Where to go North of Cincinnati

[snowforfun4]

I live in a nothern suburb of Cincinnati (mason). We have taken the boat to Caesar Creek and enjoyed it, but where are some other prefered locations in SW Ohio?

 

[75TowerOfPower]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

East fork which is southeast of Cincy and Brookville Res. in Indiana.

Caesar Creek seems to be perferred because large boat are at Brookville and East Fork can have some debris.

 

[snowforfun4]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

Thanks for the input. The boat is in the shop, but i hope to have it back on the water this week.

 

[cobra99]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I would go to the river because east fork is really choppy. There is a lot of wind and if you like to tube or ski the water will beat you to death. You can go down off Kellogg ave. and there are ramps you can use.

 

[HAV2FISH]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

List of lakes in Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ohio has more than 2500 lakes larger than 2 acres (8100 m2). The following is an incomplete list of named lakes and reservoirs in the US state of Ohio that ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lakes_in_Ohio - Similar

Try this.

 

[NOTW]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I live in Lebanon, not far from Mason. There's always Lake Cumberland and the Ohio River. We're going to make a trip up north to Torch Lake in Michigan as soon as we can.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I lived in Cincy for one year...and my advice is to drive north like you said...until you hit Michigan Plenty of water up here.

Seriously I was a bit disappointed by the lack of lakes in that area, but the big river is always there.

 

[StevenT]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I boated for years at Ceasers Creek until I tried Brookville Lake. I love Brookville, I haven't been back to CC since.

 

[cb6979]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

Is that about a 45min drive?

 

[NOTW]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

It's not far CB. We cross over it when we go to Haspin.

 

[maharg]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

Try the river above the meldahl dam, very little traffic and some great places to stop.

 

[75TowerOfPower]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I will be out at Brookville with two other boats. Sadly all three of us have older tri-hulls so if you see us stop by.

 

[75TowerOfPower]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

Great weekend out on the water. We usually are on the water by 10 AM and are done with water sports and head into a cove by 4-5 since thats when it gets super choppy.

 

[Ohioriver]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

The lakes around cincinnati aren't very big and it doesn't take too many years to get tired of them. After a few years around the lakes I started going to the Ohio river, and never went back to the lakes. More to see and more to do on the river.

 

[Mr Crabbs]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

Snow, we live in Mason and do CC on weekdays, it's very quiet then. Weekends are ok if you are out of the water before 1:00. They have some coves you can anchor in and swim or just hang out.

I'll never do Brookville again, at least on the weekends . It's insanity. I felt like I had a bullseye on my back and every kid on PWC was aiming for it!

Have you looked at Rocky Fork? We were there over a long weekend in August. It's fairly quiet on the weekends when you compare it to other lakes but it's narrower than CC and has a huge no wake zone on the southern end by the CG.

There is also Grand Lake off of I-75 by Celina and St. Marys. 13,000+ acres.

 

[Demented]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

i think this is my first post so HI. Im in dayton right next to eastwood lake, which is nice for boat testing but thats about it LOL. I too would like to expand past ceasers creek to something nicer. My father in law has a coworker who invited us to rocky fork so i think we are going to try it out this week if the weather permits. im loading up the boat now to take the wife around eastwood since i just finished my interior

 

[broark01]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

We also live in Dayton area and on the weekends used to go to Paint Creek. Seemed less crowded and more rural. Now we keep our boat in TN.

 

[ufm82]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I live near Tri-County Mall and have found that most of the lakes around here suffer from two things- excessive boat traffic and poor water quality. Brookville is like bumper boats on any nice weekend, Caesar Creek is usually murky and your swim gear stinks when you get done swimming and East Fork is just too yucky for my family. Plus Ohio lakes have "swim" areas that you are restricted to and that means shallow areas that get even murkier when 100 boats are there swimming.
Going north means shallower water- Up 75 you have Fort Loramie, Indian Lake, Grand Lake St. Mary's, etc. These all suffer from very shallow water meaning high turbidity and sediment. (Mud) Plus, Grand Lake is suffering the effects of years of chemical run-off and has had a huge blue-green algae bloom this year and the lake is closed to swimming. If you've seen it I wouldn't even think of putting a boat in there.
Indian Lake is cool with the atmosphere there but they've had an algae problem this year as well. Any lake that has health issues is off my list of places to take the family.
While it isn't close or convenient, KY is my state of choice for a weekend day of boating. Herrington is 1/2 hour sw of Lexington and Cave Run is 1 1/2 hours east of Lexington. Two deep, clean and bigger lakes that handle the boat traffic well. Plus you can swim wherever you want and it's not hard to find a secluded spot to relax.
Indiana has limited opps within an easy day's drive apart from Brookville. It stays fairly clean and we have enjoyed a day there ending with a dinner at Ainsley's but the wait at the ramps to launch/load can be long. The south end of the lake is good but the nothern end gets murky in the summer.
I envy the people who live close to Cumberland, Laurel or Norris. All are fabulous lakes that get much of my boating money.

UFM82

 

[maharg]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

I agree with UFM, besides the ohio river we go south, we frequent Norris, cumberland, and laurel river lake. Laurel river is only 3.5 hours from my house to holly bay marina (I live in Milford). It seems far, but a few long weekends a year will give you a much better boating experience. KY/TN lakes are large and clean.

 

[Mr Crabbs]

Re: Where to go North of Cincinnati

We used to rent house boats on Laurel Lake out of Holly Bay Marina, it's a really nice lake. I just tell people to keep driving to Cumberland. We are looking at Cave Run Lake, I think it's the closest big, deep lake near us.

CC and Rocky Fork are attractive to us because they are so close. We can be in the water in less tha 45 minutes at CC. Rocky Fork has a FHU CG right on the lake with free slips. Cave Run Lake or Laurel Lake are 4+ hours one way. Can't do them on a Sunday morning and be out before noon.