Lake Pleasant, Arizona

colbysmith · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:46 pm Post subject: Lake Pleasant, Arizona

Thinking about the possibility of towing Midnight Flyer out to Phoenix, Arizona, for a week or so in January and wondering if any other C-Brats are familiar with Lake Pleasant during this time of year. I grew up in Phoenix, and have been on Lake Pleasant, but that was back in the 70's before they built the new dam and increased the size of the lake. Colby

Cview · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:06 pm Post subject:

Lake Pleasant is the closest lake to our home and we go there often. There are two marinas on the lake and each has a restaurant. Water is pumped from the Central Project Canal (Colorado River water) this time of the year and the water is used during the summer in Phoenix, Tucson and by farmers. The Lake is currently going up a few inches a day and will be near full by April/May. There is plenty of water in the lake now for good boating.

The east side of the Lake is controlled by the Water District which built the original dam. The West side of the lake is a Maricopa County Park. There is a fee for entering at either side of the lake. I prefer to launch on the West side of the lake at the ten lane boat ramp.

January is a good time to visit as the lake is not crowded. The weather will depend on what fronts happen to be passing through.

Tony
C-View II

South of Heaven · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:25 pm Post subject: Re: Lake Pleasant, Arizona

colbysmith · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 11:27 pm Post subject:

Tony, is one marina better than the other, or about the same? I'm kind of looking at Pleasant View. Also, do the marina's have their own private boat ramps? If not, any reason you like the bigger ramp better than the other? My folks live in Goodyear, but I also have some good friends in Tempe, so I'll be driving both directions. lol! I've even thought about looking into Roosevelt or the lakes downstream east of Phoenix. While I was only looking at a week in the area, Lake Havasu wouldn't be completely out of the question.... And of course all this just depends on what the weather is doing, both at home, and along the way. (I'd either take I 40 most the way, or head south right away and get down on I 10 before heading over.) All just kind of in the dreaming stage right now. Smile

Colby

Cview · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:44 am Post subject:

Pleasant Harbor Marina is on the east side of the lake. There are two 3 lane boat ramps. When the lake is rising, the debris floats off the shore and the morning north winds cause the debris to sometimes make one of the ramps unusable. The sailboat storage is on this side of the lake so the ramps can be crowded on race weekends.

Scorpion Bay Marina is on the west side of the lake. It is somewhat pricier, but has the better restaurant. The public 10 lane boat ramp is a couple of miles from the marina. It has good courtesy boat docks and the walk from the ramp to parking is relatively short compared to the other side of the lake.

Both marinas have comparable facilities as far as restrooms and showers go.
For your visit, Pleasant Harbor may be more convenient as the boat ramps are a walkable distance from the marina.

There is camping on both sides of the lake. The east side is more RV oriented with lots of winter visitors spending the entire season there. The west side has the Maricopa County Park with tent camping and some rv sites with electricity. There is an adjacent RV dump station.

Lake Havasu has a marina, but there are no showers and limited electrical hook ups.

Tony

Rain · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:57 am Post subject: Puerto Peñasco

If you don't mind going into Mexico, you might consider going down to Puerto Peñasco translation Rocky Port, or as we Gringos call it Rocky Point. It's on the Gulf of California and offers a much larger body of water to cruise!

colbysmith · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:35 am Post subject:

Thanks Tony. Sounds like I should just stick with Pleasant View then, if I go out. They have already gotten back to me, and sound very accomodating. Not too worried about lake Restaurants, as I'll probably be spending a lot of time visiting with folks in the City also. Depending on rather or not I make the trip, and how things go, I might even spend some time on the Lakes east of Phoenix.

Mexico would be out. My folks live in Phoenix (Goodyear actually), and with many old high school friends in the area, lots of reasons to stay in that area. I've also been in Lake Havasu before, and always thought it'd be nice to take a boat there... Colby

JamesTXSD · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:49 pm Post subject:

Our daughter and son-in-law live in Goodyear - we visit there frequently. Just another opinion, but Lake Pleasant is a pretty small lake, 10 square miles... compared to Yellowstone Lake (136 sq. mi), Lake Powell (254 sq. mi.), or Lake Havasu (30 sq. mi.). Not that it wouldn't be a good respite from the frozen northland; but, that is a long ways to go for a small(ish) lake. It is also a pretty good commute from Lake Pleasant to Goodyear... although the new (almost completed) Loop 303 will get you there a lot faster than I-17 down to the 101, and onto I-10. About 44 miles, average 54 minute commute (according to MapQuest). Two hours out of each day there. (Probably nothing after the drive from the northland to the desert.) We have made the ride on our scoots from Goodyear to the lake from time to time, just to see some water around there.

Average temps there in January are: High 65º, Low 42º. (Yes, I read that you are from that area, just putting out some averages for planning sake.) Even though it will likely be chilly at night, you won't have to break a hole in the ice to put the boat in. Cool

Not sure about a week-long pass for the park/lake, but I think it is $10 each day for a daily pass.

I get the need for some boat-time in the middle of winter, but that is a long ol' haul for a relatively short time on a small lake. Another consideration: fly down, stay in Goodyear, spend some time with the folks, rent a boat for an afternoon at Lake Pleasant. Yeah, it won't be the same as having your own boat there. You'll have to be living right to make it from the northland to central AZ without running into some real winter weather and driving conditions along the way... and the potential to lose some travel days due to Mother Nature.

We avoid I-40 in the winter, and have run into snowy conditions on I-10 from November through January from time to time.

Good luck with the plans!

colbysmith · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:08 pm Post subject:

I appreciate your thoughts on a long haul for a smallish lake. Then again, I had folks tell me I would never see much of San Juans with only a week. I think the part those folks miss is that any day spent relaxing, is a day worth taking! lol. (And even seeing only 1 day of somewhere, is still better than not seeing any of it at all!) And for me, the "long haul" is part of the "vacation". Don't get me wrong, I hate towing the boat, or just driving thru, some of the metropolitan areas or boring landscapes. But there is still so much beauty to enjoy along the way! And 10,000 acres of lake can provide a lot of opportunity. (The largest lake here in Madison that we spend a lot of time on is only 9,700 acres.) I've already done all the consideration of flights, hotels and car rentals. (And while I have my non-rev benefits as a retired pilot, they are only worthwhile if seats are available...PHX is a busy place to get too.) This time of year, between spring training and the snow birds, well with cheap gas prices it's almost cheaper to drive out and bring my own quarters along. Shocked

The only real worry I have, will be weather related along the drive. Guess it all depends on what kind of weather year this winter will present. I think it's possible to have some periods of dry weather. If it's just cold, and no blizzards or ice storms forecasted, I would look forward to the trip. But any forecasted storms would cancel my plans or delay the return. So, yeah I can be crazy like that (Remember, I drove school bus and loved that too.... lol)!