Enjoying Lake Lanier without living on it

Many people love Lake Lanier but don’t necessarily want to live on it or want to take advantage of it without having to pay the hefty price tag that comes with living on it. My team and I specialize in helping families relocate here to North Georgia. Lake Lanier is a trendy place that many of these clients are interested in being near, but not everybody wants to invest that kind of money into a home. So, how can you enjoy the lake without living on it?

For starters, Lake Lanier is a massive lake that runs through five different counties, which means there are many other places and towns you can access it from. If you already have a boat, you can pay to keep it at one of the many marinas spread all across the lake. I recently made a video talking about all of the primary marinas, and I go into detail about what each one offers, so that video would be a great one to check out if you already have a boat. If you are moving to town and you have a boat but don’t want to live right on the water, or you end up finding a home that doesn’t have a dock, you can pay to store your boat at one of these many marinas. Many of these marinas also have fantastic waterfront restaurants if you want to sit by the water and have a nice meal.

If you don’t have a boat and still want to spend time out on the water, there are many different rental companies that you can rent, jet skis, pontoon boats, party yachts, all sorts of various watercraft to use for the day. They can be a little pricey, but if you aren’t huge into boating and think you wouldn’t need your own, this is a great option to enjoy going out on the water without all of the maintenance, upkeep, and cost of your boat. Say you do have a boat of your own that you store at your house; there are 76 different boat ramps on the lake that you can use to launch into the water if you want to haul it in yourself.

Another terrific way to enjoy the lake is to rent a sailboat or charter a sailboat ride for the day. I think this would make a fabulous gift to someone who enjoys fun experiences over tangible things, or just an excellent way to spend a weekend, especially if you have visitors in town and want to do something special with them. You can also take a sunset cruise or a margarita cruise out of Margaritaville on the lake. Every weekend during the summer months through October, you can jump on a margarita cruise out of Margaritaville and have someone drive you around while you relax and enjoy a drink and the beautiful scenery and not have to drive. Suppose you’re nervous about going on a boat or anything like that. In that case, this is another excellent option because somebody else does all of the heavy lifting for you, and you can sit back and enjoy the views and a good drink and have an entertaining night out on the water.

If camping is more of your thing, there are a ton of different campsites that you can go to, whether you have a camper or an RV or if you’re planning on pitching a tent. You can camp at the state parks or visit them for the day, have a picnic, or go hiking, fishing, or kayaking. There are many options for boat rentals. There are also many options for paddleboards or kayaks if that’s more your speed. People often host sunrise yoga sessions at the different parks on the lake or host meet ups for groups to go fishing together or hiking together; there are fishing tournaments, paddleboarding clubs, you name it, there’s probably an activity for that. In the summer, there’s an event called food truck Fridays that takes place at Lake Lanier Olympic Park, so you can go and grab some food and listen to live music, and hang out by the water.

We talked about Margaritaville at Lanier Islands a little bit earlier, but again, this is a great place to get the whole lake experience without living on it. They have those margarita and brunch cruises that we talked about earlier; they also have a bar and Grill and a huge water park that’s a super popular destination. You can also rent a boat here, and they have a campsite as well. It’s a pretty full-service spot in an excellent way to spend time on the lake with everything you need right in one area. They also blow in fake snow during the wintertime, and you can go sledding, ice skating, and that kind of thing later in the year as well. If golf is more your item, you can do that too! You can have a spa day at the tranquility spa at Lanier Islands if you’re more of the indoor-sy type. There is no shortage of things to do here.

When clients from out of town are trying to decide if they want to live on the lake, the great idea is to stay at an Airbnb that sits on the water so you can get a feel for what it is like to live on the water and see if that’s even right for you. Or, if you want to book a fun weekend with your friends, you can rent one of the massive estates that sit on the water and have a little getaway weekend right here in town. There are many different ways to experience the beauty and fun of Lake Lanier without having to live right on it. If you’ve visited before, what was your favorite thing to do?

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