What It's Really Like Living on Lake Lanier

Every summer, I get more and more phone calls from people who want to live on Lake Lanier. Once the weather starts to heat up and people have more time to travel, they find themselves visiting the lake and decide it’s a place they want to live permanently. So, what’s it really like to live on Lake Lanier? As a resident of Lake Lanier myself, I can tell you exactly what it’s like to live here.

Lake Lanier spreads throughout a total of five counties, with a majority of it sitting in Hall and Forsyth, with 692 miles of shoreline and it takes up 37,000 acres. The south end of the lake is only about 50 miles north of Atlanta, and the north end is about 65 miles from the city, depending on where you’re coming from and where you’re going. There are several towns that sit on the lake, so you can choose from smaller towns like Murrayville, Clermont, and Lula, or bigger towns like Gainesville, Cumming, and Dawsonville. The north end of Lake Lanier is a bit more rural, and tends to be a bit more affordable since it is not as close to all of the shopping, restaurants, and amenities. The south end is usually pricier and closer to shopping and restaurants. Lake Lanier has 11 public marinas, and 76 recreational areas including 40 Corps-operated parks and campgrounds. There’s also Margaritaville at Lanier Islands, which is a water park, campground, and resort. There’s always boat shows, events, and things to do like sunrise yoga at one of the many parks on the lake, and plenty of ways to enjoy the water. Even in the winter time they transform the park into a winter wonderland and blow in fake snow so you can go snow tubing and ice skating. There’s always something to do on Lake Lanier, no matter what time of the year it is, and that is one of the reasons why people love living anywhere near it. Not to mention of course the boating, water sports, and hiking around it that you can take advantage of. 

One of the main benefits that we found about living on Lake Lanier is the easy access that we have to our dock. If you enjoy getting to spend time on your boat and like water sports on the weekends, it’s simply right in your backyard and you could not have an easier trip to your boat than directly out your back door and down to your dock. We love being able to quickly get on our boat and out onto the water- the time that we save not having to store our boat at a marina, drive to the marina, haul our stuff to the boat, unpack, put it in our car, go back to our house- it makes life so much more convenient. Also, not to mention the headache if you’re having to constantly take your boat on and off the trailer and into the water at one of the many boat ramps that we have around Lake Lanier, it’s simply all at your fingertips right in your backyard. We find that we utilize the lake more by actually living on it. It’s not uncommon for us to be able to go out on a week day for a sunset cruise and enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the lake. We also find that we are squeezing more lake time in between our busy schedules because it’s just so easy to get down to the water and enjoy the boat. Not only do we find that we enjoy the lake more throughout the week, but also year round prior to living on Lake Lanier, we would never go to the lake on the weekends during the winter or fall months. While living on the lake, we found that it’s so enjoyable so incredibly peaceful to go out there and enjoy the lake and you practically have the lake all to yourself.

One thing you’ll find about living on Lake Lanier is that it is way more expensive than it once was. Currently, at the time of filming this video, there are about 100 listings on the lake that actually have docks or are close to the water, with the highest price being $5.9 million, and the lowest price of a home that actually has its own dock is around $575 thousand. Most homes below $1 million on the lake are in need of major renovation, or have been renovated and are just tiny with a steep walk to the water. A harsh walk can be a massive drawback for a lake home and can impact your resale abilities. The walk to the water, depth of the water in the location the house is in, views from inside the home, and whether or not a home has a dock permit have a huge impact on lake home values.

No matter where you end up living on Lake Lanier though, you are going to have to sacrifice one thing on your list or another. This is one of the biggest things you are going to have to understand about living on the lake is that finding everything you want is going to be nearly impossible. Many houses on Lake Lanier are on very steep lots and have quite a harsh walk down to the water. Or, you’ll find a house with a gentle walk but it’s going to cost you a pretty penny. Being on the lake itself is obviously a huge deal, and you’ll see houses that if you picked them up off the lake and moved them 10 minutes away, the value would substantially decrease. Sometimes people will come to look at lake houses and note that they don’t like that the neighbors house looks like it’s worth $200 thousand while the house they are touring is over a million dollars, but that is what it’s like living on Lake Lanier. There are houses that were built back in the 60’s when the lake was created that have sat and not been updated since and don’t look the best. In a normal area, this would really drag down property values but on the lake, that just doesn’t translate. You can also find a house with a really distorted view of the water because of all of the trees behind it, yet the neighbors house has a perfect view. Or one house can have a really steep walk and the neighbors can be much more gentle. You’ll also find houses that sit very close to the lake but don’t have their own dock. To some, this is nice if you don’t want to actually use the lake but just want the great views. Views are another piece of the puzzle that you may have to compromise on. Most houses have a buffer of trees between them and the water, and the lake itself and this buffer land is owned by the army corp of engineers, meaning that you cannot do anything to it. Some people think hey no biggie, I’ll just cut down these trees and have a perfect view of the lake, but that is not how it works on Lake Lanier, because you don’t own that part of the land.

Another thing to know about Lake Lanier is that not every house on the lake comes with its own dock, but there are plenty of communities that have communal docs that are also a popular option for people who want to live on the lake but can’t necessarily afford to have a house that has a dock permit. If you aren’t really pleased with the quality of houses in your price point, you may want to consider a house in a neighborhood with a community dock. These communities have a limited number of deeded boat slips that are either tied to individual homes in the community or are available for purchase from the HOA. This means that only some homeowners will have a dedicated boat slip in the community dock. Most all of the community docks have day use slips which are dedicated for visitors dropping off and picking up guests, or maybe you store your boat at the local marina and drive it over to your community dock to pick up your family and friends.Typically these slips are only available for day use and they do not allow for any long term storage or overnight tie ups. If you don’t want to own a boat and have the hassle of keeping up the maintenance of it, and the overall cost to own it, but you still like to occasionally rent one for a weekend during the summer when you have family in town, this makes it very easy to do so. 

I mentioned earlier that not every house has a dock permit, and if it is imperative to you that you have access to the water from your home, we have to find you a house that has one because the army corp is no longer issuing permits. This means that you can’t just buy a house that’s on the lake that doesn’t have a permit and apply to get your own. All of the permits that are allowed to be on the lake have already been given out. When we are house hunting, we will need to confirm that a permit is included with the house and can be transferred to you.. Another thing to think about is that if a house is permitted for a single slip dock, that is the only kind of dock that you will be able to have. You can’t just say, “I think I’ll put a party dock here.” In order to live on Lake Lanier, you have to follow the army corps rules. However, I think it is completely worth it. Like I mentioned earlier, living on the lake is so peaceful and my husband and I have found so much joy living here.