This is the best lake, hands-down. The views are incredible and there is just the right amount of…read morecalm and action. Reynolds has beautiful neighborhoods that surround a lot of the waterfront homes.

I get emotional when I think about Lake Oconee for many reasons. Firstly, it was the site of my…read morefirst fishing trip with my two youngest sons, but also because of memories from my past. PERSONAL STORY You see, when I was 9 years old my dad took me on a fishing trip. It was my 1st fishing trip ever and it didn't go very well. I caught most all the fish and although he never said, it seemed to upset him and he spent the remainder of the trip intoxicated. I made a promise to myself that someday when I had a son I would take him fishing and give him a better experience. My father gave us a great life, but occasionally alcohol got the better of him. I was 30 years old when he died. My sisters and mother were too overwhelmed with grief to get up & speak at his funeral, so the delivery of his eulogy fell into my hands. Forced into overcoming my resentment for his years of drinking (and my years of embarrassment), it was only then that I realized alcohol was the one flaw in a genuinely likable and hard working guy that got along with everyone. To him providing a home, groceries, education and life's necessities was being more of a father than HE ever had... and I wept. I still weep to this day with sorrow over my young and foolish attitude. I know now the pressures of living up to not only others expectations, but your own as well (especially when you don't feel capable and sure of yourself). I often think about how he must have felt as a young father doing the best he could and not have his only son appreciate him. I never gave much thought to it before and unfortunately for me my appreciation came too late. I couldn't hug him or tell him I'm sorry for not valuing him. So instead I've try to honor him by being the best father I know how to be. THE EXPERIENCE I have a good friend whom owns a wonderful property on Lake Oconee with lots of lake frontage. He gave me a set of keys to go spend time at his cabin anytime we want and one weekend we decided to make use of his generous offer. It was our first family fishing trip and we caught a total of 6 catfish over three days of fishing. Pretty pathetic huh? LOL The highlight of the trip came on our last day at the lake house. After spending a day on the lake only having caught a few small fish, my son was determined to hook a 'big' fish all by himself. He stayed on the dock for over two hours patiently waiting for a nibble. We were sitting on the porch of the cabin when all of the sudden I hear "DAD, DAD!" As he walks uphill from the lake with a plastic container, he sets the container down and grabs his fishing rod (still attached to the fish). I could tell it was a significant sized catfish by the bend in the rod as he lifted. He was so proud to have caught the biggest fish and we celebrated by skinning all the fish and cooking them for dinner. We finished the evening under the stars eating ice cream (even though it was a little too cold outside). That was 4 years ago and still one of the best weekends ever. We've also spent summer days here BBQing and just enjoying the lake with our friends. Most of my pics are from one of the residential coves where the water is a little more murky and shallow. FINAL THOUGHTS Lake Oconee was created in 1979 when Georgia Power Company built Wallace Dam in Greene County, Georgia. It is a wonderful place to unwind and disconnect from the busy-ness of life. There are excellent opportunities for boating, fishing, camping, antiquing, dining, shopping and historic sight-seeing all around the lake. In addition you can go geocaching, rent lake charters, tubing, jet skiing, kayaking and attend festivals. I will forever be grateful for the fun times we've had as family building memories on this lake. Remember to take time and honor those in your life this Holiday Season, even if they haven't been the person you wanted them to be. Maybe, just maybe they did the best they knew how. For a calendar of events, use this link: http://www.visitlakeoconee.com/whats-going-on-overview.htm Be sure to click "watch our video"

Robert is extremely knowledgeable about the lake, fishing seasons and methods for catching fish. I…read morehighly recommend him!

Freedom Boat Club is your solution if you don't want to worry about the upkeep and storage of a…read moreboat. For a down payment and monthly fee you can reserve boats and take them out as often as you want. The very friendly and efficient crew put the boats in water, gas them up and take them out of the water. The boats are brand new to at the most three years old and are kept up immaculately. Reserve early for holiday weekends!

