Must see lakes??
 

Trying to plan a family vacation for next summer and I am looking to go somewhere I haven't been. We've been to Cumberland, Norris and dale hollow in Kentucky and Tennessee along with Lake Erie and Michigan so all of those are out. I would like to stay within about 500 miles of cincinnati if possible but I can compromise for the right lake. Must be powerboat friendly (don't need WP messing up my vacation). LOTO is on my list but I think if we go there I want to do the shoot out and that is not going to happen next year. I know we have people on here from all over the country so tell me where I need to go and why.

What parts of Lk MI have you been? Grand Traverse Bay, Torch Lake and Lk Charlevoix are some of the best around, with many shipwrecks visible on Grand Traverse... If you havent been to northern Lk MI it would be top of my list

The Michigan lakes are definitely some of the ones I've been looking at. If you had to chose which one would you pick?

Go see Charlevoix. You can run to tons and tons of popular destinations from there, and the water, people, and scenery are to die for. We went two years ago for the first time, and it will be an annual (at least!) event for us.

Come join us for Boyne Thunder next year, we need more Ohio peeps!

Lake george

Lake Norman, NC is our favorite.

Kentucky lake. Surprisingly it's something of a secret with the sport boat crowd. Miles wide and you can run as far your gas tank will allow. Not to much boat traffic, decent depth.

Totally agree. It's just some of the best water w many destination options.

I'm going to back this up, the place is just amazing.

Maybe one year you will be able to keep your boat in one piece while I'm in town so we can all go boating :party-smiley-004:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]507065[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]507066[/ATTACH] Northern Michigan!

Yeah You can't get enough of the crystal clear waters of Northern Michigan!

Grand Traverse East and West Bay Lake Michigan

Torch (and Elk)

Charlevoix

I am not a Michigan guy but I though the blue water (like the Bahamas) of Torch Lake was really cool! 288 Kid and AJ go there so maybe they can add some pics

I would love to do that run but I am not sure how it would go over with a 4 year old. What time of year is the run?

Those pics look unreal, definitely not what I would expect from an inland lake. What lake is that?

Um Lake Tahoe, and while your out this way, go to the Delta, it will show u why Lakes can't compare to the Cali Delta. One reason- it's connected to the bay and the ocean so u can go anywhere. Can't do that on a LAKE!! Lol

kentucky is a nice lake , but its not very scenic imo . great for power boats , but not much to do other than be on the lake . the lakes in arkansas are wonderful . norfork is my favorite , but you have ouchita , bull shoals , beaver , and greers ferry . a few other smaller lakes too .all in the ozark or ouchita mountain ranges . clear , cool , deep water with lots of scenery and cliffs for jumping . and lots of other things to in the areas if your not going to spend the entire week on the boat . plus cabins are very inexpensive everywhere i have stayed . not alot of power boats in the area , but i never have any problems . other than basic safety rules there are no speed or noise rules . lots of marinas too

Technically, we are connected to anywhere as well. ;)

The run is in July, but even if you just come up to hang with the group, it's a great time to visit. the entire weekend is a first class event, for participants and spectators alike.

Where are u?

I know its not within your 500 mile range as its at least 3 times that distance but Lake Tahoe and Lake Powell needs to on the list.

I'll have to agree with BUP, if you ever get out west you have to take a trip to Lake Powell. The place is simply awe inspiring Everyone should make at least one trip there.


Darrell.

Great Lakes , we are on Erie.

Higgins lake in MI

We boat on Green Bay, the thumb of lake Michigan, the Door County side has a lot of places to stop at that the wife and kids will like. There are sandy beaches to raft and swim, shopping, dinning all the things you need to keep the family happy.

I would also second, or third lake Charlevoix we went there this year for the first time to hang around and spectate Boyne Thunder. We really enjoyed it, I plan to make that a annual summer trip. I also plan to get to Torch lake, and the Traverse City area. As others here have said if you like performance boats, and lets be honest you wouldn't be on this site if you didn't I would try to make the trip to the Charlevoix area for Boyne Thunder, you don't have to do the poker run to have a good time. We had a great time just seeing the sights and doing tourist things, and then sat in our boat and watched the boat parade for the poker run.
They also have the Venetian festival a couple weeks later that is very popular, my wife wants to go for that some time in the future.

