Short term rental friendly lake locations (drivable from Atlanta)

[Brent H.]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

My wife and I live in the Atlanta area and we took a leap on our first short term rental in Destin, Florida in 2021. So far so good but, over the next year (or so), we'll be looking for another drivable market (from Atlanta, perhaps within a 5-hour radius). 

We have several drivable areas (Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge, etc. which seem extremely popular in these forums), however we prefer not to purchase in the mountains. Any free time we have we prefer to go to the ocean but, for the next rental, we want to get away from the coast (hurricanes, flooding) and find another water location near or on a lake that's not on the coast.

Has anyone had any success with non-coastal, lakefront properties in the Southeast? Perhaps in GA, SC or NC, maybe TN? If so, which locations? We've got several lakes north of Atlanta but most are probably residential and probably not rental friendly.

Thanks!

Brent