Literally cannot say enough great things about Southern Cross Ranch. It has become kind of a…read moretradition for me to go on a trail ride for my birthday with my husband (who also shares my birthday) and my kiddo the last two years. Southern Cross is absolutely beautiful from the moment you pull in the drive you know it's a special place. We checked in at the main house and drove over to the barn where my family and I were able to meet all the horses love on them a little, meet the doggies and just take our time. When it was time for our ride we went and got the horses ourselves, brushed and loved on them, got them dressed and ready all by ourselves my kiddo was a beast picking up that saddle and carrying it she did fantastic!! The people guiding us were so nice letting us know what we needed to do and when but letting everyone do it mostly themselves. I loved it and ended up bonding so well with my horse, Borris. He was an absolute love bug and when I go back I hope I can ride him again he's the best! My kiddo had Troy and my husband had Amos who was gorgeous! We even got to see a mama and baby horse my daughter was smitten! We had such a great time and it was a relatively easy ride with no large drops or tight places. We rode through a creek which I thought was the best part of the whole ride hearing the horses hooves splashing through the water was so cool! Even my kiddo who has only gone riding one other time before loved it and is already planning her next trip back! Definitely THE place to go if you love trail riding and beautiful scenery. They cater to beginner, intermediate and advanced riders. If you love riding or want to try it for the first time this place is the best check it out!!

What a wonderful place, stayed one night on a mother/daughter trip. The place is a hidden gem in…read moreGeorgia. They have about 100 horses and do a fantastic job of caring for the horses and property. They rotate the horses that ride in order to give them plenty of down time to rest and enjoy. It is a family run business and they make you feel so welcomed. They offer various packages on your stay. You can choose bed and breakfast, all three meals and stay, or two horse back rides a day and stay. Each room comes with its own bathroom and everything was comfortable. You feel like you are coming home to your mom's house. Horse back riding was around 9:15am and 2:15pm each day. Meals times change per season by was 8am, 1pm, and 6pm. Food was good and unlimited soft drinks and tea. If you want to bring alcohol, they make available refrig to store. They also have a kitchen in the main house that you can store your items needing refrig or frozen. You can walk the pasture and/or hang out at the barn. They welcome feeding behind the fence as well and have food for you to feed the horses in the barn. The riding was great, they have you saddle up the horses and still give you about two hours ride time. Beautiful property. Depending on your riding ability they let you go on your own to ride too. It was such a wonderful stay and plan to be back again for another visit in the future. This was the highlight of our trip.

This is a very new conservation park. Only 2 years open. The property is 500+ acres with hoof stock…read more(reticulated giraffe, Mountain Zebra, impala, Scimitar Horned Oryx, Addax, Waterbuck & Rowan antelope, Greater Kudu) Large birds (Ostriches & Emu) White Rhinos, Asian Water Buffalo, Ankole-Watusi, Bison, . They also have about 6 species of cute ambassador animals. African spurred tortoise, prehensile-tailed porcupine, Brazilian 3 banded armadillo, a 2 toed Sloth, and these adorable relatives of the Trash Panda. South American Ring Tailed Coati. The accommodations are bougie, not just for a yurt, but actually nicer than our room at the hotel in downtown Atlanta. Plus, our deck overlooks one of the pastures so we enjoyed watching the animals and the sunset. The Georgia Safari & Conservation Park has started working with AZA to get accredited. They had an AZA Rep stay on property last week to see their operation and determine what adjustments need to be made to be Accredited through AZA. When I went over the info for the park online before we booked it, their practices seem to be in line with eventual accreditation. The animals are given plenty of safe space, appropriate food, enrichment & veterinary care. All animals in the park are from zoos and other wildlife groups that have animals that need a home. They include a bunch of education and stories for the group. They are also a No Touch facility. We have had the best time. I look forward to what the future brings with time & AZA accreditation. Our Safari Guide has a degree in conservation sciences, and gives an informative, entertaining tour. Cody made it lots of fun interacting with everyone. We would be lucky to have him in our education department at the Oregon Zoo. Every staff member was polite, professional, knowledgeable and welcoming. Hailey, at the desk in n the lodge is an absolute sweetheart and saved our vacation after we lost our plans to do the Haunted Lake Lanier Cruise, through no fault of ours. Go to the Georgia Safari Conservation Park. It is fantastic. If you are willing to spend the money to stay, it is an unforgettable experience.

