Lake Arrowhead

Lake Arrowhead is an 8,000-acre gated mountain, lake, and golf community set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Waleska, Georgia — about 40 minutes north of Atlanta's I-285 Perimeter in Cherokee County. The centerpiece is a 540-acre spring-fed private lake, one of the largest privately owned man-made lakes in Georgia and consistently ranked among the cleanest, with crystal-clear water reaching depths over 80 feet and more than 20 miles of shoreline. Originally opened in the early 1970s, the community was revitalized when Johnson Development Corporation partnered with the Purcell Company to develop the remaining acreage and expand amenities, and new home construction continues today with multiple model homes, active neighborhoods, and recent releases like Red Cloud Cottages and the Franklin Elm and Fort Gibson luxury ranch homes in the Woodlands. Housing at Lake Arrowhead spans a wide range of styles and price points. Buyers can choose from single-level ranch homes, Mountain Cottages, Lakeview townhomes, and Lakeside Villas, plus custom-built homes on lots that range from lakefront to mountain view. New homes from builders start in the mid-$400,000s and go into the $800,000s, while resale homes run from the $300,000s for smaller cottages and condos up past $1 million for custom lakefront estates. The community is not deed-restricted 55+, but its low-key pace, amenity package, and mountain-lake lifestyle have made it a popular choice for retirees, second-home buyers, and empty-nesters — with a 55+ section also marketed by some local brokerages. Life here revolves around the water, the mountains, and the golf. The Highlands Course is an 18-hole, 7,100-yard championship course designed by DJ DeVictor that has been called the best golf course in Cherokee County. The Yacht & Country Club's 10,000+ square-foot clubhouse anchors the golf experience with a pro shop, the Highlands Grill restaurant, a full bar, formal and casual dining, and a fireside Veranda with long-range mountain views. A full-service marina offers boat slips, dry storage, a launch ramp, sailing lessons (ASA-certified since 1983), and rentals of pontoons, fishing boats, kayaks, and canoes. The 40-acre Great Festival Park features a junior-Olympic-size pool, basketball, volleyball, batting cages, playground, pavilion, and outdoor fitness area, while Red Cloud Park adds a second arrowhead-shaped pool, six tennis/pickleball courts, a basketball court, and a multi-use sports court. Residents also enjoy 21 miles of hiking and nature trails, a sandy beach at Lakeside Park, a disc golf course, dog park, regulation cornhole boards, and a community library. The community is manned and gated 24 hours with two security gates (north and south), and operates its own water and sewer system with two fire stations on site. Activities are year-round and property-owner-driven — outdoor concerts, sunset cruises, wine tastings, water aerobics, lakeside yoga, couples sailing trips, and an expanding events calendar run by a dedicated Activities Director. Just outside the gates, historic Waleska is home to Reinhardt University, and nearby Canton offers the renovated Canton Theatre, the Cherokee Arts Center, and dining and shopping along Riverstone Parkway. The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta and Lake Allatoona recreation are both within a short drive, and Atlanta's medical facilities, cultural attractions, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are all accessible as day trips — making Lake Arrowhead a genuinely self-contained mountain escape that doesn't require giving up big-city conveniences.