Lake Roosvelt

[journey on]

I'm (not Judy, yet) thinking of heading north this summer and cruising Lake Roosevelt. Has anybody done this? Any good cruising guides?

I assume there are places to get fuel. Am I correct? How about launch and truck/trailer storage?

Boris

 

[colbysmith]

Lake Roosevelt Arizona? Water was pretty low last time I was out there, and really not all that scenic of a lake. Colby

 

[tsturm]

Lake Roosevelt Arizona? Water was pretty low last time I was out there, and really not all that scenic of a lake. Colby

Water behind Grand Coulee on the Columbia??
Seven bays had a nice marina 20 yrs. ago. I think the Spokane tribe has fuel at the casino? At Fort Spokane.
:wink:

 

[journey on]

Well, there's 2 Roosevelt Lakes in Arizona: 1 in Scottsdale and 1 to the right of Phoenix.

And I meant neither, but the one on Washington, back of Coulee Dam.

So, anyone been to the Roosevelt Lake in Washington?

Boris

 

[ken westrope]

I live about 55 miles south of Coulee Dam. You can launch there, at Spring Canyon,at Keller Ferry which is a very steep and hairpined road. The next up is seven bays. When we went there we would launch at Grand Coulee then run up river. Fuel at Keller and 7 bays. Watch for drawdowns and fluctuating waster levels. P

 

[Marco Flamingo]

I posted last year about my trip (without boat) to Lake Roosevelt to look around. Pictures in my photo album. Here's the thread.

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=26290&view=next

Mark

 

[Pat Anderson]

Well, there's 2 Roosevelt Lakes in Arizona: 1 in Scottsdale and 1 to the right of Phoenix.

And I meant neither, but the one on Washington, back of Coulee Dam.

So, anyone been to the Roosevelt Lake in Washington?

Boris

We went there in August 2004, back when Daydream was a CD22, with Bill and El on Halcyon and Chris (we still miss him) on Rana Verde. It was a great cruise and well worth the time and effort to get there.



Can't tell you about a launch or truck and trailer storage, because we have friends who live in Gifford right across from a boat launch and they kept our and Bill and El's truck and trailer at their place. Also can't tell you about fuel, as we managed without refueling.

Here is the album, and here is our favorite picture.



Hard to believe that this is now 15 years ago!

 

[hardee]

I live about 55 miles south of Coulee Dam. You can launch there, at Spring Canyon,at Keller Ferry which is a very steep and hairpined road. The next up is seven bays. When we went there we would launch at Grand Coulee then run up river. Fuel at Keller and 7 bays. Watch for drawdowns and fluctuating waster levels. P

Roosevelt (WA state) has been just under my radar for several years. Mostly for warm water cruising. 21 Questions: 1. Are the drawdowns published or announced so you can know ahead of time? 2. What would be the primary appeal to cruising there? (aside from the warm water and sandy beaches.)

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

 

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

I've spent some time there. We would launch at Keller Ferry. Its a beautiful lake, fairly remote which adds to the appeal. Aside from the peak of summer the water stays pretty cold. If you fish, there's some really great kokanee to troll for. Very rich dark red meat.

Be up on the rules, on most of the lake we explored, one side was public land and the other side of the lake is tribal. The tribal side had a different set of rules to follow.

I'd recommend it, its a great spot to explore.

 

[hardee]

Thanks Paul. Any word on the drawdowns? Any enforcement folks, DFW or marine patrol, or drawdown announcement on VHF weather announcements? OR do you just wake up in the morning with that much less water under you?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[journey on]

Has anybody taken their boat to Lake Pend Oreille? It looks like we could make a 2-fer this summer: Lake Roosevelt and Lake Pend Oreille. Is 6 weeks at each doable?

Hardee, Bob sent me a link to the level: Launch ramps and current water level. It should provide some insight.

 

[tsturm]

Has anybody taken their boat to Lake Pend Oreille? It looks like we could make a 2-fer this summer: Lake Roosevelt and Lake Pend Oreille. Is 6 weeks at each doable?

Hardee, Bob sent me a link to the level: Launch ramps and current water level. It should provide some insight.

The USCOE controls water level on all of the Columbia tributary's ck out there web site also.
Pend Oreille has lots of places to launch. Farragut state park by Bayview is on the S. end at the old Naval Sub training site, still a acoustics test installation there, 1200' deep in areas.
Wind can turn up quickly, public storm / mail docks all over the lake to hide / spend the night.( I spent 20 yrs fishing PO)


:wink: :beer

 

[starcrafttom]

The cure for lake draw down. Use a anchor buddy system. anchor buddy.

This allows you to anchor your boat in deeper water and not on the beach itself. Very common in the ski boat community on lakes in the west where water drop is a concern.

 

[hardee]

Has anybody taken their boat to Lake Pend Oreille? It looks like we could make a 2-fer this summer: Lake Roosevelt and Lake Pend Oreille. Is 6 weeks at each doable?

Hardee, Bob sent me a link to the level: Launch ramps and current water level. It should provide some insight.

Boris, thank for passing the link along.

Lake Pend Orielle is a great lake and lots of places to spend time. Not sure I would spend 6 weeks on it, but I'm sure it would be possible. I enjoyed the southern part most. Button Hook park is a bomb proof moorage area. If you are looking at 12 weeks on the lakes, I would consider some time on Lake Chelan. It is spectacular, and also deep (one third of the 55 mile long lake is below sea level, deepest part is 1700 feet.)



Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[Marco Flamingo]

The cure for lake draw down. Use a anchor buddy system.

For tidal changes, you'll need to make your own. Mine pulls the boat back about 100 feet. That was just enough in Battle Bay while we hiked up the river. Our bow anchor is up on the beach at the edge of the picture. We were still in about 6 inches of water. It was so calm that we could have easily beached the boat, but then we would have had a 5 hour wait before departure.



We did the same thing at Rugged Cove when we went for a hike. The tide was coming in, so we left the boat out a couple of feet but put the anchor above the high tide line so that we could pull the boat in when we returned.



Mark

 

[Pat Anderson]

Has anybody taken their boat to Lake Pend Oreille? It looks like we could make a 2-fer this summer: Lake Roosevelt and Lake Pend Oreille. Is 6 weeks at each doable?

Hardee, Bob sent me a link to the level: Launch ramps and current water level. It should provide some insight.

We cruised Lake Pend Oreille and Lake Priest in August 2007 with Bill and El on Halcyon, and we connected with Jody on Voyager and Chris on Mz Kaye on Pend Oreille. Our photo album is here. This was a very memorable trip, especially drifting while watching the moose on Upper Priest. Don't know about six weeks, seems that might be a little long on each for us, but might be dandy for you.

Here are a few favorite photos.

Buttonhook Bay


Bayview


Moose in Upper Priest Lake!


Captain Baxter at Priest Lake.