Two canoes crossing open water between forested points in the Boundary Waters

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Georgia: Lake Sidney Lanier (39,038 acres)

Lake Sidney Lanier is Georgia's largest inland lake per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Below: 50 Georgia lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Georgia is Lake Sidney Lanier at 39,038 acres , in Hall, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Dawson, Lumpkin County, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Larger, but it impounds the Savannah River directly on the Georgia-South Carolina state line and is shared with South Carolina (USACE NID, J. Strom Thurmond Dam GA01701: 71,000 acres). Hartwell Lake, 55,950 acres (NID GA01702), is likewise shared with South Carolina, and Walter F. George Lake (~45,000 ac) and Lake Seminole (~37,500 ac) are shared with Alabama/Florida. Lake Lanier is the largest lake lying entirely inside Georgia.

See our Lake Sidney Lanier water-quality readings —

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the Georgia lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

55,950

Largest (acres)

814

Median of top 50

17/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Georgia's size profile

Georgia's largest lake by surface area is Lake Hartwell in Hart County, spanning 55,950 acres. Most of Georgia's biggest waters are natural basins left by glaciers, with stable shorelines and deep main basins.

Surface area is a poor proxy for water quality on its own — a large lake can hold a clean, deep core and a nutrient-loaded bay at the same time. Each lake below links to its full page with nutrient readings, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; water-quality readings come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in Georgia by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth
1	Lake Hartwell	Hart	55,950 acres	-
2	Lake Richard B. Russell	Elbert	26,653 acres	-
3	West Point Lake	Troup	25,864 acres	-
4	Lake Sinclair	Baldwin	15,330 acres	-
5	Lake Sinclair	Putnam	13,173 acres	40 ft
6	Lake Seminole	Decatur	10,501 acres	30 ft
7	Lake Blackshear	Crisp	8,700 acres	-
8	Blackjack Lake	Ware	7,333 acres	-
9	Sometime Hole	Charlton	5,362 acres	-
10	Maul Hammock Lake	Charlton	4,975 acres	-
11	Lake Jackson	Jasper	4,500 acres	-
12	Lake Nottely	Union	3,970 acres	-
13	Perch Lake	Charlton	3,780 acres	-
14	Lake Juliette	Monroe	3,600 acres	-
15	Jackson Lake	Butts	3,423 acres	94 ft
16	Carters Lake	Gilmer	3,275 acres	-
17	Lake Blue Ridge	Fannin	3,220 acres	-
18	Blue Ridge Lake	Fannin	3,018 acres	-
19	Lake Burton	Rabun	2,775 acres	-
20	Lake Oliver	Muscogee	2,280 acres	-
21	Lake Tobesofkee	Bibb	1,756 acres	-
22	J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir	Elbert	1,415 acres	-
23	Goat Rock Lake	Harris	960 acres	-
24	House Lake	Charlton	937 acres	-
25	Reregulation Reservoir	Murray	815 acres	14 ft
26	Lower Williams Lake	Newton	814 acres	-
27	Bull Sluice Lake	Fulton	750 acres	-
28	Lake Rabun	Rabun	723 acres	-
29	Banks Lake	Lanier	700 acres	-
30	Guest Millpond	Atkinson	670 acres	-
31	Buck Lake	Ware	604 acres	-
32	Parkers Lake	Rockdale	578 acres	57 ft
33	High Falls Lake	Monroe	573 acres	-
34	Lake Jodeco	Clayton	554 acres	-
35	Bee Gum Lake	Charlton	539 acres	-
36	Lake Verne	Clinch	522 acres	-
37	Lake Arrowhead	Cherokee	436 acres	186 ft
38	Big Water Lake	Charlton	386 acres	-
39	Stone Mountain Lake	DeKalb	330 acres	-
40	Bear Garden Swamp	Lowndes	330 acres	-
41	Canton Mills Lake	Cherokee	326 acres	-
42	Silver Lake	Decatur	317 acres	-
43	Ocean Pond	Lowndes	303 acres	-
44	Lake Acworth	Cobb	303 acres	-
45	Long Pond	Lowndes	301 acres	-
46	Heads Creek Reservoir	Spalding	300 acres	-
47	Kennedy Pond	Bulloch	289 acres	-
48	Hilliards Pond	Coffee	289 acres	-
49	Yonah Lake	Habersham	284 acres	-
50	Lake Tchukolaho	Wilkinson	282 acres	-

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Georgia?

Lake Sidney Lanier, at 39,038 acres, in Hall, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Dawson, Lumpkin County. Larger, but it impounds the Savannah River directly on the Georgia-South Carolina state line and is shared with South Carolina (USACE NID, J. Strom Thurmond Dam GA01701: 71,000 acres). Hartwell Lake, 55,950 acres (NID GA01702), is likewise shared with South Carolina, and Walter F. George Lake (~45,000 ac) and Lake Seminole (~37,500 ac) are shared with Alabama/Florida. Lake Lanier is the largest lake lying entirely inside Georgia. Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, 2026-07-30.

How is lake surface area measured?

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and, for reservoirs, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Inventory of Dams records. Area is reported in acres at normal pool level. Reservoirs rise and fall with management and drought, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

Are Georgia's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Georgia lakes by area, 17 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 33 are natural basins. Glacial states (MN, WI, MI, NY) skew natural; plains and southern states (MO, IA, ND, OH) skew toward reservoirs built for water supply, flood control, and recreation.

Do larger lakes have better water quality?

Not reliably. Quality varies more within a big lake than between lakes — a large lake can have a clean, deep main basin and a murky, algae-prone bay fed by a tributary, so one reading can mask wide swings. Depth, watershed land use, and how fast the lake flushes matter far more than raw surface area.

How big is the typical Georgia lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Georgia lakes by surface area, the median is 814 acres (Lower Williams Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Georgia lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Georgia's largest lakes

Planning a trip? Jump to live cabin, resort, and hotel availability near Georgia's biggest lakes.

Deepest lakes in Georgia →Cleanest lakes in Georgia →Largest lakes (all states) →All Georgia lakes →