | georgiapower.com |
| Morganton Point Recreation Area is the only developed campground on the shoreline of Blue Ridge Lake and has a designated swimming area; it is a U.S. Forest Service site. | fs.usda.gov |
| Red Top Mountain State Park sits on the 12,000 acre Lake Allatoona and has a sand swimming beach and 2 boat ramps. | gastateparks.org |
The Lakes
| Name | Town | What it is | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Sidney Lanier (Corps of Engineers parks) | Buford | Lake managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers with campgrounds and shelters listed on Recreation.gov; the page lists Swimming Site and Boating as activities. | Cost: Buford Dam Park Shelters (GA) and Lanier Park Shelter (GA): $50/night; no fee shown for the other listed facilities Access: 14 facilities listed: Bald Ridge Creek, Bolding Mill, Bolding Mill Shelters, Buford Dam Park Shelters, Duckett Mill, Lanier Park Shelter, Little Hall Shelter, Old Federal, Sawnee, Thompson Creek Park Shelter, Toto Creek Campground, Van Pugh North Park Shelter, Van Pugh South Day Use Facility, West Bank Park Shelters |
| Lake Burton (Moccasin Creek State Park) | Clarkesville | Moccasin Creek State Park sits on the shore of Lake Burton; the lake is used for skiing, boating and fishing, and kayaks, paddleboards and canoes can be rented in warmer months. | Cost: Parking requires a fee (ParkPass); overnight guests pay the daily ParkPass fee once per vehicle; parking is not included with reservation Hours: Park 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; office 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Access: 53 tent, trailer and RV campsites; boat dock and ramp listed in facilities. The boat ramp is located next to the park at Lake Burton Fish Hatchery; private boats are permitted; two docks with cleat anchors. |
| Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area | Lakemont | Part of Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest on Lake Rabun; the swim area has two picnic tables, a roped-off area for swimmers and restrooms, near the boat launch and fishing pier. | Access: Campground features a boat ramp and dump station. Stay limit: no more than 14 days within any 30-day period. |
| Lake Tallulah / Tallulah Gorge State Park | Tallulah Falls | Tallulah Gorge State Park is listed on Georgia Power’s North Georgia Lakes page; the park has a seasonal sand beach at Terrora Day Use Area. | Cost: Parking requires a fee; overnight guests pay the daily ParkPass fee once per vehicle; gorge floor and climbing wall permits are free Season: Swimming is seasonal; the page says the Terrora beach is closed while crews enhance the swimming area and install an ADA kayak launch Access: 52 tent, trailer and RV campsites, one Pioneer Campground, two backcountry Adirondack shelters. Address 338 Jane Hurt Yarn Drive, Tallulah Falls, GA. |
| Lake Allatoona (Red Top Mountain State Park) (Official site) | Acworth | Red Top Mountain State Park is on the 12,000 acre Lake Allatoona and is described as ideal for swimming, water skiing and fishing; visitors can bring boats or rent from nearby marinas. | Hours: Visitor Center 770-975-4226 Access: Sand Beach, 2 Boat Ramps, 2 Boat Docks, Nearby Marina; 93 tent, trailer and RV campsites; 20 cottages; 6 yurts. A short paved trail behind the park office is suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. |
| Blue Ridge Lake (Morganton Point Recreation Area) | Blue Ridge | The only developed campground on the shoreline of Blue Ridge Lake, with beach access that includes a designated swimming area, picnic tables and outdoor showers. | Cost: Single sites and tent walk-in sites: $30/site/night. Day use: $5.00/per person/day for 16+. $5.00 Boat Trailer and Launch. Season: Yearlong; open 24 hours a day; quiet hours 10pm to 7am Access: Accessible showers and drinking water provided. Reservations required to camp; online or by phone only, not on-site; up to six months ahead. Dogs: Dogs must be leashed at all times. |
| Lake Chatuge (Towns County Recreational Beach) | Hiawassee | Explore Georgia calls Lake Chatuge a TVA lake with 132 miles of shoreline and many public boat ramps; the Towns County Recreational Beach has a swimming beach, playgrounds and picnic tables. | Cost: Page tags the location Free Admission and Free Parking Kids: Playgrounds provided |
| Carters Lake (Doll Mountain Campground) | Chatsworth | Doll Mountain Campground is part of Carters Lake and has its own boat ramp and boat trailer parking area. | Access: All campers must have a reservation before entering the campground. |
Water Safety Rules From Georgia Power
- Georgia Power’s water safety page says boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal and to always wear a life jacket. (georgiapower.com)
- Swim buoys are allowed on Georgia Power lakes only from Memorial Day through Labor Day, reach at most 50 feet from shore, and two per residential lot. (georgiapower.com)
- Only Georgia Power may install regulatory buoys such as No Wake or No Boat markers, and only at the direction of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (georgiapower.com)
Georgia Power Lake Access Points
- Georgia Power marks these as its properties: Hall’s Boat Ramp, Jones Bridge Park, Lake Seed Boat Ramp, Lake Seed Campground, Murray Cove Boat Ramp, Nacoochee Park (temporarily closed), Stoneplace Ramp, Timpson Cove Beach, Tallulah Point Park, Tallulah River Boat Ramp, Tugalo Ramp, Yonah Boat Ramp and Yonah Park. (georgiapower.com)
- Lake Seed primitive campsites: 3633 Crow Creek Road, Lakemont; open April 1st through November 1st (year not stated on the page). (georgiapower.com)
- Tugalo Park on Lake Yonah has primitive campsites, 552 Tugalo Village Road, Clarkesville. (georgiapower.com)
Map of North Georgia Mountain Lakes
Not pinned (no confirmed location yet): Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area, Lake Tallulah / Tallulah Gorge State Park.
