Fletchers Paddle Shack
Staged at the shoreline
Single and tandem kayaks plus paddleboards, staged at the shoreline so you walk up and launch. Life vests come with the rental. Call ahead on busy weekends.
Where to rent a kayak or paddleboard
Paddle rentals on Lanier cluster in three places: the Forsyth County shoreline around Cumming, the south end near Lanier Islands, and the calm upper lake around Gainesville, where Olympic Park and Don Carter State Park rent from the docks and the beach. Every outfitter includes a life vest, and a few deliver.
Compare all of them on Lake Lanier kayak rentals or paddleboard rentals, or start with the outfitter closest to you:
All kayak rentals Paddleboards Boats & jet skis
By town: Cumming · Buford & Lanier Islands · Gainesville & Flowery Branch
Free places to launch a kayak
These Corps of Engineers parks charge no day-use fee. Several are now co-managed by Hall County, so check before a holiday weekend. See them all on the launch map, or browse Lake Lanier beaches.
- Bolding Mill
- Duckett Mill
- Little Ridge
- Lower Overlook
- Nix Bridge
- Sardis Creek
- Thompson Creek
- Toto Creek
- Upper Overlook
- West Bank Overlook
Best launches for first-timers
- Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville: calm upper-lake water, dock rentals on summer weekends and the 1996 Olympic course.
- Mary Alice Park in Cumming: a long sand beach with a swim area and kayak rentals on the sand on weekends.
Lake Lanier for paddlers, in short
- Go early, go weekdays. Summer weekend afternoons bring heavy wakes on the main channel. Where to find calm water.
- Head north for quieter water. The upper lake near Gainesville narrows into river arms, and the city's 14-mile Upper Lanier Water Trail links lake parks.
- Bring a card, not cash. Corps parks take cards only, and day use is $8 a vehicle at many parks. Current fees.
- Wear the vest. Lanier is deep and busy, and kids under 13 must wear one by law. Rules and safety.