If there is anything I’ve learned this past year, it’s that you can’t wait for the time to be right to make memories with your family, you have to grab the moment when you can. We did just that on an easy getaway less than an hour north of downtown Atlanta to Southern Shore Cove, a Lake Lanier house rental that is perfect for large groups and multi-age families.
At first glance, this Lake Lanier house rental is an unlikely escape given it is located in a standard suburban subdivision just seven minutes off I-985, close to grocery stores and other strip mall conveniences. But as soon as you turn into the long driveway through the trees, and open the front door, the rest of the world is left behind.
The Layout for this Lake Lanier House Rental
There are a lot of Lake Lanier lake house rentals, but we think this one is a cut above for a few reasons. Southern Shore Cove is a beautiful remodeled and decorated six-bedroom, three bath and two half bath home. It is at the very end of a boat accessible cove on Lake Lanier that is off the beaten path, so there isn’t boat traffic to worry about when the kids are playing in the water or swimming.
The home itself is perfect for families to share. There are two master bedrooms with king-size beds and private baths, three queen bedrooms and a super fun basement bunk room with two double over double bunks that also have pullout trundles, so all the kids can hang together.
Work From the Lake
Our adventure began on Friday morning. The owners were kind enough to let me check in early, so I drove up that morning getting there in plenty of time to work from the house. I was pretty excited when I realized one of the rooms on the main floor is all set up as an office with desk, printer and any type of cord you might need.
The rest of the group showed up later in the afternoon, including my three sons and nine of their fully-grown friends. Even the ‘kids’ that slept in the bunkroom raved about the comfortable beds with eggshell toppers. At one point I saw a few of the boys lounged out on the trundles watching a movie – every room has a huge 65+ inch or more TV.
Our Favorite Room at Southern Shore Cove
The room that got the most action though was the garage. Yes, I said the garage. Southern Shore Cove owners have transformed this space into a fantastic game room. We opened the garage door and all fourteen of us hung out both nights playing pool, darts, corn hole, and air hockey while watching sports on the 65+ inch TV. The boys couldn’t get enough of the Pac Man and Ninja Turtles video consoles, and a good-natured game of basketball even broke out.
Fire Pits, Hot Tub, Dining and More!
When the boys needed a break from the games, they ambled down to the firepit on the side of the deck, not to be confused with the other firepit on the deck. We put some logs from under the house (SSC supplies all the wood) and challenged each other to answer trivia questions from the many different card decks we found in the house. The food and drink trivia was a hit, the movies from different generations not so much.
Surprisingly, only my youngest son and I relaxed in the six-person hot tub. I was pretty impressed that he figured out how to run the music through the hot tub speakers and put on the multi-colored lights.
Get Out on Lake Lanier
Saturday we spent the day on Lake Lanier. SSC owners shared several boat rental companies with us. We choose Paradise Rentals, which was about 25 minutes away from the house by car. If you do this, get there early as it gets crowded and you don’t want to spend your lake time waiting to check in.
I would also suggest getting the full-day rental, especially if you are planning to go back to the house to pick up riders like we did. By the time we got the boat it was thirty minutes past our start time. Another 25 minutes across the water to the house to pick everyone up and you’ve eaten up an hour of a half-day, four-hour trip.
Southern Shore Cove Extras
One of my favorite ‘extras’ at Southern Shore Cove (and there are quite a few!) is the use of their two stand-up paddleboards, two kayaks, one tandem and two kid kayaks. Since our boat only held eight people at a time, the boys that weren’t out tubing could play on the lake or go fishing using the provided poles and lures.
We rented a two-person tube from the boat company, but Southern Shore Cove also has a single tube you can use, and several adult and kid lifejackets. This may seem like a little thing, but normally you’d have to rent all this equipment by the hour, it was really nice to just have it at our disposal.
Meal Prep and Dining Al Fresco
The kitchen at SSC is stocked with everything you could possibly need, as well as plenty of spices. With such a large group, we ate in, grilling burgers on the Big Green Egg using the charcoal and lighter fluid provided by SSC. And each morning we were able to lay out a buffet on the kitchen table and the boys ate at the long table on the screened porch or the eight person table on the lower deck – so many places to spread out and relax.
As Close as a Morning Commute
With older children, one working his first job, one in college and one in high school, it’s not easy to get everyone together. And when we do, the window of time available is pretty short. Finding a place like Southern Shore Cove that is as close as a morning commute, made it possible for everyone to make it. The extras they provide made it easy to have a special weekend that felt more like inviting friends to our home than renting a place.
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