Aerial photo of the south end of Lake Lanier near Buford Dam: branching wooded coves around deep green open water

Lake Lanier Water Level Today

1,063.0ft
Below normal

7.6 ft below full pool, 74.3% full (of this season's full pool), and 2.9 ft lower than a year ago.

Read Oct 26, 3:00 PM EDT

Trend and source week, month, year
Past week0.45 ft down
Past month1.41 ft down
Vs a year ago2.90 ft down

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Check it at waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02334400/

Which Lanier ramps work at 1,063.0 ft

34 of 57 ramps have a usable lane today, 2 are marginal, 9 are out of the water and 12 are closed by the Corps. Lane by lane: 69 of 105 usable and open. Tap a ramp, on the map or in the list, for its lanes and directions.

Loading the ramp map…
UsableMarginalOut of waterClosed per USACE
Out of water9 rampsBethel, Duckett Mill Day Use, Lanier Point and 6 more
Marginal2 rampsLake Lanier Islands Cove, Shady Grove
Usable34 rampsAqualand, Bald Ridge Marina, Balus Creek and 31 more
Closed per USACE12 rampsBald Ridge Campground, Belton Bridge, Chestnut Ridge and 9 more

Ramp locations, elevations and closures: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Water depths use the level read Oct 26, 3:00 PM EDT. 1 ramp has no map location yet. Shoreline © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Open water on Lake Lanier in summer, with a small wooded island and the far shore under a cloudy sky

Lake Lanier, Georgia. Run by USACE Mobile District.

Lake Lanier level

1,0551,0601,0651,0701,075JanAprJulOctFull poolNormal range1,063.0today
1,0551,0601,0651,0701,075NovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctFull poolNormal rangeHigh: 1,066.8 ft, Jun 211,063.0today
1,0551,0601,0651,0701,075NovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctFull poolNormal rangeHigh: 1,066.8 ft, Jun 211,063.0today

Daily level, past 12 months, feet above sea level (NGVD29). Shaded: the normal range, the middle half of readings for each date, 2006 to 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 1 day from the U.S. Geological Survey.

About Lake Lanier today

How full is Lake Lanier?74.3% full, 7.6 ft below full pool

74.3% full by storage on Oct 26. Conservation pool between the bottom of operating pool (1,035 ft) and today's top of conservation (seasonal: 1,071 ft May to Oct, 1,070 ft in winter).

Full pool is 1,070.59 ft, the operator's target for this time of year.

How low is Lake Lanier?12.2 ft above its lowest since 1989

7.6 ft below full pool. The lowest daily level in our record since 1989 is 1,050.80 ft, on Dec 28, 2007.

Is Lake Lanier still dropping?Yes: down 0.45 ft this week
ChangeFeetLevel then
Past day (since Oct 25) 0.13 down1,063.16
Past 7 days (since Oct 19) 0.45 down1,063.48
Past 30 days (since Sep 26) 1.41 down1,064.44
Past year (since Oct 26, 2025) 2.90 down1,065.93
Is Lake Lanier lower than normal?Yes: 3.7 ft below normal for this date

Normal for Oct 26 is 1,066.71 ft: the median of 140 daily readings within 3 days of this date, 2006 to 2025. Lake Lanier is 3.7 ft below it.

At 1063.03 ft, the lake is in conservation Zone 3 of the Corps' operating zones for Buford Dam (Lake Lanier), between 1061.83 and 1064.1 ft today.

Source: USACE CWMS location levels (operator data), Oct 26, 2026; the operator's own data.

What is the water temperature at Lake Lanier?No official reading for this lake

No USGS in-lake water-temperature gauge found within the lake area (checked 2026-10-24). Stream gauges above or below the dam were not used: tailwater and inflow temperatures differ from the lake surface. Checked 2026-10-26: CWMS has Buford.Temp-Water (lake side, no data since at least July 2026) and Buford.Temp-Water-TW (tailwater, 53.4 F, cold dam releases). No official lake-surface reading.

When was Lake Lanier last full?Jul 26, 2025

The last day in our record at or above 1,070.59 ft, today's full pool.

Lake Lanier full pool level1,070.59 ft

Full pool changes with the season; this is the operator's target for today. Elevations are feet above sea level (NGVD29).

Where it comes from: USACE CWMS location level "Buford.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Conservation" (refreshed daily; seasonal where the Corps sets a seasonal pool). Checked 2026-10-24. 1,071 ft May to Oct, 1,070 ft in winter.

Lake Lanier this time last year1,065.9 ft on Oct 26, 2025

2.9 ft lower than a year ago.

Are Lake Lanier boat ramps open?34 of 57 ramps have a usable lane

12 ramps are closed per the Corps and 9 are out of the water at 1,063.0 ft. See every ramp and its lanes.

Levels: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, read Oct 26, 3:00 PM EDT. Normal and records come from Creek & Lake's stored daily history (8,118 days since 1989); they aren't official unless the operator publishes the same value.

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