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Homes and Communities
Chestatee Golf Club has a private marina with a boat ramp and covered and uncovered slips.
Chestatee Golf Club's golf course includes beautiful views of Lake Lanier.
The scenery at Chestatee Golf Club.
WHERE TO BUY 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 At lanta area is blessed with many beautiful lakes, accessible to the city and offering the pleasures of boating, fishing and swimming with beauti ful 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 combina tion to prospective homebuyers. They range from clubhouses to marinas to golf courses to hiking trails, offering a variety of activities for residents young and old. The following devel opments offer the opportunity to get your feet wet right outside your front door.
CHESTATEE GOLF CLUB Located an hour from Atlanta, Lake Lanier is “Georgia’s Great Lake” and a premier recreation destination, with 59 square miles of water for boating, fishing and other waters ports. Hugging 2.5 miles of shoreline on the lake’s northwest side, Chestatee Golf Club combines luxurious top-tier amenities with small-town style.
With a private marina, boat ramp and covered and uncovered slips, Chestatee makes it easy to get away for a day of boating or fish ing. For relaxing at the water’s edge, there’s a pavilion and picnic area with 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. The club even rents out its clubhouse for weddings and events.
Of course, Chestatee’s recreational experi ence is matched by its homes. Residents can retreat to spacious Craftsman-style houses, tailored to historic architecture, that evoke the feel of a quaint Southern town—complete with community square and bandstand. Prices range from the $400,000s to $1 million and up; 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 about $40,000 to $300,000.
Away from it all yet accessible, Chestatee is just off Georgia 400 and 25 minutes from Al pharetta and north suburban businesses. Close to home, there’s shopping at the famous North Georgia Premium Outlets and the breathtak ing beauty of Amicalola Falls State Park. 777 Dogwood Way, Dawsonville, GA. 706-216-7336, chestatee.net or chestateegolfclub.com
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 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 Home Builders Association with several OBIE Awards.
Big Canoe offers more than 20 miles of hiking trails, a fitness center, three pools, ten nis 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 Dis haroon 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 avail able property types, from wooded inland lots with access to the golf course, trails or greens pace to waterfront access. Lots range from $35,000 to $400,000 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. Home prices range from $300,000 to $1.6 million. Big Canoe Building Group is a member of the Greater Atlanta Home Build ers Association, a State-Certified EarthCraft
Golf at Lake Sconti, Big Canoe.
Exterior of a new home at Big Canoe.
Interior of a new home at Big Canoe.
Lake Disharoon, Big Canoe.
Builder and are National Association of Homebuilders Certified Green Professionals.
Sound intriguing? A great way for prospec tive buyers to get to know Big Canoe is the Discovery Package, which costs $475 and includes a three-day, two-night stay in a luxury mountain home, a $50 dining voucher for the Sconti Clubhouse, an 18-hole round of golf or two-hour tennis/pickleball reservation per couple, a two-hour pontoon boat cruise on Lake Petit and a private tour of the community. 54 Wolfscratch Village Jasper, GA. 770-893-2733, bigcanoe.com
CANOE CLUB Not all of metro Atlanta’s waterfront properties are on the north side. Just 30 minutes south of the city in Fayetteville, 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 the lakes is a 5,500-square-foot clubhouse with an extensive fitness center and a gathering area with a catering kitchen and a coffee bar. Adjacent is a community lawn perfect for neighborhood get-togethers or games. There is
PHOTO: Big Canoe Co., LLC
Lake Petit, Big Canoe
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, according to its website.
Known for a welcoming atmosphere and relaxed pace, the surrounding area showcases golf, shopping at Fayette Pavilion or The Avenue Peachtree City and concerts at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. Awardwinning schools, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Pinewood Atlanta Studios and Porsche Cars North American headquarters are all just minutes away.
Canoe Club homebuyers choose from 21 different plans designed by Georgia’s premier builders. All homes are set on expansive oneacre 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 $400s to the $700s. 110 Reflections Point, Fayetteville, GA. 770-843-1390, 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.
