Can you swim in Lake Blue Ridge?

Yes, you can swim in Lake Blue Ridge (TVA’s Blue Ridge Reservoir) in Fannin County, Georgia. The one designated swimming area the Forest Service lists is at Morganton Point Recreation Area, near the town of Morganton (USFS). Lakewood Landing prohibits swimming from its dock and ramp, and we found no other public beach listed on the lake.

Morganton Point: the designated swim area

Morganton Point is a Forest Service recreation area at 475 Lake Drive in Morganton. Its designated swimming area has picnic tables and outdoor showers, and the campground next to it has accessible showers and drinking water. Day use costs $5 per person 16 and older (USFS). The Forest Service lists the site as open yearlong and open 24 hours, with quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (USFS).

Morganton Point has a designated swimming area with picnic tables and outdoor showers. The campground has accessible showers and drinking water. (USFS, checked Oct 18, 2026)

A few rules travel with you to the beach. Alcohol is not allowed in the campground or the day-use areas, and dogs must stay leashed at all times (USFS). The nearest store and gas station are in Morganton, about a mile north of the campground (Recreation.gov). If you want to stay the night, our camping guide covers booking a site.

Plan to watch your own group in the water, and keep small children within arm’s reach.

Where swimming is banned or not listed

• Lakewood Landing. Swimming from the dock and ramp is prohibited at this Forest Service launch on the north side (Recreation.gov). It is a boat launch, not a beach.
• Lake Blue Ridge Recreation Area. The Forest Service lists motorized boating and day hikes at this free west-side site, not swimming (USFS).
• The river below the dam. When TVA releases water to generate power, the Toccoa below the dam becomes a Class I-II float (TVA), and the level can rise fast. TVA says that anyone near the river who hears the dam sirens or sees rapidly rising water should get off the river to high ground immediately (TVA). Read our Toccoa River guide before you wade in there.

Other sites around the shore aren’t listed as swim areas by any agency we checked, so we don’t send readers to them.

Swimming from a boat

If you swim off an anchored boat, Georgia law shapes how that works:

• Children under 13 must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket on any moving boat unless they are inside a fully enclosed cabin (GA DNR LE).
• Every boat must carry a Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board (GA DNR LE).
• Georgia’s 100-foot rule keeps boats and personal watercraft at idle speed within 100 feet of people in the water, docks, moored or anchored boats, and shoreline next to homes, parks, beaches and swimming areas (GA DNR LE).

That idle rule protects swimmers, but only if boaters see you. Stay close to your boat and keep the swim ladder down. Renting a pontoon for the day? The marina provides life jackets for all ages. See our boating guide.

Is the water clean?

TVA rated Blue Ridge Reservoir’s ecological health “good” in 2020, its most recent posted rating, and says the lake has consistently been among the highest-rated reservoirs it monitors (TVA). Georgia DNR describes the water as typically clear (GA DNR). That rating looks at the health of the reservoir as a whole. It is not a daily swim advisory.

Fish-consumption advisories for the lake are set by the Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division, and TVA points anglers there for the current list (TVA). We don’t publish water temperatures or bacteria readings, because we found no agency source that posts them for this lake.

When the water is high

TVA’s guide curve fills the lake through spring and peaks around June 1, then holds near summer level through July before the drawdown starts in August (TVA). In a normal year the level swings about 22 feet between summer and winter, so the shoreline at the swim area looks different in winter. Our lake level guide walks through the year, and TVA posts the daily reading.

• Campground

  Morganton Point Recreation Area (USFS)

  The only developed campground on Lake Blue Ridge's shoreline, with tent and RV sites, walk-in tent sites, a swim beach, boat ramp, picnic area and showers. USFS lists it as open yearlong and reservation-only through Recreation.gov (same day to six months ahead). Fees differ between USFS ($30-$50/night) and Recreation.gov ($26-$50), so confirm at booking. Day use is $5 per person 16+, and the boat launch is $5.

  • Yearlong (USFS)
  • Camping $30-$50/night per USFS ($26-$50 per Recreation.gov); day use $5/person 16+; boat launch $5
  • 475 Lake Drive, Morganton, GA 30560 (Fannin County, Georgia)
  • 706-374-1645

  Source: USDA Forest Service; Recreation.gov, checked Oct 18, 2026

• Beach

  Morganton Point swim beach (USFS)

  A designated swimming area with picnic tables, outdoor showers and trash bins inside Morganton Point Recreation Area. Day-use parking is $5 per person 16 and older. No alcohol is allowed in the day-use areas.

  • Yearlong (USFS)
  • $5/person/day for 16+
  • 475 Lake Drive, Morganton, GA 30560 (Fannin County, Georgia)
  • 706-374-1645

  Source: USDA Forest Service, checked Oct 18, 2026

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