Anderson County tourism received another boost this week when ground was broken on The Shores of Asbury, the county’s first RV resort on the shores of Lake Hartwell.
The development will feature yurts, ADA accessible treehouses, cabin rentals, tent campsites, an event lodge, a waterfront grill, courtesy docks and a water park to be called The Aqua Zone.
A project of Lake Hartwell Development Group, The Shores of Asbury is receiving collaborative assistance from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the County of Anderson.
“The Shores of Asbury will be a game changer for how tourists experience and enjoy Lake Hartwell,” said Anderson County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Glenn Brill. “Its amenities will be found nowhere else along the 962 miles of Lake Hartwell’s shoreline. I can truly see The Shores of Asbury becoming a preferred lodging destination for anglers fishing in tournaments at Green Pond.”
Anderson County’s relationship with Lake Hartwell changed in a dramatic way 12 years ago when the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) brought the Super Bowl of fishing, the Bassmaster Classic, to Lake Hartwell, Brill said. That event brought $23 million to the Anderson area economy.
It also showed Anderson County officials the potential of monetizing Lake Hartwell to enhance the area’s economy, Brill added. In 2013, the county broke ground on Green Pond Landing and Event Center and hosted its first event there in 2015 – the Bassmaster Classic, which inspired creation of the landing.
In six years, Green Pond Landing has hosted 37 regional, national and international tournaments with a total economic impact of $60.3 million, Brill said.
Karen Alayne McCullough, owner and president of Lake Hartwell Development Group, said The Shores of Asbury is important to bring recreation to Anderson County, but equally important in providing jobs in an economy that needed a boost during COVID.
Lake Hartwell Development Group will be working with area contractors to get the project open by Spring 2021, McCullough said. The development will be built in four phases, with phase one featuring a water park, restaurant, and a few RV sites and yurts. Initial plans call for the development to close in the winter months of 2021 and reopen the following spring with additional amenities, McCullough said.
“We embrace working with others already on the lake to strengthen the tourism and recreational pull for Lake Hartwell and Anderson County; thus, providing recreation, jobs and a boost to the local economy for all of us,” McCullough said.
Video courtesy of Anderson County Media Department.
