Ted,
Lake Chelan, Contact the Chamber of commerce, Chelan, Washington.
In North Central and Eastern Washington State as well as Idaho, there are a
number of large, beautiful pristine lakes to sail and camp on. The lake
that I am most familiar with is our home port, Lake Chelan. Lake Chelan is
a natural body of water, one of the cleanest lakes in the country. The lake
is 60 miles long and varies in surrounding terrain along its length. The
lower South Eastern portion of the lake at the city of Chelan is about 2
miles wide, 300 to 400 feet deep. The city of Chelan has a marina across
the street from the Safeway food store, downtown. There is an beautiful RV
park also owned by the city, one block away from the marina. The city of
Manson about 15 miles up lake on the North shore has two marinas. As you
sail up lake you begin to enter the cascade mountains at about 20 miles up
lake. The lake gets narrower and varies from about 1/2 to one mile wide.
The lake also gets deeper, around 1500 feet deep up around the 35 mile
point. The upper lake is best described as a mountain fjord. High cliffs
pine forests, sheep on the high ledges above the lake, dear, bear, cougars,
etc. There are about half a dozen or so boat in campsites in the upper lake
area. Access to these sites is by boat or float plane only, no roads. The
highway ends on the south shore about 25 miles up lake. At the top of the
lake, which is near the east-west divide of the cascades, is the town of
Steheiken. there is a small marina there and a couple of resorts. If you
are planning to spend the night at one of the lodges, reservations are a
must!.
Ross Lake, North Cascade Mountains, Washington State. Contact the U. S.
Forest service ranger station, Wintrop, Washington
Off of Hi-way 20 (East-West North Cascade Hi-way), look for Ross Lake dam
on the Skagit River. The lake is 40 miles long +/- 2 miles wide, desolate,
clear and deep, 300 to 400 feet deep. Wilderness area on all sides of the
lake, no roads. About a dozen boat in campsites on the American side of the
lake. The majority of the lake is inside the United States. Upper five
miles or so are in Canada. The only boat ramp on the lake is on the
Canadian end of the Lake. I have traveled up into this area by canoe from
the United States side. I want to potter into the area, possible next
August - September 1999. Permits are needed to stay at the U.S. campsites.
They can be picked up on a first come first serve basis at the Ranger
Stations located in the town of Winthrop on the East side of the Cascades
and in the town of Marblemount on the west side. Going to the eastern
ranger station is closer to the route needed to cross into Canada for boat
-in access. The attraction here for me is the pristine mountain
surroundings, good sailing conditions and nice docks, campsites and few
people. The weather can be wet at times, you need to bring lots of tarps
for your camp kitchen on shore. August and September are the driest months
of the year.
Lake Roosevelt, Grand Coolie Dam back water of the Columbia river,
The upper-most lake on the Washington State, Columbia river dam system. The
Dam is located in the upper North Central part of the State. The lake is
about 130 miles long and deep. The only marina that I have visited is at
Keller Ferry, Washington. It is located about 30 miles up-lake from the dam
on the South shore. A nice marina for such a remote place, fairly large. It
is home to a fleet of vacation houseboats, 40 ft to 60 ft long, available
for rent to the general public. The upper lake goes into Canada (for about
10 miles?). Some controversy has surrounded this lake over the past couple
of years regarding pollution from Canadian pulp mills located uplake. I am
told that if you eat fish from the lake every day for 120 years it might
kill you, or something like that.
Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho is another nice Lake. I have only see it once
from the highway, but have talked with a number of sailors who have sailed
on her. Highly recommended, but I am told can be a bit expensive and
tourist'y
Lake Pend' Oreille (sp?) Idaho, I have friends who live on this lake who
tell me that it is beautiful, with sailboats often out on it.
Well, Ted that's my 2 1/2 cents worth. If you are interested in a Ross Lake
or even Lake Chelan cruise next summer, send me an e-mail and we'll see if
we can coordinate an adventure.
Regards,
John & Terrie,
P19 Sassea, #950
Lake Chelan, WA.
>In the meantime, I'm looking at a lot of freshwater possibilities like
Flathead Lake, Yellowstone, Flaming >Gorge...that kind of thing. With all
the cruising gides out there is there anything available for this kind of
water? >There's some COC stuff, but nothing I've found specifically for
sailors. Geoff, Tahoe is on the short list. Any >ideas?
>Ted Dyer
>P19 #1044
>Penelope