I live in Cumming GA and have my boat at Habersham Marina and usually get out there at least 2 days a week. It is an awesome lake. I will say where you stay greatly depends on your budget. I personally would drive the Tahoe and find a house to rent but I am not much of a camping guy for long periods of time. I got married last year in August and had lots of my family in town renting houses on the lake it was a total blast.


So the questions I have.
1. How is the weather around late April or the beginning of May?

The weather will be in the 70-80 range more than likely maybe a little hotter. It might be a little rainy some days but most of the time it just blows through. Water temp will be in the low 70 range more than likely, again depending on how hot it gets. There have been years where it stayed in the 90's from the beginning of May till October.

2. How is the water around Cumming and/ or the Shady Gove Camping area for Wakeboarding and surfing? If it is bad is there any other area’s better for wakeboarding on the lake?

Ok so Shady Grove is a nice camp ground but it is also on the edge of "big water" so there is no wakeboarding right off the beach by your camp site. You are right around the corner from Young Deer and 6 mile though where you will be able to find all kinds of smooth water as you get back in the coves. There is also a launch ramp close to the camp ground so you should be in good shape there. Also people down here think they live in the north for some reason and are afraid a cool water so that time of year you will more than likely not see a ton of boat traffic, I would say that during the week you may be one of the only boats on the water so disregard my previous comments about big water. Weekends are a different story though.

3. I am from the St Louis area and I been on the Lake of the Ozarks and there is areas I will not take a 21’ boat any more for safety and so one. With this being a large lake is there areas I should stay away from?

Seeing how its early in the season you shouldn't see a lot of other boats on the lake during the week but beware that there are ocean liners on this lake (satellites spinning on top and everything) Keep clear of them as best you can. I nearly swamped my boat more than once because of these guys. They are a total pain in the rear if you ask me but I also love flat water. I have a 21 foot LSV and 99% of the time I feel totally safe out there. You will see the most traffic around Lanier Islands. This is where all the ocean liners hang out. They make the huge journey from bald ridge marina to Lanier Islands where they tie up and chat it up with the other big shots.

Lanier islands is the best spot on the late though. There is a ton of stuff for the family and a ton of food and drink options.

4. Is there a good campground in the area with boat docks close so I can keep my boat on the water?

Not 100% on this one. I dont know what camp grounds offer boat slips. I do think that Lanier Islands has some camping and you may be able to rent a slip for a week. You may also be able to call around to the different marina's and ask. This is a slow time of year so you should be able to convince someone to let you rent a slip for a week

5. Is there in must see place and or restaurants to eat at on the lake?

Lanier Islands has it all from a food and entertainment stand point, you could just go there for the week. The entire lake is fun though too, very scenic and lots of good little places to pull off and hang out. I would also go to Port Royal maria, they have really good food and a fun atmosphere. Right before the bridge.


Ideally the further north you go the less traffic you will see but also the less options for food and drink. We usually stay in the south side in one of the two coves that I mentioned before (6mile or young deer) and then cruise over to lanier islands for lunch and to get out of the sun for a while. Then we usually go back out and skit till sunset.

If you have any questions or need a guide I will be happy to help you out. I will more than likely be out one of the days your around so if you want to ski together let me know. I hope this helped you. This is just my opinion and I'm sure many others will e different. Just look out for the boats with spinning things on the top, they throw about 4 foot wakes.