Lake Sinclair's Brightest Holiday Lights Can Only Be Seen From a Boat. Here's How the Rest of December Fits Around Them

It started with one extra strand of Christmas lights on a boathouse. Dewey Forrester hung it, a neighbor in Turtle Cove answered with a strand of his own and a Christmas tree on his dock, and, as Forrester told The Union-Recorder, "We kind of made eye contact and realized that something was about to happen."

That friendly contest became Christmas Cove. It is now a listed holiday event on Lake Sinclair, and you can only see all of it from the water. On land, the season comes in pieces: a Friday-and-Saturday light walk, a historic house tour that is closed Mondays, and parades that each happen once. The cove is lit every night from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve, so it is the easiest part of December to plan around.

Three Docks in Turtle Cove

The display belongs to three households, not to an organization. The Union-Recorder's 2021 account says Clint and Tina Hall went up against Dewey and Kay Forrester to see "who could light up their Lake Sinclair home so bright that it could guide three wise men." One year the two families strung a cable system about 40 feet in the air between their properties. Then they "politely egged on" Ted and Joni Smith, also of Turtle Cove, who joined in with a 30-foot Santa Claus. That Santa now comes with a programmed music-and-light show.

By then people were coming to see it. Forrester estimated that 60 to 70 boats came through the cove on Thanksgiving night 2021. A few weeks later, Visit Milledgeville noted that Southern Living had featured the cove, describing a strip of boathouses that becomes "a winter wonderland created by a handful of individual families."

"When we hear the kids screaming for joy out on the boats when the lights come on, that's enough reason for us to do it right there."

Dewey Forrester, speaking to The Union-Recorder in 2021

Every Night From Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve

The 2026 listing from Visit Milledgeville has the lights on at sunset each night from November 26 through December 31. This year November 26 is Thanksgiving, so the first night is the same one that drew dozens of boats in 2021. The listing describes snowmen, Santa's sleigh, and lights reflected across a quiet cove near Sinclair Dam.

Viewing is free. Donations go to Ocmulgee CASA, which advocates for children in foster care in the community. The Ocmulgee CASA donation page takes one-time or recurring gifts by PayPal or card, checks mailed to its Milledgeville P.O. box, and Venmo at @OcmulgeeCASA1. That makes it easy to give from the boat or after you get home.

The cove has no shuttle, no organized boat tour, and no onsite transportation. Visitors arrange their own way onto the water. If you keep a boat at your own dock, the trip can be as short as you like on any of those 36 nights.

Finding the Cove After Dark

1. Head toward Sinclair Dam. The Union-Recorder puts Turtle Cove to the right of the dam.
2. Watch the right-hand shoreline as you near the south dam. Visit Milledgeville describes it as one of the last coves on the right, and says the lights can be seen from the big water.
3. Go with the boats already there. In 2021 Forrester said the cove is deep enough for boaters, and he asked that everyone follow the flow of existing traffic so there are no accidents.
4. If you're on land, try P.A. Johns Road. Parts of the display can be seen from the road. From the water you see all of it.

If you don't have a boat, Sinclair Marina in Milledgeville rents motorized boats, with online booking or reservations by phone. Renters must be at least 25 and show a valid driver's license. Jere-Shai Lakeside rents pontoons with a four-hour minimum. Posted rates are $275 for four hours, $425 for eight hours, or $500 overnight, plus a $300 damage deposit. Its page says the operator must be 21 and, if born after January 1, 1998, must have a boating license. Each business sets its own rental rules. Treat this as general information, not legal advice, and confirm your own eligibility with the marina before you book.

You can also eat on the water before or after. Visit Milledgeville lists The Front Porch on Sinclair at 3065 North Columbia Street as a waterfront spot you can reach by boat. Its posted hours are Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to midnight, and Sunday noon to 10 p.m., with the kitchen closing at 9. On the Putnam side, The Grill at Crooked Creek Marina, 208 Crooked Creek Drive in Eatonton, posts Friday through Sunday hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and links a winter menu.

On Land, the Season Runs on Weekends

The cove is lit every night. Most of the land events happen on certain days or a single evening, so they decide which nights fill up.

Lockerly in Lights at Lockerly Arboretum, 1534 Irwinton Road on Highway 441 South, runs Fridays and Saturdays only, from November 20 through January 2. That includes Christmas night and New Year's Day. Entry times are 6, 7 and 8 p.m., and Visit Milledgeville's listing says advance tickets are required, "with no exceptions." Adults are $15 and children ages 3 to 12 are $5. If walking is hard, you can reserve a staff-driven golf cart for the same entry time. There are two carts per time slot, one for up to five guests and one for up to seven, and each is booked as a whole cart. Dogs are not allowed on regular nights. Reindog Night on Tuesday, December 15 is the exception, at $25 per dog with two humans included.

Christmas at the Mansion at Georgia's Old Governor's Mansion, 120 South Clark Street, opens for holiday tours on November 14 and runs through December 31. Tours start on the hour, Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 4 p.m. The Mansion is closed Mondays. Admission is $10, or $7 for seniors and pre-booked tours, and $2 for students. Candlelight tours, with choirs singing in the rotunda, run at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. on December 5, 12 and 19, and they require reservations.

Each of the Mansion's three candlelight dates is a Saturday, and so is every one of them a Lockerly night. Both run on the same 6, 7 and 8 p.m. schedule. You can only do both in one evening by choosing different time slots and building in time to cross town.

The Evenings That Overlap

Eatonton and downtown Milledgeville each put their biggest events on a few December dates, and those dates land on top of each other.

Milledgeville packs its downtown celebrations into the first weekend of December. On Friday, December 4, Holiday on Hancock has a tree lighting in front of Firefly Boutique, Santa at Exchange Bank, and the Grinch at the Visitor's Center. On Saturday, Milledgeville Main Street's Merry Milly Market brings 50 vendors and food trucks to the Mary Vinson Memorial Library parking lot behind City Hall. The Exchange Club of Milledgeville's free parade follows on Sunday afternoon with an America250 theme.

Saturday, December 12 is the busiest night of the season. Christmas in Eatonton runs 4 to 8 p.m. at the Putnam County Courthouse. The parade steps off at 6 p.m., and free photos with Santa on the courthouse lawn are listed from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, and the parade goes on rain or shine unless there is lightning. The same evening, the Mansion holds its second candlelight night and Lockerly is open, with both starting entries at 6 p.m. Christmas Cove is lit that night as well, which helps. Because the cove is on every night, it is the one stop you can move to Sunday, or to any quiet weeknight.

If you live on the water, Eatonton's parade and an early run to Turtle Cove can share the same week without any juggling. The cove is lit Sunday through Thursday when nothing else is scheduled, and it stays lit through December 31, the same day the Mansion's holiday tours end. Lockerly in Lights runs two nights longer, closing on January 1 and 2, after the cove has gone dark.

When you're ready to talk about life on Lake Sinclair, including which coves and shorelines work for the kind of evenings you want, Luxury Lake Oconee Real Estate Group knows this water and the communities around it. Contact Us, and we'll be glad to help you plan your next step on the lake.