Lake Lanier, GA · Hall, Forsyth & Dawson County
Lake Lanier:our home water
Lanier is the lake on our doorstep. Buford Dam is just up the road from our base, so cove houses on any arm of the lake are a short drive for us, and a lake weekend is the kind of party we cook more than any other.
What a hibachi night looks like in Lake Lanier
The Army Corps of Engineers built Lanier in the 1950s by damming the Chattahoochee, and the result is a lake with hundreds of miles of winding shoreline and coves that seem to go on forever. The Forsyth side, around Bald Ridge Marina and the creeks off Browns Bridge Road, is mostly year-round homes with families in them. The Hall County shore runs from Lake Lanier Islands up past Gainesville, and the quieter Dawson County end near War Hill Park is where many weekend cabins and older lake places sit.
What people gather for depends on the month. June through August it's reunions, Fourth of July week and the long run of boat days that end with wet towels on every chair. Fall brings cooler nights, lower water and some of the prettiest sunsets of the year from the west-facing coves. In winter the water is usually lower, long dock walks get longer, and the lake houses fill up instead with Thanksgiving crowds and birthday dinners for the neighbors. If you're on the Gwinnett end, see our Buford page as well.
From the grill
Setting up in Lake Lanier
Lanier lots are rarely flat, and on most of them the strip nearest the water belongs to the Corps rather than the homeowner, so we cook on your own property close to the house: driveway, garage apron or a ground-level patio. Upper decks need the owner's okay and solid footing. Many cove houses sit at the end of steep, narrow drives with no turnaround, so let us know if the chef should park at the top. A bug spray station on the table is a kindness during June evenings.
Lake Lanier questions
We're renting a cove house through a vacation site. What should we ask the owner?
Ask whether outdoor propane grills are allowed, where guests usually grill, and whether the drive can take one extra vehicle. Those three answers settle almost every setup question.
Can you cook for a group staying on a houseboat at a marina?
We need solid, level ground with open air, so a houseboat deck won't work. If the marina has a picnic area that permits grills, or a friend has a house on shore, we can cook there.
What's a good plan for a lake reunion with a lot of kids?
Feed the kids first in a short early round, then cook for the adults while the little ones run around. Our family reunion page has more ideas for big crowds.