Hey all, being from Southern California and utilizing the Lake Mead National Recreation Area almost exclusively for our freshwater activities we have decided to take our boat on a trip to another state this year. Texas looks fun...and big...and apparently has alligators but we want to rally the troops and haul Captain America to the promised land for a week. Where is it safe to play in the water the way we do when we're there?
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Fixing everyone elses boat just so I can use mine... -
These are the two I would recommend for out of state people.
Possum Kingdom if you want to get away from city life. Most of the photos you see on the Tige and ATX webpages/brochures are at PK. Great lake to say the least. Not much to do around there but live lake life. Graham and Mineral Wells are two neat small towns nearby. Nothing crazy, just cozy old towns. Good 1.25 hours or more from the nearest big city. This would be the highest recommended lake from me.
Lake Travis if you want to stay in Austin area. Just know it is a Zebra mussel lake. Cool lake by/in a major city. Horseshoe Bay is nearby as well.Oh Yeah! -
Awesome!! Thanks for the info!!!Fixing everyone elses boat just so I can use mine...Comment
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Texas wouldn’t be my first choice for a lake vacation. PK does look pretty decent but besides that one they definitely aren’t known for the prestine conditions you’re used to. Been on grapevine and Conroe neither was bad but I wouldn’t make the trip just for the lake.
I’d stick to AZ if you want to stay south. If you want to be close to a city Phoenix has lake pleasant which is decent. Or you have Powell and Havasu close by but sure you’ve been there.
If in the summer I would head up north to Idaho, eastern Washington or BC.Comment
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The alligators only are on the more coastal lakes. My bucket list of lakes in Texas are PK, Lake LBJ and Inks Lake. I would also suggest Canyon Lake but I'm a local so I'm a little biased.Comment
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Lake pleasant in Phoenix is a nice lake and good size but isnt really travel worthy imo (its my home lake). Id go to havasu if I was driving from california. Lake powell is epic and much closer than Texas as well. As far as Texas goes, I really liked lake travis. Its a big lake and you can airbnb a house right on the lake. Never been to PK but heard good things. Like others have said crocs arent an issue.
Edit: Ive heard good things about shasta if you want to go north. Bass lake is cool too if you want to make a yosemite trip out of it but the lake is pretty small to be fair.Comment
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We have Alligators up here in Idaho also. Big ones. So don't come here.Originally posted by bsreid View Post
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I KNOW!!!! We boat up there a lot and those things are ridiculously huge. They usually drive Tesla's that still have CA plates, it's horrific when the swamp gets drained!!!Originally posted by SR04 View Post
We have Alligators up here in Idaho also. Big ones. So don't come here.Fixing everyone elses boat just so I can use mine...Comment
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Just Texas lakes please. We have boated many, many, many, many, many days on all the popular western lakes and by far Powell is and always will be the most unforgettably beautiful. But we need to check out the boating community... with beers and bikinis...and Hank...because we have no respect for most of the boating population here...actually most of the population here in general and want to have a good time with some like-minded people...and Hank...so just Texas lakes and other places not in this shithole of a state. Crap, that was not my inside voice.Fixing everyone elses boat just so I can use mine...Comment
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As someone who lives on Lake Travis, I’m partial obviously. Someone commented on the cleanliness of lakes here - the central Texas lakes and to some extend PK are actually pretty darn clean/clear. They are lime stone bottomed so no silt and things. Conroe is shallow and muddy, not very pretty.
Koolaid was spot on. If you want things to do, go lake Travis. Lake LbJ (horseshoe bay) is nice and constant level but not nearly as deep. That being said the sand bar parties there are legit. PK is totally beautiful but your going to boat and enjoy the quiet.
If you want to get shot, go to lake Amstead down south. It’s on the Mexican border and big and beautiful but very very remote. A lot of the west Texas big boat guys will go down there if it has water in it.
Good luck man! Let me know if you are around Travis!
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PS - Koolaid I know your an Abilene guy, should we send him down to lake nasworthy? HahahComment
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When you're ready to go the other way Idaho has same great lakes and has plenty of the like minded people you're looking for. They've been making the exodus to Idaho in droves for a while nowOriginally posted by boatwakes View PostComment
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Get shot and your boat taken away lol!Originally posted by BrentP View Post
Nastyworthy should have been high on the texas list ;-)Oh Yeah!Comment
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Hehe. I grew up on and learned to slalom ski there. There was this like swamp area with reeds in it the city cleared out and turned into a course. It was no **** 32" deep with a mud bottom (To be fair, the avg depth of that lake is like 5 or 6 feet. 13 in front of the dam). You had to hit it at full speed because you couldn't go through the course above idle or below cruise. Its as smooth a slalom course as you'll ever find, but don't fall because you'll skid into the reeds, then walk out to the middle in thigh deep water and wait for the boat to come all the way around since you cant stop and turn then idle out.Originally posted by KoolAid View Post
Man... To be young again. lol
boatwakes - Stick to the Highland Lakes or the Big Country lakes south of Dallas if you aren't picking up on our jabs here
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PK is my favorite TX lake (also my home so there’s that too). Best wind protection (wind can be bad on TX lakes), prettiest (IMHO), deep, and rural (for those of us that prefer the out of the way)Comment
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