Georgia's largest lake, 45 minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson.
Lake Lanier is a 38,000-acre Army Corps of Engineers reservoir behind Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River — Georgia's largest lake and its closest to metro Atlanta, with 692 miles of shoreline and the busiest marina row in this guide.
Lake Lanier sits about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, 38,000 acres and 692 miles of shoreline created when the Army Corps of Engineers closed the gates on Buford Dam in February 1956 — the reservoir took over two years to fill, reaching full pool in August 1958. Its marina base is the largest and busiest of any lake in this guide: Holiday Marina in Buford runs over 1,200 wet slips, Safe Harbor Aqualand in Flowery Branch pairs with the barbecue at Pig Tales, and Port Royale Marina in Gainesville is home to Pelican Pete's, the lake's only floating tiki bar. Lanier Islands' Margaritaville resort adds over half a mile of white sand beach and a lakeside water park on its own 1,500-acre peninsula, and Buford Dam Park covers the public beach and overlook nearest the dam itself. Flowery Branch covers the grocery run; Gainesville, the larger city to the north, covers the hospital.
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