Boating in Raleigh, NC
 

I've been reading posts on this site for a long time and finally registered. I had a small 18 1/2 bowrider and now looking to get something in the 25 -2 7' range. Does anyone know of any lakes around Raleigh (within a few hours) that have poker runs, fun runs or where some powerbaots hang out? The little lakes around here are mainly fishing/pontoon/bowrider boats. Thanks for any info.

I think lake norman may have some around that area. Probably find some in VA also.

Thanks.

Lake George near Charlotte

Smith Mountain Lake in VA is not too far away, about 2-3 hour drive, and they have a Poker Run in the spring. Lake Norman is about 2-3 hours drive, too, depending where you live. I occasionally run our boat on Jordan Lake - mostly pontoons, PWCs' and ski boats on that lake. I don't think they really like my "cigarette" boat on their lake. I'm the only Fountain I've ever seen on that lake, and probably the only boat with thru hull exhaust. I do switch silent choice "on" when around the ramps/docks so not to "offend" anyone. I rarely ever run fast on that lake, not that you really could, safely.

Thanks guys. I heard Lake Wylie was pretty good to. what about Lake Gaston or Kerr Lake , those are pretty good size lakes aren't they? Does anyone ever take their boats to the ocean?

YES about six times a year!

The best boating is out of Charletson SC area in my opinion. Where you are at I would pull to Washington, NC and put in there and run out the river to the OuterBanks.

As for lakes the best in my opinion is Lake Norman north of Charotte on I-77. Very good ramps off of Exit #36 at Queens Landing.

Smith Mountain is my next choice, it is much prettier up there.

Wylie, Belews Creek, High Rock, Jordon and Lake Hickory are all smaller.

There are a LOT of performance boats on Wylie.

I appreciate all the info Dock Holiday!

I just moved from Wilmington NC/Wrightsville Beach to Lake Norman. I know a couple buddies that run 25 Outlaws on Falls Lake in Raleigh. It is a boring lake, very few raft up spots, no restaurants/bars, and one marina.

You can trailer 2 hours south to Wrightsville beach which is a decent place to boat/spend the weekend. You can head south and be in Myrtle Beach in under 2 hours and it is a great ride.

As far as concentration of other performance boaters, Lake Norman is probably the best with plenty of water, multiple restaurants, bars, marinas etc. They have fun runs occasionally and are having a poker run towards the last week of July. A lot of norman boaters are on boatfreaks.com.

Wylie is not a bad lake either just smaller but a good assortment of fast boats.

I have run the Tom Maynard Smith Mountain Lake poker run 5 times and have had a blast everytime as long as the weather is good. SML is a great lake and not as crowded as Norman.

Good luck!

Kerr Lake is incredible. -not for quantity of performance boats or bars necessarily....
But simply a beautiful place to go boating. It is big (approx 750miles of shoreline) and serves up an endless supply of gorgeous cove after gorgeous cove. Try longwood campground and bring your own party.

Fellow Raleigh-ite! I have to agree on the assessment of the local lakes. I wouldn't trust putting anything I spent money on in Falls Lake. I've seen it almost dry and there are tons of tree stumps all over the place. I've only been to Jordan once, and I wouldn't have thought it was big enough to run anything but a pontoon on. But then, that could be an impaired judgement due to alcohol consumption.

I am slightly partial to High Rock, as my family has a house there. I have been over to Norman, Wylie and to Smith Mountain. All were great. I've skiied Gaston, it was pretty nice up there.

Raleigh does have a lot to be desired as far as the lakes go. Good thing we have some better lakes within a few hours. Thanks for the info everyone.

As was mentioned before, Kerr lake is a great body of water to run on. Massive, wide open lake that doesn't see much traffic at all. I have a place on the lake and run a 288 Sunsation. There are a handful of go-fasts on the lake every weekend but mostly fishing and pontoon boats. Ca$hed Out, another member here also has a place on the lake and he just purchased a bad a$$ 32 Sunsation.

Several very nice campgrounds to choose from, all with waterfront sites.

http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/kela/do.html

Not many marinas on the lake and no bars/restaurants although you can take the long ride up to Clarksville, tie up to the public docks and take a very short walk into town for some grub. You can also pick pretty much any spot you like and beach the boat. White sandy beaches surround the lake and the Core owns the land so you are not trespassing on anyone's property. Very laid back boating.
http://www.clarksvilleva.com/

If you decide to head up, let me know and I will be happy to show you around! Depending on where you are in Raleigh, you could be as close as 30 minutes or as far away as an hour.

Kerr Lake

I'm about three hours away and have wanted to come up there and boat for some time now. If you are coming up I-85 where is the best place to launch a 36 foot boat that has a good ramp with truck and trailer parking?

We are all about the scenery and no crowds!

I hope to see some of you guys up there this summer.

Check out this picture taken last weekend up on the Tennessee River just out of Knoxville. Talking about a beautiful area!

Thanks for the links mlitefan2, I'll check them out. Hopefully will meet you guys in the future!

Dock, There are a ton of ramps at Kerr Lake that are very nice and should easily be able to accomodate you. I wish I knew the names of the ramps better. -I'm sure mlitefan2 will know.

All of my trips there were traveling from Maryland down and we most often used the ramp near longwood campground, but that one is probably too small for your rig.

Last time I went there (late sept 05) we came in from the east (from Gaston) and used a facility near Kerr's dam- it was big, empty and was at least as nice as Queens Landing ramps and parking.

My experience has been the northern part of the lake (in Virginia) is less populated, but everything I've seen has been incredible. I don't think you could go wrong anywhere on that lake.
Just be sure to bring your binoculars for the bald eagles

THANKS!

That would be North Bend. I think they charge $5.00 for day use but as I said earlier, it is also a great place to camp.