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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article first appeared in a 2023 edition of Valley Living, a quarterly magazine published by the Valley Times-News.

As spring begins to ripen, locals will be flocking to the shady parks and cool waters at West Point Lake. With its sprawling forestry and expansive lake, residents of the area have few better options for a day of fishing, camping, swimming or hiking. 

Rather than make the drive down to Florida, people can turn homeward and take advantage of one of the many beach or boat access spots at West Point Lake.

Being such a staple of the local area, people might be surprised by the draw the lake has for visiting fishermen and dedicated campers passing through the community. 

While most recreational activities came to a grinding halt in March 2020, the lake soon became a haven for stimulus. During the mandated lockdown, cabin fever drove everyone to outdoor recreation. 

“When COVID hit, we had an increase in our camp and visitation because I think it’s one thing people felt safe doing … They felt safe coming out to the campgrounds where they were keeping their family on their individual campsite,” said Supervisory Park Ranger Susan Cromer. “So we got a lot of campers coming in and filling our spots and whole campgrounds during that time, and it really doesn’t seem like it’s backed off much since. After they discovered the campgrounds, they kept coming.” 

The lake visitation doesn’t seem to have lost its momentum from the lockdown yet. In fact, recently there has been a steady increase.

“Over the long term, I think our visitation is slowly increasing every year,” said Natural Resource Manager David Scott. “In the last couple of years, we’ve seen a 10% jump each year, which is pretty significant because the budgets to back up are not increasing at the same level.” 

With roughly 30,000 acres of forestry and fields, stretching 35 miles along the Chattahoochee River, there is enough work to go around. At capacity, the Army Corps of Engineers only has 10 park rangers and seven administrative staff. The rangers also rely on about 33 operations maintenance staff and up to 25 to 28 volunteers in the summer.

For the last fiscal year, West Point Lake had 2.2 million visitors. Of those, the campgrounds saw 225,000 overnight guests.

“We’ll get some full-time campers just coming off the interstate. They just need a spot to stay for one night, and then they spend some money in the local area, find supper,” Cromer said. “And then they move on to their next destination.”

Avid campers book their reservations weeks, and sometimes months, in advance. They can choose from Amity, R. Shaefer Heard, Holiday and Whitetail Ridge campgrounds. The slots stay so full during the spring season that locals have used Facebook to let others know when they’re cancelling their reservation and a spot will be opening up.

“In general terms, though, a lot of our people are repeat customers that come from LaGrange, all the way out to Thomaston, Montgomery, Atlanta,” said Supervisory Natural Resources Specialist Ben Williams. “So we do pull a lot from the local area that come repeatedly, but we also have some that are traveling through. So it’s a really good mix of people.”

With a 525-mile-long shoreline, West Point Lake has three beaches and several water access points, making it a popular fishing and boating destination. Public fishing piers at Hardley Creek Park, Rocky Point Park, and McGee Bridge Park are ideal spots for landlocked fishermen. 

GLL Marine Employee Houston Gaddy in LaGrange has seen the business the outdoor sports store gets for the last four years. 

“I would say a large percentage of our business is centered around the lake, and it’s not just us,” Gaddy said. “It’s like that when the bigger tournaments come to town … Everybody benefits from it.”

From mid-March to November, the store has its busy season, with customers picking up rods and reels, tackle or even a kayak. When major league fishing tournaments visit, there may be 250 teams and their whole family in town for the game.

Gaddy remembered the Bass Fishing League tournament that visited West Point Lake a few months ago. Around 150 boats competed in the tournament.

“It’s a high entry fee tournament and a lot of these guys are coming down for two or three days, renting hotel rooms, buying food, buying gas,” he said. “So there’s a large chunk of money that goes along with it.”

Gaddy himself is a fisherman and spends two or three nights a week fishing on West Point Lake during the summer.

“I wish we could get more emphasis on how much business it brings in,” Gaddy said. “I think the lake’s overlooked … It’s a gold mine.”

Some companies are taking advantage of the opportunity. F3 Marina, which manages Highland Pines Marina in LaGrange, recently purchased the Southern Harbor Marina in Lanett. The company is working on adding more attractions at the Lanett location. It may even be ready by next summer. 

“It is a really good place for our local fishermen. They all enjoy fishing West Point Lake,” said Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carrie Wood. 

The good reputation of the lake for fishing recently caught the attention of Fishing University show host Charlie Ingram. In February, he and his co-host Ben Ballou decided to take a trip to West Point and film an episode of their show fishing on the lake.

“They agreed to stay here and fish that like for their show, so that was great for our area,” Wood said.

As part of the show, Ingram and Ballou visited Valley High School and invited the GVA Chamber of Commerce to create a commercial for the segment promoting the local area.

“The Corps has a really good thing with the camping sites,” Wood said. “Everyone loves to come in the spring and summer and camp out there. They’re always full. So I think it’s great. We’re just going to keep working on making things better and having more opportunities.”

The Army Corps of Engineers also manages 10,000 acres of huntable ground, while another 10,000 acres are leased out to the state of Georgia. To hunt for deer, turkey or waterfowl, all guests have to do is pay for a $25 permit.

The impact of the lake can be measured by more than just good business though. The West Point Dam was established in 1962 after the Flood Control Act after a devastating flood caused property damage throughout West Point. From this stemmed the Rangers’ flood control mission.

The last massive flood was in 2003, and the dam greatly reduced the damages. On March 27, West Point saw major flash flooding after the latest tornado came through Troup County. 

“We’ve had several, just this past week, high water events where if West Point Lake wasn’t here to catch the inflow, it could have been a lot worse, a lot more property damage downstream,” Williams said. “And that’s what sometimes I think some people will forget. That’s one of the main reasons why we’re here. Recreation is a big and important part of our mission, but also flood risk reduction as well.”

The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Waterway uses the dam for water storage. It runs 260 river miles from Apalachicola, Florida to Columbus, Georgia, and serves 24,000 homes annually with power from generators.   

The Rangers also have an ongoing Water Safety Awareness program. They introduced Bobber the dog, the new water safety mascot. Park Ranger Jeffrey Mau was nominated for and won the Water Safety Award for the division. 

“We try to be engaged with the communities at every opportunity, primarily to tell our story and add that piece of our water safety mission because a lot of people come to the project,” Scott said. “We hope that at some point before they come they have heard the importance of water safety because then an unfortunate side effect of a big lake like this is drownings.”

The USACE hosts the Chambers County Extension office’s annual Groundwater Festival, which supports water safety and responsibility awareness. Every year, the county’s fourth-graders spend the day at Hardley Creek Park learning about water safety and water pollution.

Hardley Creek Park is unique in that it has almost all of the recreational facilities that West Point Lake has to offer, from a tennis and basketball court to picnic areas. Hardley Creek Pond is a smaller pond that is available for fishing with easier access. 

“It’s actually dedicated for children and people with disabilities to fish in — so not just open to the general public — to try to provide kind of a safer atmosphere for fishing access all around,” Scott said. 

The Kids Fishing Rodeo will be held at the pond on June 3 at Hardley Creek Pond.

Many school groups and community events are hosted at the lake. The Army Corps of Engineers founded its annual Special Day for Special People event. The park rangers invited local groups from the area to enjoy a safe day of fun with petting zoos, boat rides and lunch by Publix and Coca-Cola. 

Local schools also visit the lake on field trips often. Recently, a high school FFA club in Troup County did an ecology project with pollinator plants.

“We’re always glad, and we’re always looking for any opportunity to get people to come out,” Scott said. “Hopefully they come one time, and you know, it draws them back in.”