anybody near Cincinnati have a ramp recommendation

[kyle]

Looking for a good ramp near downtown to put into the Ohio River. I was really hoping to find something on the KY side but there doesn't appear to be much. I found Schmidt Field and Riverside boat ramp. Any others?

 

[Scottintexas]

you may look at the "user map" at the top of the page for members close by and you could either message them directly in a conversation or use the @ function @kyle to ping them

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@Volffas may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Volffas]

Check out "Ohio River Boat Party" on Facebook if you are on that and haven't seen it yet. The pinned tab at the top has all of the local marinas and ramps in the comments. Also the 5,000+ members can answer just about any of your questions about boating around Cincinnati.

Depending on where you are in KY, Fredericks Landing in Wilder is about the best option. It is $10/day or $50/year for a pass. The ramp is on the Licking River and the river will put you out on the Ohio in downtown Cincinnati. Most of the marinas do not allow you to use their ramp unless you are a member there. We keep our boat at Riverside Marina in Dayton, KY. We love it. For $750/season you keep your boat on their lot and they have valet service where they launch you in your boat and pick you up when you are done. The restaurant there is decent and the people are great.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me, or shoot me a PM.

Have fun!

 

[BlackandTan]

I use Schmidt Boat Ramp. It's a good ramp with good parking for your trailer and tow vehicle. There is a $10 ramp fee, but worth it to me.

 

[BlackandTan]

Just saw that you preferred KY side, I agree with @Volffas on the Fredericks Landing in Wilder, I've put in there with a friend a few times and it's a nice ramp.

 

[kyle]

I tried Fredericks landing but last time I was there it was so shallow and silty at the ramp I didn't like it. Depending on what part of the river you want you can try these two ramps in KY. They are both on creeks with about a five minute slow ride to the main river. http://weatheroarknotmarine.com/ or http://booneslanding.com/. If you are wanting to hang out downtown Cincinnati I like riverside boat ramp. Its almost across the river from Bromley Yacht Club which has great food. Just don't go after the sun goes down if you have kids with you. The other two I mentioned are on a pretty part of the river and there isn't much traffic. Its about a 35 minute run down to Markland Dam and smugglers cove.

 

[Volffas]

I agree with your assessment of Frederick's.

The whole reason that we stopped using Frederick's and decided to keep our boat at a marina was the fact that they do such a terrible job at dredging. Apparently there is some kind of fish that spawns in early June in shallow water and the fish and wildlife group won't let them dredge until that spawn is over. You would think that they would tell you that when they sell you your ticket for the day or year, but they don't. After they dredge in early June it gets very easy to use, then later in the season, if the river has been up and down several times, the launching area will be filled in again, and they don't bother to dredge it. As long as you are aware of the issue going in, and understand that $50 for the year for unlimited launches isn't terrible, you will be fine. You can take the other money that you would have spent on a marina or other launch facilities and clean your boat and trailer. For us, we decided to just keep our boat at a marina and enjoy all the benefits that come with not having to tow our boat every time we want to go out.

Here is a short video of an April attempt to launch. There was mud about 8ft up the ramp and at least 8 inches thick.

 

[kyle]

Yep, looks a little worse than when we were there but almost as bad. We won't go back

 

[Volffas]

Yep, looks a little worse than when we were there but almost as bad. We won't go back

If they ever get a city administration that cares even a little bit about boaters, it could be a good spot. I've emailed the city administrator, mayor and council members, no one seemed to care. July and August it is usually pretty decent, but the rest of the season is usually pretty bad.

I hope to see you on the water!