Gwinnett County · The lake town
About Berkeley Lake
Berkeley Lake was developed after the war by Frank Coggins, who built the dam in 1948 and sold lake lots around the 88-acre lake, and the town incorporated in 1956 as a summer retreat.
Today it is a small city of roughly two thousand residents wrapped around its namesake lake, bordered on all sides by Peachtree Corners, with the water, the woods, and the quiet streets as the whole point.
Where it is
Inside Gwinnett, minutes from everything
Berkeley Lake sits in western Gwinnett County, a few minutes from Peachtree Corners, Norcross, and Duluth, and about 24 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. There is no downtown and no commercial district; the city is the lake and the neighborhoods around it, with the neighbor cities covering every errand.
Peachtree Corners, Duluth, and Norcross are the nearby CityGuideGA cities; Jones Bridge Park on the Chattahoochee is the big public green minutes away.
Schools and governance
Gwinnett County, one district
Gwinnett County Public Schools serves the city; the elementary and cluster assignments vary by street, so check the GCPS boundary maps by address. The city runs as a small incorporated municipality with its own mayor and council, while Gwinnett County provides schools and county services.
Coming and going
Ten minutes to the highway
The drive to I-85 is roughly ten minutes via Peachtree Parkway or the local routes, and the Forum, the Town Center, and the dining blocks of the neighbor cities are five to ten minutes. Lake Lanier is about 25 minutes up the corridor.
Straight answers
The questions people ask
Can the public use the lake?
Mostly no. The lake is community owned and used by residents and their guests through the lake membership. Public water access nearby means Jones Bridge Park on the Chattahoochee or the drive up to Lake Lanier.
Which schools serve Berkeley Lake?
Gwinnett County Public Schools, with assignments that vary by street. Verify with the GCPS boundary maps.
Is there a downtown?
No, and that is the point. The city has no commercial district; the Forum and the Town Center sit in the surrounding cities.
An editorial guide, not a listings site. Updated September 13, 2026. Real-estate guidance on this page is provided by Rob Dietrich, REALTOR® with eXp Realty, LLC.