Have fun planning your next trip!

Absolutely! Just got back from a week there and can't wait to go back!

x2. I grew up in Green Bay, but have never really done any serious boating on the Bay until this summer. Chambers Island is sweeeeeeet.

I am not really a lake person and fell in LOVE with LOTO and would love to be back with or without the shootout. Everything about that place and the area was top notch to me.

x3 on Green Bay. I am from Green Bay and have boated on the bay my whole life so I may be biased. The "Upper Bay" (Sturgeon Bay and north) is awesome. Crystal clear water which you can easily see bottom in 10-15 feet deep, lot's of room to run, not a lot of water patrol. Check out Door County Wisconsin (Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Egg Harbor, Sturgeon Bay). Lots of stuff for the family to do. Plenty of hotel's and marina's to keep the boat at. The lower bay (city of Green Bay area) is also decent and has a handful of bar's and restaurants on the water with dock access. The water is just not quite as clean. If interested I can PM you some of my pics.

X3

I went to Lake George the first time with the boat this summer and my family and I had a great time. Hoping to make it an annual trip.

I live in NY but grew up in michigan. Some good lakes would be Charlevoix & Torch. What I would really think you would love would be the inland water way up there http://www.irchamber.com/inlandwaterway.htm little information there. Mullet and Burt lake are huge and would be good enough to go on by themselves. Another neat trip would be the straights of Mackinaw see the bridge, go to mackinaw island. Little more than 500miles but the Thousands islands are probably the coolest single boating area I have been on, get back into the islands and its like a movie.

I have been on the ocean, cruise ships, inland lakes in plenty of ofther states and northern Michigan is bay far the best place to go. Centrally locate yourself and you got two great lakes, hand ful of monster sized lakes all within 30-45 mins drive time. I Would suggest Petoskey as a place to stay, descent city with everything and is close to everything also has a nice State Park. But being the north with the thousand islands included, get past labor day and your on borrowed time for weather.

Thanks for all the replies. I think and this point I am leaning towards going to Michigan and trying to hit as many lakes as possible. I am hoping to try somewhere different each year if possible so the New York lakes will definitely go on my list. My only concern with Michigan is that if it is as nice up there as everyone is saying that we will fall in love with it and not go anywhere else in the future.

Just did a motorcycle trip through Canada, and crossed back into the U.S. at the high bridge over the thousand islands area. Wow is that beautiful. LOTO is my home lake, but I want to trailer a boat to the 1000 islands and vacation. Know nothing about the power boat friendliness of area, just that it was incredible to see from the bridge. Really liked the people around there too.

I have a cottage in the 1000 Islands about 20 mins by water West of that bridge. There is some GREAT boating in the area, lots of stuff to see, TWO poker runs (Alex Bay and 1000 Islands) and you don't have to go very far West to get into Lake Ontario where you have room to run hard/fast for a LONG time without a lot of traffic or headaches from the WP.

What Michael said. Seems to be boater friendly or at least it has for me the last 3 years. Ive heard of isolated incidents but thats about it with LEO. If you to to 1000islands get a chart, you can stay in the shipping lane and be safe but if you venture off the beaten path you better have a map. Also if you do the 1000 Islands I would recommend waiting till mid to late June to make any trip. July to MID AUG is typically the best weather, we just have had a few weeks in early June be kind of cold and rainy.

I hope to make it up to Charlevoix next summer, looks amazing.

Any recommendations from you locals on some good lodging? Maybe a nice cabin for a week?

I just spent a week on Kentucky lake in Tennessee and I won't be hurrying back, at least on the section in Tenn. I was on Pickwick 6 or 7 years ago and loved it. The shallows just outside of the river channel were un-nerving, the view of power plants,, chemical refinery's and power lines wasn't what I wanted to see and in a week I did not really see any power boaters just fisherman and tug boats/barges, Smitty

the north end is somewhat nicer mostly just trees and houses and the quarry . the shallows are scary sometime , when the water is at fool pool its fine . i know what you mean though , and most the power boats are toward the north also . pickwick is an awesome lake been going there for years . no stumps to worry about there still fairly commercial though . great for a weekend wouldnt want to spend a weeks vacation there .

Lake Tahoe! The most beautiful lake in the country!

Winnepausake NH, just got back from there. Very nice.