Hartwell Lake offers more than 80 public park sites with picnicking, camping, or boat launching facilities. For those wanting more solitude, there are a number of undeveloped sites and islands. In addition, there are five marinas that provide boat rentals, oil and gasoline, and boat repair.

Hartwell Lake is located in the upper Piedmont of Georgia although its northern reaches extend into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Because of this location, there are wide differences in soil, terrain, climate, and vegetation resulting in highly diverse wildlife habitats. These include aquatic, marsh, old field, pine-hardwood, and mixed pine-hardwood habitats which are the home for more than 250 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, and numerous aquatic, reptilian, and amphibian species.

Bird watching, photography, hiking, and other wildlife-related recreational pursuits, including a half-mile, self-guided nature trail which leads through a variety of habitat, attract visitors to Hartwell Lake. And for hours of leisurely hiking, there are miles of old logging roads and fire trails.

The area is served by I-85 with easy access to the lake.