Lake Thurmond / Clarks Hill Lake

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One Lake, Two Names, Two States

Lake Thurmond is the USACE's official name for the reservoir. In Georgia, the same lake is called Clarks Hill Lake — the name of the community flooded when the Savannah River was dammed in 1954. Both names are correct; which you use typically depends on which side of the state line you are standing on. Our research on the Georgia side is published separately at the Clarks Hill Lake GA page. This page covers the South Carolina shore — what is different for SC buyers, what the SC-specific research shows, and what you need to know before buying on this side of the lake.

At 70,000 acres with over 1,200 miles of combined shoreline, this is the third largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River and one of the top 10 most visited USACE lakes nationally. More than 100 islands are distributed across the lake — an unusual recreational feature that defines the character of open-water cruising here. The lake extends 40 miles up the Savannah River valley and 26 miles up the Little River valley. The SC side is primarily McCormick County, a rural western SC county where the dominant residential community is Savannah Lakes Village.

The Most Important Fact About Savannah Lakes Village

Savannah Lakes Village is the dominant residential community on the SC side of Lake Thurmond, with 4,958 lots across multiple neighborhoods and 25 miles of lakefront shoreline. Most buyers researching the SC side will encounter SLV quickly. Here is what SLV buyers must know before falling in love with a lakefront listing: there are no private docks in Savannah Lakes Village. The USACE and the Savannah Lakes Village Property Owners Association (SLVPOA) entered an agreement in 1988 specifying a joint procedure for dock slip locations. All dock permits are issued by the Corps to the SLVPOA — not to individual homeowners. Slips are designated for use by "lakefront" homeowners and "interior" homeowners through the community dock system. If you buy a "lakefront" home in SLV expecting a private dock at the end of your yard, you will not have one. You will have a designated slip in a community dock facility.

This is not a dealbreaker for buyers who understand it going in — SLV is a well-run community with excellent amenities, two championship golf courses, and attractive pricing relative to more publicized lake markets. But buyers arriving from other lake markets where private docks are standard are universally surprised by this arrangement. Knowing it before you visit changes how you evaluate properties and pricing.

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