Lake Gilmer first opened to the public on September 29th 2001 and is located at SH 852, 4 miles west of downtown Gilmer. Lake size is 1,010 surface acres. There is an additional 1,557 acres of mitigation property that will be developed into combination hiking and nature trails and bird watching stations. A swimming and picnic area will be developed on the north end of the lake near the dam area.