Around Town
Michael on the Map presents Michael at the Lake By Michael Deitrick Take 7: Exploring Lake Burton via Scenic Highway 197 In this series I will be traveling to the towns of northeastern Georgia and western North and South Carolina, sharing my adventures and discoveries as I meet the locals who make up the area. Hop in my Jeep and let’s hit the road! Going into my seventh column documenting my travels throughout this area, I hope you are not yet weary travelers. For those who have been my fellow journeyers since the beginning – and for those who may have jumped on the ride somewhere along the way – we have so far made some pretty great stops in Hiawassee, Franklin NC, Tallulah Falls, Clarkesville, Lake Rabun/ Lakemont, and most recently the part of Lake Burton known as Timpson’s Creek. Here in the hot summer sun of July, I am taking you to the other side of Lake Burton, where strong history is matched with true backwoods wilderness. Far removed from the steep and narrow (European comes to mind) winding roads along the serpentine coast of Lake Rabun and travelling further away from US Hwy 441, you enter wider, grassier territory; a hinterland with (almost) zero service. Here in many places, you are forced to disconnect from your devices and leave the rest to nature. And on this day, I was in the mood for some raw British Invasion rock, so queue up The Animals and let’s take a backcountry ride. 24 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - July 2022
Lake Burton, which covers 2,775 acres, was once so remote that it was not accessible by automobile. It now boasts one of the most impressive collections of upscale lakeside homes in the nation, but we won’t be doing a tour of homes today. My first stop, instead, has been essential to the lake and the area in general for some 102 years, long before luxury homes and fancy speedboats (though it caters to them now). Sitting proudly on the Wildcat Creek Cove of Lake Burton, the site that is now home to LaPrade’s Marina was first created to house the men who built the dam that created Lake Burton, complete with an elbow-to-elbow dining hall where folks celebrated the end of the oft-grueling workday, and made merry. It was thereafter used as a fishing camp. General Manager Katie Long, born and raised in Rabun County, remembers going there as a child. “My dad worked at the fish hatchery, and we lived on this side of the lake my whole life. I remember going with him to the restaurant up on the hill.” The old dining hall.
