Lakefront Living
Buying a Home With a Beautiful View
By Michelle Bourg
It’s an inescapable fact: Atlanta is a landlocked city. No oceanfront
beaches, no breaking waves. But while it’s true that we’re not on the coast, this doesn’t mean you’re limited to a landlocked lifestyle. The Atlanta area is blessed with many beautiful lakes, accessible to the city and offering the pleasures of boating, fishing and swimming with beautiful scenery as a bonus. There are plenty of communities to choose from that let residents take advantage of lakefront living, with extra amenities that offer an appealing combination to prospective homebuyers. The following developments offer the opportunity to get your feet wet right outside your front door.Chestatee Golf Club
Located an hour from Atlanta, Lake Lanier is “Atlanta’s Great Lake” and a premier recreation destination, with 58 square miles of water for boating, fishing and other watersports. Hugging 2.5 miles of shoreline on the lake’s northwest side, Chestatee Golf Club combines luxurious top-tier amenities with small-town style.
“Homes inspired by turn-of -the-century architectural styles found in the South and along the East Coast,” according to Chestatee Realty’s website. “These make for streetscapes unlike anything else in Georgia. As a result, lanes, sidewalks and landscaped common areas only encourage the hospitality you feel in this quaint Southern village.”
With a private marina, boat ramp and 160 covered and uncovered slips, Chestatee makes it easy to get away for a day of boating or fishing. For relaxing at the water’s edge, there’s a pavilion and picnic area with a stone fireplace. The lake also provides a gorgeous backdrop to the three miles of hiking trails and the awardwinning par-71 championship golf course designed by Denis Griffiths.
Chestatee’s 550 acres are home to a wealth of other recreation options, including two pools, a children’s play area, a half basketball court, lighted tennis courts, croquet facilities, and the Nightfire Lodge with a kitchen for social gatherings. There’s also the Heron Grille restaurant for dinner and drinks.
Of course, Chestatee’s recreational experience is matched by its homes. Residents can retreat to spacious Craftsman-style residences styled on historic architecture that evoke the feel of a quaint Southern town—complete with community square and bandstand. Prices range from the $700,000s to $1.6 million; typical home features include 10-foot ceilings, bonus rooms, gourmet kitchens with double ovens and covered porches or decks. New construction is underway in several neighborhoods, and prime lots are available at prices from around $70,000 to $375,000.
Away from it all yet accessible, Chestatee is just off GA 400 and 20 minutes from Alpharetta and north suburban businesses. Close to home, there’s shopping at the famous North Georgia Premium Outlets and the breathtaking beauty of Amicalola Falls State Park. 777 Dogwood Way, Dawsonville, GA. 706-2167336, chestatee.net
Big Canoe
In Atlanta, the name Big Canoe is synonymous with luxurious outdoor living. An hour’s drive north of the city in the town of Jasper, this private gated community covers 8,000 square acres of heavily wooded foothills in the north Georgia mountains. Big Canoe has been recognized by the National Association of Home Builders with “The Nationals” Silver Award as Master Planned Community of the Year and by the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders’ Association with an OBIE Award as Community of the Year-Master Plan.
Big Canoe offers more than 20 miles of hiking trails, a fitness center, three pools, tennis and pickleball courts, and a 27-hole championship golf course. But the sparkling jewels in its crown are its lakes: the 111-acre Lake Petit, the tranquil Lake Sconti and Lake Disharoon with its sandy beach. Petit and Sconti are an angler’s dream with plentiful trout, bass, bluegill, crappie and brim, while Disharoon is the place for recreation and swimming.
The community has a wide range of available property types, from wooded inland lots with access to the golf course, trails or greenspace to waterfront access. Lots range from $25,000 to $230,000 and up. Home styles follow set architectural guidelines authentic to the region; residents can use the in-house design center to create their dream home with Big Canoe Building Group or use an approved builder. New home prices range from $325,000 to $1.5 million and up. Big Canoe Building Group is a member of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA), a State Certified Earth Craft Builder and are National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Certified Green Professionals.
Sound intriguing? A great way for prospecive buyers to get to know Big Canoe is the Discovery Package, which includes a threeday, two-night stay in a luxury mountain home, a $50 dining voucher for the Sconti Clubhouse, an 18-hole round of golf per couple (or two-hour pickleball/tennis reservation), a two-hour pontoon boat cruise on Lake Petit and a private tour of the community.
54 Wolfscratch Village Jasper, GA. 770-8932733, bigcanoe.com
The Canoe Club
Not all of metro Atlanta’s waterfront properties are on the north side. Just 40 minutes south of the city in Fayetteville, The Canoe Club offers lakeside living with plenty of amenities in an area that is truly “up and coming.”
Canoe Club’s 600 landscaped acres are surrounded by lush woodland reflected in the waters of the community’s two lakes, Lake Menawa and Lake Senoya. Overlooking thelakes is a 5,500-square-foot clubhouse with an extensive fitness center and a gathering area with catering kitchen and coffee bar. Adjacent is a community lawn perfect for neighborhood get-togethers or games of badminton. There are also a four-lane lap pool, four lighted tennis courts and canoe storage. All these benefits helped make Canoe Club Fayette’s top-selling community for two years in a row.
Known for a welcoming atmosphere and relaxed pace, the surrounding area show-cases golf, shopping at Fayette Pavilion or the Avenue at Peachtree City and concerts at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. Award-winning schools, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Trilith Studios and Porsche Cars North American headquarters are all just minutes away.
Canoe Club homebuyers choose from a variety of plans designed by Georgia’s premier builders. All homes are set on expansive one-acre lots and filled with details that truly set them apart: smart home prewiring, elaborate moldings throughout, ceramic tile surrounds in baths and kitchens, and spacious floor plans with media rooms and large covered porches that make gracious indoor-outdoor living a reality. Homes are priced from the $600s to the $900s. 110 Reflections Point, Fayetteville, GA. 770-8431390, thecanoeclub.newhomesdivisionga.com
So if you’re dreaming of a life on the water, Atlanta has much to offer. By choosing a home in a lakefront community, you can get that vacation feeling every day.
