Things to Do at Big Canoe

The Two Championship Golf Courses

Big Canoe's golf program centers on two distinct championship courses — the Choctaw Course and the Cherokee Course. Together they provide enough course variety to keep regular golfers engaged for decades without the staleness that single-course communities can develop. The courses are routed through the mountain terrain of the community with significant elevation changes, mountain views from many tees and greens, and the challenging green complexes that mountain golf typically delivers.

The Choctaw Course tends to be slightly more challenging for high-handicap players due to its layout characteristics, while the Cherokee Course offers a different routing experience with its own character. Members typically develop preferences between the two courses based on their game and their preferred playing rhythm. Tournament play, member events, and the social programming around the golf community happen at both courses throughout the season.

Golf membership is purchased separately from POA dues — see the amenity memberships research for the full structure. The membership grants access to both courses, the practice facilities, the golf club restaurant, and the social programming organized around the golf community. For property owners whose primary identity is golfer, the dual-course inventory plus year-round playable weather (with occasional winter closures for snow events) supports a serious golf lifestyle within the gated community.

The Racquet Sports Complex

The racquet complex includes tennis courts and pickleball courts in dedicated facilities with appropriate surrounding infrastructure. Pickleball has grown significantly at Big Canoe over recent years, mirroring the national trend in mountain community amenity demand. The combination of tennis and pickleball under the same racquet membership means players can switch between sports based on partner availability and personal interest.

Programming includes round-robin play, group lessons, individual lessons, league play, and the social events that develop around active racquet communities. Member tournaments and ladder play provide competitive structure for residents who want it. The racquet membership rate is meaningfully lower than golf membership, making racquet sports the most accessible structured amenity for residents who want active programming without the golf commitment.

The Wellness Center

The wellness center includes fitness equipment, group exercise studios, locker rooms, and the programming space for classes and personal training. Group exercise programming includes the standard fitness club categories — yoga, pilates, cardio classes, strength training, water-based exercise in the indoor pool. Personal training is available at additional per-session cost from the wellness center trainer staff.

For full-time Big Canoe residents who want a year-round fitness facility within the gate rather than driving to a Pickens County gym, the wellness center is the most consistently used amenity month-to-month. Fitness habits do not have the seasonal compression that golf and racquet sports do — the wellness center is busy in January as well as July. The membership rate sits in a moderate range relative to the more premium amenities.

The Swim Club

The swim club includes the community pool facilities and Lake Disharoon — the small community lake reserved exclusively for swim club programming and natural lake swimming. The pool facilities operate seasonally for outdoor pool use and year-round for indoor lap swimming and water exercise programming. Lake Disharoon swim access is the natural-water experience that distinguishes the Big Canoe swim club from a typical pool-only swim club.

The swim club is the most family-oriented of the five amenity categories and skews toward households with children. Summer programming includes swim lessons, junior swim teams, family pool events, and the social calendar that develops around active swim communities. Parents who specifically value the family lake recreation experience — children swimming in natural water with adult supervision — find Lake Disharoon and the swim club programming particularly valuable.

Over 27 Miles of Community Trails

Big Canoe maintains a community trail network exceeding 27 miles through the 8,000-acre property. The trails range from easy walking paths suitable for casual evening strolls to more substantial hiking trails with significant elevation changes and rugged mountain character. Mountain biking is permitted on appropriate trail segments. The trail network connects the residential sections to lake access points, common-area features, and viewpoint overlooks throughout the community.

For residents who specifically value daily outdoor exercise in natural surroundings, the trail network is one of Big Canoe's strongest unbilled amenities — access does not require a separate membership beyond standard POA. The combination of accessible easy trails with more challenging hiking options serves the full range of fitness levels and interests within the community. Trail maintenance is performed by the POA as part of common-area infrastructure work, and trail conditions are generally well maintained.

The Fishing Program

The fishing program — covered in detail in our dedicated fishing research — provides member-only access to Lake Petit and Lake Sconti for managed bass, bream, and crappie fishing. Catch-and-release management produces a small but quality fishery that fishing-active residents find rewarding. The fishing membership is the most narrowly subscribed of the five amenity categories — it attracts residents whose specific recreation identity includes fishing rather than broader community amenity usage.

Off-Property Recreation Within Day-Trip Range

Beyond the gate, Big Canoe's North Georgia location provides access to substantial recreational inventory within day-trip range. Amicalola Falls State Park is approximately 20 minutes north, featuring the highest waterfall in Georgia (729 feet cascading) and the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail approach. The trails at Amicalola Falls are accessible for day hikes and provide an excellent compliment to the community trail network.

The Blue Ridge Mountains region extends from Big Canoe's location through Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Blairsville, and Helen — a tourism corridor with apple orchards, mountain wineries, antique shopping, summer mountain towns, and the Cherokee National Forest. Day trips to any of these destinations are practical from Big Canoe within an hour to ninety minutes. The Georgia Wine Highway and the increasingly developed North Georgia wine region provide multi-stop wine touring within reach.

Lake Allatoona at 35 miles south, Lake Lanier at approximately 50 miles southeast, and Carters Lake at approximately 50 miles west provide off-property lake access for residents who want occasional larger-lake experiences. Whitewater rafting on the Cartecay River and Ocoee River, both within an hour to ninety minutes, provides the higher-adventure water recreation that the calm Lake Petit cannot offer.

The Honest Recreation Mix

Big Canoe's within-gate recreation inventory plus the surrounding North Georgia destinations produce a complete recreational lifestyle for most resident profiles. Active retirees who want year-round programming find more than enough to fill their calendars. Families with children find the swim club, the trails, and the family programming at the various amenities adequate for most growing-up needs. Outdoor recreation enthusiasts find the community trails plus the surrounding mountain and lake destinations sufficient for serious outdoor lifestyle. Social residents find the community calendar of events, classes, and member gatherings provides genuine engagement opportunities.

The community is recreationally rich enough that most residents do not need to leave the gate for entertainment on most days. The combination of dedicated amenity facilities, the trail network, the lakes, and the community programming creates a self-contained recreational environment that, for many residents, becomes the central appeal of Big Canoe ownership.