Gainesville, GA
Don Carter is one of Georgia’s newest state parks having opened in 2013. It sits just at the point where the Chattahoochee River pours into Lake Lanier and is thus set up along a larger set of ‘paddle trails’ going by down the river. There are lots of motor boats and ski boats that go by. It also has quite a large area set aside for equestrian horse trails, a beach and fishing day-use area, and of course hiking trails and camping.
Kayaking (a portion of ) Lake Lanier (38000 acres)
Kayaking out from Don Carter you touch both the Chattahoochee and Lake Lanier since it is right at the point where one becomes the other. Above the park, people put in to experience a bit of river running with class I and II rapids. From the park on, the water is calm. It has mapped ‘water trails’ that you can follow or just enjoy a leisurely paddle from the dock area out into fairly open water and past spots with interesting names along the way like Lonely Man’s Island and the Whale Tail peninsula.
