Oconee Heights | Lake Oconee Neighborhood Guide, Greensboro GA

Oconee Heights is a small, private-road lake neighborhood off Askew Road in Greene County, built along Oconee Heights Drive with Edgewater Court and Lakeshore Trail off it. It is the first neighborhood you come to heading down Askew, and one of the most genuinely overlooked addresses on Lake Oconee. Very good houses on very good lots, and most people driving past have no idea it is there.

Quick Facts

County / city	Greene County — Greensboro, GA 30642
Streets	Oconee Heights Drive, Edgewater Court and Lakeshore Trail
Getting there	Turn onto Askew Road off Carey Station, follow the curve around the farms and take the first left
Time to grocery	10 to 12 minutes to the Publix on the Greensboro side
Gated	No, but the roads are private and signed no exit
HOA	Yes. Dues $200 to $500 a year, largely for the private roads
Amenities	Community boat ramp and neighborhood dock
Schools	Greene County School System. Lake Oconee Academy is minutes away

The Yards Are the Surprise

This is the thing that stops people when they first walk a lot here. Everywhere on Lake Oconee, Georgia Power owns the strip between your property line and the water. Usually that strip is narrow and you barely register it.
In Oconee Heights the Georgia Power boundary comes a long way up from the lake, and owners have built and landscaped right out onto it. The practical effect is a great deal more usable yard between the house and the water than the deed acreage suggests — open lawn running down to the shoreline rather than a short bank.
On some lots here that adds up to a third again more usable ground than the deed shows, which is why the yards feel considerably larger than the acreage suggests.
Worth understanding properly before you buy, though. You do not own that land. You are using it under Georgia Power’s shoreline rules, which govern what can be built, cleared and planted below the boundary. Ask what has been permitted and what has simply been done.

Sunsets, Again

Like neighbouring Sunset Bluff, the west-facing aspect over open water is the main draw here. Some of the lots take in a wide sweep of water, and on a point you can catch both the sunrise and the sunset from the same room.
Where the shoreline wraps, you get light at both ends of the day, which is unusual and worth asking about on a specific lot.

Lakefront Outside the Gates

The premium end of this lake is dominated by gated communities. The alternative here comes down to one line: new construction lakefront outside the gates.
That is the honest pitch for Oconee Heights. You get main-lake frontage, wide shoreline, and a house at whatever level you want to build to, without a club membership, a golf assessment, or a gatehouse. There is no pool and no clubhouse — but there is a community boat ramp and neighborhood dock, which is the amenity that actually matters here and the reason an interior lot is a genuine option rather than a compromise.

The New Interior Homes Are the Story Right Now

If you have not driven in here for a few years, you will not recognise the front half of the neighborhood. There has been a run of new construction along Oconee Heights Drive, almost all of it on the interior lots.
These are substantial houses, not infill cottages. They are well landscaped, craftsman in style, and generally run to two-storey foyers with the primary suite on the main floor.
The interior lots are considerably larger than the waterfront ones here, so an interior buyer gets more land, a newer house, and access to the community ramp and dock for a fraction of what a lakefront lot costs. On this street that is a real option rather than a consolation.

The Age Spread Is the Thing to Understand

Houses here date from the mid-1980s right through to brand new, and that is a very wide span for a neighborhood this small. An original eighties lake house on a good lot and a recent custom build on the same street are entirely different purchases, and the gap between them is the widest thing about this market.

What holds steady underneath it is the ground. Some of the strongest numbers here have been paid for older houses on the best lots, which tells you the land carries more of the value than the vintage of the house standing on it.

Be patient, in both directions. Homes here take longer to go under contract than most of this end of the lake, and sellers are not discounting to move them. A buyer is unlikely to find a bargain through seller fatigue. As a seller, plan on a longer marketing period and price it properly from the start, because the buyer pool for a small ungated neighborhood most people have never heard of is genuinely smaller.

Who Oconee Heights Suits

Buyers who want real main-lake frontage and a lot of yard, who like the idea of a short private road where you know everyone, and who do not want to pay for amenities they will not use. The wide Georgia Power frontage here makes it particularly good for anyone with children or dogs, because there is actual lawn to use rather than a steep bank to negotiate.
It suits you less well if you want amenities, a gate, or a neighborhood with a social calendar. And if you need to sell quickly, this is not the easiest market on the lake to do it in.

Oconee Heights: Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Oconee Heights?

In Greensboro, Greene County, off Askew Road, which runs off Carey Station Road. Follow the curve around the farms and take the first left. Oconee Heights is the first neighborhood you reach going down Askew, before Sunset Bluff and Parks Mill Crossing. The streets are Oconee Heights Drive, Edgewater Court and Lakeshore Trail.

Is Oconee Heights gated?

No. It is not gated, but the streets are private roads signed no exit, which keeps through traffic out. There is a property owners association, with dues of $200 to $500 a year, largely covering road maintenance.

What do homes in Oconee Heights sell for?

There is no useful single figure here. The houses span the mid-1980s to brand new on broadly similar lots, so an older lake house and a recent custom build sell in completely different ranges. For a figure on a specific home, get in touch.

Why do the yards look so big in Oconee Heights?

Because the Georgia Power boundary sits well up from the water here, and owners have landscaped out onto it. You get considerably more usable yard than the deed acreage suggests, but you do not own that land and its use is governed by Georgia Power’s shoreline rules.

How much lake frontage do Oconee Heights lots have?

Frontage here is wide by the standards of this lake, though it varies a great deal lot to lot. Confirm it on the specific property.

How deep is the water at Oconee Heights docks?

Depth varies by dock here as it does anywhere on this lake. The only figure that matters is the one measured at the dock you are buying.

Does Oconee Heights have amenities?

There is a community boat ramp and a neighborhood dock, which give interior lots real water access. There is no pool, marina or clubhouse. The dues largely cover the private roads.

Thinking About Oconee Heights?

I sold 1491 Oconee Heights Drive at $735,000 in December 2019 — which, with hindsight, was about the last quiet moment before the market changed. Lucky buyers! Oconee Heights is one of the neighborhoods I most often point buyers toward when they want lakefront without a gate and do not know it exists. The lots vary a great deal here in frontage, in how much Georgia Power yard you actually get, and in which way the water faces. Get in touch and I will tell you which ones are worth walking.
You can also read about neighbouring Sunset Bluff and Parks Mill Crossing, or browse every community in the Lake Oconee neighborhood guides.