Ronnie
Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
- Messages
- 8,757
- Reaction score
- 12,100
- Points
- 667
- Location
- SF Bay Area
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2010
- Boat Model
- Limited S
- Boat Length
- 24
Edit: I highly recommend this lake to anyone within "trailering distance".
So I just got back from Lake Shasta, here my thoughts on the place.
1. I live in the SF Bay Area closer to San Jose than San Francisco. It took me (without a boat or skis in tow) about 4.5 hours to get there non stop.
2. There are plenty of places to stay up there at very reasonable rates (e.g. I stayed at a place for $55 a night that was less than 5 miles away from the marina a rented a boat from but I could have stayed at the boat rental's resort hotel from $100 a night). I can't speak to the tent camping accommodations but I did not see any tent campers along the shores of the lake nor did I expect to now that school is back in session since summer is over). There were also many rv parks before and after he lake.
3. The marina resort I rented a boat from is within two or three miles of the freeway, so no long, narrow or twisty roads to the boat ramp.
4. The lake is only 36% full right now but as @jdonalds has stated it is still a huge lake. It is roughly the shape of an x or a star and each arm runs for over miles (I'm not really sure how long they are as I never made it to the end of one). Note by volume it is the biggest lake in California an at full pool it has more shoreline than Lake Tahoe.
5. There are a few marinas on the lake and some have restaurants in addition to convenience stores, boat ramps and repair facilities but bridge bay is where I rented from. It has a lodge/hotel with great views of the water and possibly guest docks so that is where I intend to launch from and / or stay when I go back up there.
6. The lake and bridge bay resort are close to the cities of Shasta lake (population 10k+) and Redding just next door (10 miles south of bridge bay, population close to 90k). So "civilization" is not far off should you forget something, your significant other wants to go shopping or you want to eat out or see a movie when not on the water. I was able to boat until 4, get back to my hotel by 4:30, rest/clean up and get to dinner by 6 and sit for a movie by 730.
7. The cavern tour is worth the $24 fee charged for it. If you take your own boat there they may have a moveable dock out or they may not but boating to the bus pickup location takes about 10 minutes from bridge bay, if they take you accross on their patio boat it takes about 10 minutes as well and I estimate 20 to 30 minutes if you have to drive to the the location on the north side of the lake/bridge. The tour takes about an hour and involves a lot of walking up and down stairs. Not something I could take my grandmother on but my wife and son should be fine.
8. In addition to the caverns, there is supposed to be a long natural water slide at the end of little backbone (a cove on at the south western part of the lake) I made an attempt to get there but came up short when the waterway narrowed, being the only boat in the area i was concerned about getting stuck out there so I turned around to drive by the dam instead.
9. The dam is the second largest in the nation second only to one in Washington state (not the Hoover dam as I suspected). They offer free tours of it every hour or two depending on the time of year. Well worth the time (one hour) but get there at least 20 to 30 minutes early to get briefed on what you are allowed to bring on the tour (which is not much) and to walk to the start point about half way accross the dam.
In conclusion, I was only on the lake for about eight hours but I can't wait to go back with my family and my boat or jet skis as this is now my favorite destination lake mainly because of its accessibility (5 hours, pretty much on a straight highway, right off the freeway and low elevation at around 2k feet above sea-level). I also liked that lodging is good and relatively inexpensive. The proximity to civilization and other activities (like the cavern and dam tours) are just icing on the cake. I'd still like to try boating on Lake Tahoe but already know that the drive up is what I consider treacherous even when I'm not towing anything behind me or there is no snow on the ground. I almost forgot to mention it but there are no mussel inspections at lake Shasta Unlike Lake Tahoe.
Pics and or video to follow shortly.
So I just got back from Lake Shasta, here my thoughts on the place.
1. I live in the SF Bay Area closer to San Jose than San Francisco. It took me (without a boat or skis in tow) about 4.5 hours to get there non stop.
2. There are plenty of places to stay up there at very reasonable rates (e.g. I stayed at a place for $55 a night that was less than 5 miles away from the marina a rented a boat from but I could have stayed at the boat rental's resort hotel from $100 a night). I can't speak to the tent camping accommodations but I did not see any tent campers along the shores of the lake nor did I expect to now that school is back in session since summer is over). There were also many rv parks before and after he lake.
3. The marina resort I rented a boat from is within two or three miles of the freeway, so no long, narrow or twisty roads to the boat ramp.
4. The lake is only 36% full right now but as @jdonalds has stated it is still a huge lake. It is roughly the shape of an x or a star and each arm runs for over miles (I'm not really sure how long they are as I never made it to the end of one). Note by volume it is the biggest lake in California an at full pool it has more shoreline than Lake Tahoe.
5. There are a few marinas on the lake and some have restaurants in addition to convenience stores, boat ramps and repair facilities but bridge bay is where I rented from. It has a lodge/hotel with great views of the water and possibly guest docks so that is where I intend to launch from and / or stay when I go back up there.
6. The lake and bridge bay resort are close to the cities of Shasta lake (population 10k+) and Redding just next door (10 miles south of bridge bay, population close to 90k). So "civilization" is not far off should you forget something, your significant other wants to go shopping or you want to eat out or see a movie when not on the water. I was able to boat until 4, get back to my hotel by 4:30, rest/clean up and get to dinner by 6 and sit for a movie by 730.
7. The cavern tour is worth the $24 fee charged for it. If you take your own boat there they may have a moveable dock out or they may not but boating to the bus pickup location takes about 10 minutes from bridge bay, if they take you accross on their patio boat it takes about 10 minutes as well and I estimate 20 to 30 minutes if you have to drive to the the location on the north side of the lake/bridge. The tour takes about an hour and involves a lot of walking up and down stairs. Not something I could take my grandmother on but my wife and son should be fine.
8. In addition to the caverns, there is supposed to be a long natural water slide at the end of little backbone (a cove on at the south western part of the lake) I made an attempt to get there but came up short when the waterway narrowed, being the only boat in the area i was concerned about getting stuck out there so I turned around to drive by the dam instead.
9. The dam is the second largest in the nation second only to one in Washington state (not the Hoover dam as I suspected). They offer free tours of it every hour or two depending on the time of year. Well worth the time (one hour) but get there at least 20 to 30 minutes early to get briefed on what you are allowed to bring on the tour (which is not much) and to walk to the start point about half way accross the dam.
In conclusion, I was only on the lake for about eight hours but I can't wait to go back with my family and my boat or jet skis as this is now my favorite destination lake mainly because of its accessibility (5 hours, pretty much on a straight highway, right off the freeway and low elevation at around 2k feet above sea-level). I also liked that lodging is good and relatively inexpensive. The proximity to civilization and other activities (like the cavern and dam tours) are just icing on the cake. I'd still like to try boating on Lake Tahoe but already know that the drive up is what I consider treacherous even when I'm not towing anything behind me or there is no snow on the ground. I almost forgot to mention it but there are no mussel inspections at lake Shasta Unlike Lake Tahoe.
Pics and or video to follow shortly.
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