Anything south of Portman marina is deep and wide.That's really the start of the main body of the lake. Some standing timber could be near the surface in some coves and near the banks though. Been enjoying Hartwell since I was a kid in the 70's with my folks.You should have no worries.It's a beautiful lake, enjoy!

Oh no worries water is good at Portman. Hartwell is a deep lake. Even when it was 22 feet down we still boated. If you like history stuff. Run up the Seneca river to S53 there is an island right at that buoy. Beach your boat on the white sandy beach and walk a short trail to highest point. There are graves that date back to the 1700s.
If want continue to run the Seneca on up to Clemson. Clemson Marina/Grill has good water I was just there Saturday lowest water I saw was 30 feet. They still had 10 at courtesy docks. They have good bar food and cold beer.
The corp keeps the channels marked so just stay between the green & reds and hammer down.

Grew up boating on Hartwell. Mostly around Tugalo State Park, but have been all over it.

We had to visit other local lakes during that bad drought. All the boat ramps on the SC side of Hartwell were closed. Do you know of one that is still in the water when it gets really low. I would love to live on the lake, and will one day, but it will have to be on deep water so the dock could be moved in and out. It really made a lot of folks mad when they let it go to 20+ feet down. I was one of them. Oh well, lakes Keowee and Jocassee are always an option.

I'm planning a trip there next summer for the poker run/family vacation. Going to rent a house on the lake for a week. Really looking forward to it, we went to Lanier last year for the first time and loved it, really excited to check out the other lakes in the area. Like you guys, I'm hoping to live on one of the lakes one day.

Any advice for first timers? Any popular hang outs or places to go?

-Tom

I have been very fortunate when I go to different places to have folks show me around. I have meet boaters thru forums or just rafted-up. So I always repay the hospitality. Hartwell is a pretty go sized lake. We don't have the huge cocktail cove party place like lanier, but there are some party spots. Couple of different places to go to by boat for live music. Couple of places to go to by boat for food. They range from nice dining to dive spots. Im more than happy to buy you a beer and show you around. I think I saw your name on the TOY run if so I will there and we can talk more.

That would be awesome thank you! Yeah, not necessarily looking for a party spot, I boat with family and my 1 year old, just wanted to see if there was a cool place to go and be seen type of thing. I will probably be the only Advantage at the toy run so I should be easy to spot.

We put in at Portmans and had a great four days on Hartwell. The wind last weekend was the most I have seen on the water since Erie at PIB. Had to use a lot of tab to keep her level due to the wind but we had some fun splashing the bow and getting water blown over the windshield. We ran from Portmans to the Dam, Fair Play and up toward Clemson but did not go all the way up. Look forward to getting back on this lake sometime. Pretty cool water to run on.

Oh yea the Galley and Nami restaurants at Portmans were excellent eating. Definitely an awesome dining option for Hartwell.

Glad y'all had fun. Yea those are our fancy restaurants. There are a few more. Some I think the food is better, just not as easy to get to. Plus there is a mom-n-pop that has the best breakfast you could ask for.

Let me know when y'all are headed back.

Nice, sounds like plenty more to explore. A great breakfast place is always an interest for me.
We will definitely come back to Hartwell so I'll give a heads up when we do. Always nice to meet more of the boating community. This winter is forecasted to be warm and dry. If the lake levels are good enough we may be on the water for the holidays too.