This may be a stupid question but keep in mind I have NEVER been boating on a fresh water lake......I have only been exposed to salt water (Open Ocean) in NY and Florida...... My question is about navigating in lakes such as Havasu, Cumberland, Mead, etc,etc........when you guys are on the lake are there low areas ? channels ? channel markers ? Tides ? Sand Bars ? Etc, Etc ? I would like to one day (not going to be for a few years) take my boat out west and spend a week or two on one of these lakes and I know nothing about them........

I know Garmin has GPS chart sofware for inland lakes. All the usual hazards are there.

If you're like me you'll hate the confines and crowds of lake boating after the wide open spaces of rivers and bays.

Every thing except tides. Charts become very important on unknown waters.

Just remember that recently a lot of lakes have been below their normal level and there will be obstacles not showing on charts.

Always try to get some local information before setting out.

There were a couple of nasty accidents last year where boaters relying on GPS at night ran up on previously submerged structures..