Somewhere the grass is always greener and the water always bluer. The question: Don't such thoughts have more to do with fantasy than reality? Maybe not. We investigated boating communities throughout the country, looking for the variety of boating opportunities, boat-friendly regulations, water access, availability of waterfront homes, health of the local economy and overall lifestyle for boaters. The following 10 locations are where boaters might find that imagination meets reality.
Seattle, Washington
Geographically, Seattle is flat-out ideal for boating and the outdoor lifestyle. You hear about the gray weather, but those who live here do not let that (whether fact or somewhat exaggerated fact) dampen their zeal.
"We have hundreds of miles of protected salt water from the San Juans in the north to Olympia in the south," says Make Shultz of the Port of Seattle. All of it is surrounded by the scenic beauty of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, forested islands and peninsulas, as well as the urban scenery and amenities of Seattle.
Not surprisingly then, life in Seattle seems to closely revolve around the outdoors, and the water in particular. Boating communities like Lake Union and Lake Washington are really the lifeblood of Seattle, as evidenced by all the Microsoft and Boeing employees who commute to work from their homes on the waterfront.
Scorecard (scale of 1-5)
Waterfront Availability: 4
Ease for Boaters: 5
Strong Boat-Related Business: 5
Number of Good Boating Days: 3
Go anywhere by boat from Knoxville, TN. Travel to the Gulf of Mexico or to the Great Lakes. Tellico Lake has some of the cleanest water in East Tennessee. The last dam to be built by TVA was on the Little Tennessee River which runs northbound from the Smoky Mountains. This provides some of the cleanest waters for Tellico Lake and main channel water depth of over 75'. No wonder boat building is one of the largest industries in this region. Not only is Tellico Lake a great place to boat, it is one of the least expensive place to live. Loudon County has some of the lowest property taxes in the country. Pease visit the following website to find out more about Tellico Lake:
http://www.TellicoVillageProperties.com
Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake St. Claire, Lake Charlevoix, Lake Leelanau, Torch Lake, Mullet Lake, Burt Lake, Portage Lake, Otsego Lake and literally thousands of others in the largest concentration of fresh water in the world. Yer kiddin right?
Portland, OR.
How did you miss that one?
The Willamette River flows into the mighty Columbia River at Portland.
Follow the Columbia down to the Ocean or up through the Columbia River Gorge to the Oregon desert. You can navigate the Columbia up through Washington take Snake river up through Idaho.
Take the Willamette in through Portland and enjoy the sights of the city.
Houseboats and riverside homes abound.
Lots of Sandy beaches makes Portland a great place to boat.
The Finger Lakes are gorgeous and there are lots of wonderful wineries. But thats about it. As for boating there are few places to go unless you want to go through the locks to some town, which can be quite the ride or there are a number of places to eat if they have a decent dock and its deep enough.
The water is quite stagnent so it has a tendency to smell awful. On a foggy night when the air pressure keeps the air close to the lakes they smell like a sewer. Water front property is rediculous where a literal shack with 50 feet of lake frontage is $150,000 with God awful taxes.
The one place not mentioned in the best places for boating is the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence river. The boating is fabulous with tons of places to go both in the US and in Canada. There are several towns, villages and cities to go to plus many huge attractions and castles that you can boat to with extremely awesome docking facilities. Seeing the great Ocean going transports throughout the river is exciting and since there are actually over 1800 hundred islands, the hundreds of coves are wonderful and easy to raft up in.
The River moves all the time so the water is clear and clean. Awesome boating and its too bad Boating Magazine has "missed the boat" on this one.
Google the Thousand Islands and see what is offered!