LAKE LANIER, GA — Just days before the busy holiday weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is temporarily closing or reducing hours at nearly two dozen recreation sites on Lake Lanier due to federal budget cuts and staffing shortages.
Twenty-one day-use parks and boat ramps around the lake will be affected, leaving many local residents disappointed and scrambling to change their weekend plans.
Among them is Kelly Hartman, a Forsyth County resident who frequently visits Two Mile Creek Park with her husband and grandchildren to kayak, swim, and enjoy the outdoors. She says she was stunned to find the park gates closed this week.
“I’ve talked to the park ranger and said, ‘Is this for real?’ And he said yes, they’re closing many of the parks,” Hartman said. “They got direction from the head of the Corps of Engineers today. I asked if it was temporary, and he said, ‘We’re not sure.’”
The closures affect a wide range of amenities, including picnic areas, walking trails, grills, restrooms, and lake access points. Hartman says the timing of the decision couldn’t be worse.
“It could not be worse; it’s just so sad,” she said. “This is a beautiful place.”
The Corps has not yet released a timeline for when the affected sites might reopen or resume full operations. In the meantime, officials are encouraging the public to check for updates online before heading to the lake.
The areas affected include:
Allatoona Lake
- Victoria Day Use Area
- Payne Campground
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee and Flint rivers
- Public Shoreline Area
Black Warrior & Tombigbee Lakes
- Arcola
- Blue Creek
- Deerlick Creek
- Service Park
Okatibbee Lake
- Pine Springs
Walter F. George Lake
- Bluff Creek Day Use Area
- Hardridge Creek Campground
Lake George W. Andrews
- East Bank Day Use Area/Lower Pool
- Balus Creek
- Belton Bridge
- Burton Mill
- Keiths Bridge
- Little Hall
- Little Ridge
- Little River
- Long Hollow
- Lula
- Mountain View
- Old Federal Day Use
- Robinson
- Sardis Creek
- Simpson
- Thompson Bridge
- Tidwell
- Two Mile
- Upper Overlook
- Van Pugh North & South
- Vanns Tavern
WSB’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.
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