I visited Georgia Safari Conservation Park during an August trip and was genuinely impressed by…read moreboth the experience and the park's respect for its animals. My visit lasted about two hours and began with the giraffe and ambassador-animal areas. I had hoped to feed Phoenix the giraffe, but he was not interested in participating that day. The staff did not pressure him or attempt to force the interaction. While I would have loved to feed him, I appreciated seeing the park put the animal's comfort ahead of providing a guaranteed visitor experience. The ambassador animals remained inside their habitats because Georgia Safari is a no-touch facility. The keepers shared stories about their personalities and explained how they help visitors learn about wildlife and conservation. I particularly enjoyed seeing the tortoises and having opportunities to ask questions. The open-air safari truck tour through the back fields lasted approximately an hour. The individual seats were comfortable, although the ride was understandably bumpy in places. Our driver stopped whenever we approached groups of animals, allowing everyone plenty of time to watch and take photographs. The zebras came within just a few feet of the truck, which was an incredible experience. We also watched two antelope spar while our guide explained how the behavior related to hierarchy within the herd. Throughout the tour, we learned about the different species and their endangered or at-risk status. The guides were friendly, knowledgeable and happy to answer questions as we moved through the park. Their insight added considerable value to the experience. A few practical tips: arrive 15-30 minutes early, wear closed-toe shoes and bring water, binoculars and a camera with a zoom lens. Boarding the safari truck requires climbing stairs, and the vehicle cannot accommodate a wheelchair, so contact the park before visiting if accessibility is a concern. I would gladly return, especially to experience one of the safari tents or the Giraffe Suite. Disclosure: A local tourism organization provided my admission. Georgia Safari Conservation Park did not compensate me, sponsor this review or request a positive rating. These opinions reflect my personal experience.

We rented from them Twice during our stay at the ritz. One…read moreski boat with a captain and once on our own for two hours. Both times the check in was smooth, the staff was fantastic and the boat and tubes and skis were in excellent condition. Highly recommend them.

We did not have the best experience renting from this company. While the check-in process was…read morepleasant as someone assisted us with taking our bags and cooler to our rental the check out process left much to be desired. During our time on the lake we followed instructions to remain within a designated boundary to avoid rocky areas and stayed far inland however we hit some rocks and the prop had to be exchanged midway through our 4 hour block. We again drove under the bridge as instructed and left the boat in neutral in the middle of the lake for most of the remaining time block. We did not see any rocks which of course you would not in the middle of a lake but the new prop sustained minor damage a second time. We were charged an additional $500 for damages. In addition, we returned the boat early in an effort to avoid any further charges and we were ignored when trying to return the life vests for possible sterilization prior to re-use as we are in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic. I would not recommend this company for your lake and water sports activities.

Clay shooting is amazing, first time shooting skeet, and we had a good time. Will be returning, and…read morerecommend.

wonderful place ! very well kept , great staff . This shooting venue , is set up for all skill…read morelevels , and they have skeet , trap , and 3 or 4 sporting clay courses . Bird hunting in season . A wonderful pro shop with knowledgeable staff that can fit and answer questions about anything . I give this place a thumbs up .

One of 2 options on Lake Ocone for a workout. Large spacious facilities. Open 24/7 with pass key…read more Safe anytime day or night. Very well lit parking and door entry. Complete gym package. Plenty of machines so that your options without a wait are available. "Trainers" are there if you want one as well as group classes. Monthly calendar is posted so that you can attempt to work your schedule around the class times. Most are during the day do working people can't attend. Free day care during busy hours and 2 tanning beds, that are well maintained are part of the monthly fees.

We use this gym when we are in town visiting family and have found it to be a great facility. It…read morehas facilities that can meet whatever fitness goal and capability a person might have: a variety of options for aerobic exercise from bikes/eliptical/treadmill to group activities; joint-friendly strength machines; free weights and more. What's more, you can go whenever your schedule allows.