Lake Hartwell is one of the largest reservoirs in the Southeast, stretching across 56,000 acres of water on the South Carolina-Georgia border. Anderson sits at the northern end of the lake, with easy access to public boat ramps, fishing piers, and swimming areas within a ten-minute drive of downtown.
The lake is a genuine recreational resource: excellent bass, crappie, and catfish fishing; good waterskiing and wakeboarding; and long shorelines for kayaking and paddleboarding in the coves. Hartwell Dam State Park at the southern end offers the most developed facilities for day visitors. The Corps of Engineers maintains several campgrounds and boat ramps around the perimeter.
Anderson University and Clemson University (about 45 minutes away) both have rowing programs that train on the lake, which gives it an additional character in the early mornings when the water is flat and the sculls are out.