Keep Planning
- Best swimming holes in Georgia
- Paddling and kayaking in Georgia
- Camping in Georgia state parks
- Which mountain town
FAQ
Who manages Lake Lanier?
Recreation.gov states the lake is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. (recreation.gov)
Can you swim at Lake Rabun Beach?
The Recreation.gov page says the swim area has a roped-off area for swimmers, two picnic tables and restrooms. (recreation.gov)
Is parking at the Towns County beach on Lake Chatuge free?
Explore Georgia tags the location Free Parking and Free Admission. (exploregeorgia.org)
What We Could Not Confirm
- usace.army.mil (Mobile District) pages for Lake Lanier, Allatoona Lake and Carters Lake did not load to automated fetches; no USACE-page fees, beach seasons or swim/boat rules were captured. Lanier is sourced only from Recreation.gov.
- Lake Lanier, Allatoona and Carters Lake day-use fees, beach dates and swim/boat rules not confirmed from a USACE page.
- Georgia Power lake pages: the North Georgia Lakes page lists contacts and access points but no swim, horsepower or fee rules; the amenities table did not map to columns, so amenities per site (swimming, camping) are not assigned.
- Lake Burton: no Georgia Power or state page fetched stating who owns/manages the lake or a public swim area; the state boating rule 391-4-5-.19 (designated swimming areas) was seen only in a search summary.
- Lake Chatuge: TVA page not fetched; county and ramp locations/fees not confirmed. Explore Georgia does not state the county.
- Rabun Beach and Carters Lake: Recreation.gov pages did not print fees, season dates or pet rules; fs.usda.gov Rabun Beach page not fetched.
- Tallulah Gorge beach: closure was for the summer on the page read; current reopening not stated.
- Lake Tallulah, Blue Ridge Lake acreage not verified from a fetched page.
- Town/county/region labels for Lake Rabun Beach (Lakemont, Rabun), Carters Lake (Chatsworth) and Lanier (Buford, from Recreation.gov) are only partly on fetched pages; confirm before use. Lanier county left blank.
- Towns shown for state park entries are the nearest town and were not all read from the cited page.
How we checked this guide: Dates, hours, admission and parking prices, and access details were verified against the official sources listed below on . Operators change schedules and raise prices without notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive before you drive. The figures in this guide also feed our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index and Family Day-Out Cost Index.
Sources
- Georgia Power North Georgia Lakes
- Georgia Power Water Safety
- Recreation.gov Lake Sidney Lanier
- Moccasin Creek State Park
- Moccasin Creek Boating
- Tallulah Gorge State Park
- Red Top Mountain State Park
- USFS Morganton Point
- Recreation.gov Lake Rabun Beach
- Recreation.gov Doll Mountain
- Explore Georgia Lake Chatuge
Hank Whitlock is the pen name of the It's Georgia editor. Every guide is built around the questions a busy family actually asks before a trip: how long is the drive, what does parking cost, can the stroller make it, are dogs allowed. Details are checked against official park, city, and venue sources, and each guide shows the date it was last updated.
More from Destinations
Cite this page: It's Georgia, “North Georgia Mountain Lakes: Access, Beaches, Rules”, itsgeorgia.com/destinations/north-georgia/georgia-mountain-lakes/ (updated ). Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page.