The Preserve at Sugar Creek, Lake Oconee | Neighborhood Guide
The Preserve at Sugar Creek is acreage living a mile from the water. Big wooded lots, custom houses, no two alike, and the Sugar Creek Marina and boat ramp close enough that you can keep a boat without owning shoreline.
Where The Preserve Is
On North Sugar Creek Road, which is a cut-through between Parks Mill Road and Marshall Road near Sugar Creek Marina. The neighborhood is built along that road rather than off it, so it does not read as a subdivision when you drive through — it reads as a country road with houses on it.
There are turn-offs inside: Hickory Lane, Sugar Woods Drive and Tanner Trace. Hickory Lane and Sugar Woods Drive run east from North Sugar Creek Road toward Hickory Point and Fawnfield.
Quick Facts
| County / city | Putnam County — Buckhead, GA 30625 |
| Streets | North Sugar Creek Road, Hickory Lane, Sugar Woods Drive and Tanner Trace |
| Getting there | North Sugar Creek Road runs between Parks Mill Road and Marshall Road |
| Lots | Large. The sales record runs from about 1.4 acres to 7.5 |
| Time to grocery | 10 to 15 minutes to the Putnam County Publix |
| Gated | No |
| Water access | None. No lot here touches the lake |
| Nearest ramp | Sugar Creek Marina and the Georgia Power ramp, about a mile |
| Schools | Putnam County School District |
Not a Lake Neighborhood
The Sugar Creek name attaches to a lot of things out here. No lot in The Preserve has lake frontage and none carries deeded lake access. Every sale in the record is off-water.
What you get instead is proximity. The marina and the Georgia Power ramp are about a mile away, with fuel, a store and boat storage. You keep the boat down the road and you keep the acreage at home.
Acreage, Not Lots
This is the thing that separates The Preserve from most of the Putnam side. Recorded parcels run from about an acre and a half up past seven acres, with a good many in the two to five acre range. On a lake where a quarter acre is normal and an acre is generous, this is a subdivision for a different buyer.
Houses are on private wells rather than public water.
The Houses
Every house in the record is custom built, and they do not match. Craftsman, farmhouse, brick and stone, and at least one substantial A-frame. Two building waves show up clearly — the mid 2000s and then 2015 to 2017 — with newer construction still going in.
Sizes run from under 2,000 square feet to over 5,000. Three to six bedrooms. Several have detached garages with apartments above, shops, pool houses or boat sheds, which is what the acreage allows and smaller lots do not.
What Homes Here Sell For
The direction here has been steep. Sales in 2019 ran in the upper $200,000s to nearly $400,000. By 2020 the range was $350,000 to $565,000. Recent closings have run from the $500,000s to $780,000, the top of that being a newer build on seven and a half acres.
Who The Preserve Suits
Somebody who wants land and quiet, wants to be near the lake without paying for frontage, and prefer a well to a pesky water bill. If you want a shop, a barn, room for equipment or space between you and the next house, this is one of the few places close to the lake where that is normal rather than an exception.
The Preserve at Sugar Creek: Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Preserve at Sugar Creek on Lake Oconee?
No. It sits about a mile back from the water in Putnam County. No lot has lake frontage or deeded access.
Where is The Preserve at Sugar Creek?
On North Sugar Creek Road, the cut-through between Parks Mill Road and Marshall Road near Sugar Creek Marina.
How big are the lots at The Preserve at Sugar Creek?
Large. Recorded sales run from about 1.4 acres to 7.5, with many between two and five.
How much do homes at The Preserve at Sugar Creek cost?
Recent sales have run from the $500,000s to around $780,000, depending on acreage and the age of the house.
Is The Preserve at Sugar Creek gated?
No.
Does The Preserve at Sugar Creek have public water?
Houses here are on private wells.
How far is the boat ramp from The Preserve at Sugar Creek?
About a mile. Sugar Creek Marina and the Georgia Power ramp both sit at that end of the road.
How should an acreage property near Lake Oconee be valued?
Not against waterfront, and not against quarter-acre subdivision lots either. The land carries real value here and the comparable sales that matter are other acreage properties within a few miles of the water. Then it comes down to the individual characteristics of the home – size, finish, amenities, systems, and condition. Contact Margie Sorrell for a valuation of your Lake Oconee home or land.
Thinking About The Preserve at Sugar Creek?
Houses here do not come up often and the lots vary enough that two sales a year apart can look nothing like each other. If you own here and want to know what you have, or you are weighing acreage against waterfront, get in touch. You can also browse the Eatonton and western shore communities or every neighborhood in the Lake Oconee neighborhood guides.