Hartwell Lake Adventures

Back in the 80's before I left to go sailing/working in the Caribbean, I spent many weekends sailing Hartwell Lake on a 23' sailboat that was outfitted for weekend use with a galley and a head (that's a kitchen and a toilet for you landlubbers). 

Matter of fact, my dog Ivory, a white German Shepherd, saved my life the first night I went sailing. The boat has a shoal keel which made it suitable for shallow water, but hard as heck to sail to weather (upwind). The first  night we (me, my date and my dog) were anchored off an island in the lake. My large dog was ashore sleeping, keeping a watch on the little sailboat. I woke up, hearing my dog scratching on the side of the boat and barking. I got up to pull her aboard the boat. That is when I noticed we had just drifted past the danger signs alerting us to the fact we were approaching the dam! 

We fought with the outboard trying to get it to start, (very cantankerous machine!) we were frantic, that we might be jumping overboard if it didn't start, so we could swim for our life. In the dark of the night, it was hard to tell whether we would sail right over the top of the dam or simply be sucked down 100 feet to where the sluices were open to make hydropower. (The dam is 204 feet tall.)

Neither choice seemed particularly appealing at 3am.

I was scrambling for the life jackets as my friend cursed and yanked on the outboard one final time before we had to seriously consider plan B. It roared to life as we drifted past yet another DANGER sign. We motored back to the island we had been anchored near. We anchored again but this time we waded ashore with lines, to securely tie the boat to the trees. We stayed up for awhile trying to get the color back in our pale white faces.

I'm sure that wild dam adventure  knocked a few damn years off my life.

I found this webcam of Hartwell Lake near where I am workamping. June is here, it's summer, and it's time to get outside and get wet!


The WebCam is located near Buoy # T-69 facing NorthWest. The left shoreline is Georgia just north of the Poplar Springs Boat Ramp (near where I volunteer as a workamper). The right shoreline is South Carolina at Chickasaw Point. On most days a mountain (Rabun Bald near Clayton Georgia) can be seen in the far background 33 miles away.


The webcam is courtesy of Mountain Lakes Vacation Rentals.   


Hartwell Lake is 50 years old this year!  Amazing.  Here I am!  Just goes to show you never know where life will take you. I more or less came full circle years later, only now I am not on a sailboat in the lake, but in my wheel estate (RV) by the lake. 


The Anderson Independent recently wrote an excellent article "50 Years Later, Hartwell Dam Stands Out For Engineering Feats". 


Hartwell Lake offers a variety of recreation such as boating, fishing, swimming, sailing, camping (788 campsites), hiking, tracking, biking, and hunting. You can visit or vacation in lake houses and cabins as well as RV's, motor boats and  sailboats. 


More info is at Hartwell Dam and Lake by US Army Corps of Engineers  


Did you know that our lake level is measured by feet above sea level?  For instance the lake is currently at about 652 feet. Some folks thought this was the depth of the lake!  But it's the feet above sea level. Full pond is at 660 feet above sea level. So the lake is down about 8 feet. But there is still plenty of swimming areas including where I am workamping. 

Hartwell Lake (middle), Lake Keowee (top), and Lake Richard Russell (bottom) Georgia (left of the water) and South Carolina (right of the water) map satellite poster print

Lake Hartwell Area Recreation Guide: Includes Information On Anderson, Athens, Clemson, Greenville, Hartwell, Pendleton & Toccoa

Index of Links about Hartwell Lake



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