Re: Lake Mohave
Here is how and why I rank them as I do:<br /><br />1) Lake Mead. I love long distances and navigation challenges. This lake can deliver some horrible water conditions in about 10 minutes, but the scenery, solitude, variety, and ease of the trip make this the best of all worlds for me. Also, when the lake is up you can power into the Grand Canyon. I have taken four or five families in over the years and they thank me every time I see them. We ALL agree it is the coolest thing we have EVER done vacation/recreation wise including all non-boating stuff.<br /><br />2) Havasu. This place is probably the shortest drive and if you can afford to stay on the water at say the Nautical Inn for example, the boat stays on the beach right in front of your room. Very convenient. In the middle of summer, the party scene is too much for many and it can get very crowded in comparison to the others. I like a couple of weekends a year here and the rest at Mead. You will find it very relaxing this time of year, very scenic, and very easy. When I go to Havasu, I have a goal to never touch my truck the entire time there. We go to dinner by boat, we pick up Pizzas for the kids by boat, we go to breakfast by boat after a 40 minute ride either direction (ther're closer breakfasts on the water, but we like the morning breakfast cruise tradition). It is just very easy and can be a lot of fun. Watch out for guys with more $ than sense. Some REALLY fast boats there.<br /><br />3) Powell. It is actually the best, but just too darn far.<br /><br />4) Mohave. The ramp at Katherine is such a pain in the summer that I do my best to always get a slip there. The slip rental system at Katherine is a nightmare. If you stay in Laughlin or Bullhead, it takes a good 20 - 30 minutes to actually get to the ramp, let alone launch, summer lines at the ramp can exceed an hour. Once there (southern end) there is nowhere to go but north. In the summer the prevailing wind is out of the south, so you get this nice downwind run in the AM and then you get the livin' carp scared out of you on the return. Again, I like long cruises and challenges, so this can be fun, but not for everyone on board . . .
This time of year it actually blows out of the north quite often, so that might be a non-issue. There are some nice coves and sights right outside of Katherine, so the big water concerns I have will probably not be an issue unless you want to make a long run somewhere. In comparison to the three above it is just kinda . . . hhmmmmm . . . less. That's it, less. Less convenient, less scenic, less variety etc. It is absolutely worth going at least once to make the trip to Hoover, but you could launch up at Willow Beach and get that within about a 1/2 hour of the ramp. The trip from Katherine to the dam and back takes almost all day . . .<br /><br />This time of year I think I would still vote for Havasu. If the wind blows, you can stay around the bridge etc. Also, the nigh-time cruise around the bridge is very pretty. Check out this thread I posted after Thanksgiving this year. Wish I was going, I'd show you around
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Thanksgiving Havasu thread <br /><br />As a side note. We love Parker too. Probably an even shorter drive than Havasu for you and staying at the Bluewater Casino can be as easy as Havasu or even easier. This time of year the water stays really low, so you are kinda restricted from goin' all the way to Parker Dam (forms Havasu). Still very scenic and if you know where the shallows are you can go all the way. If you are haulin' the boat out, you can do one day on the river and one day on the lake . . . Just another idea. Keep askin', I'll talk about these lakes as long as someone will let me . . .
