Re: New to the Site
Tea Bag,
I've been boating on Lanier for 30+ years and have been on Altoona several times. Under normal conditions, you will find that Lanier has a longer boating season. Altoona is a flood control lake and is "drained" every fall. Lanier usually fluctuates about 8 feet per year. That said, however, it is down right scary on Lanier at the moment. There are tree tops just exposed or near the surface in 45' to 60' of water. Several areas of trees were left standing when the lake was filled for fish habitat. Wood will not rot under water, as the lake has reached it's record low, the tops of these trees are being exposed. It takes a couple of years to fully explore Lanier. As I learned the lake, I would pick day trip destinations form my starting point and spent a lot of weekends exploring. Both lakes can become very crowded during the summer. It's best to plan a day that starts early, followed by a long anchor period to soak up the sun, eat lunch and float aound the boat for a while. To learn more about the lakes, do a search for USACE (US army corp of engineers) and follow the links. Since the lakes are on different river basins, they have different primary web sites.
