Anybody ever done Lake Mead nr Las Vegas?

PEJ

PEJ

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Off to Las Vegas in November. Thinking about renting a boat, maybe even a houseboat, on Lake Mead.

Has anyone been there that can offer hints and tips?

Any advice gratefully received.
 
I think MartynK has done it but he is in Spain at the moment so may take a day or two to respond. Suggest you PM him in case this post slips down the list
 
Great fun, especially with kids & if you like fishing - was a bit basic when we did it 10 years ago.
House boats are great but motor like a ford transit in jelly.

A long weekend might be enough - can get a bit too tedious
 
Hi Its really worth doing!

Make a day of it, we rented a car from Hertz (350 Shelby /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif) If you can rent jet skis do it, much better than a power boat and you can beach them and catch a bit of sun. Cant remember where we rented buts its in the second main marina.

We did it last October, the lake was getting a bit colder i.e. below 80F! Spend at least 3 hours on the water, go mid week when its quiet. Its an unforgettable experience.

Here are some pics, note the "tide mark" the level has been dropping badly over the past few years, LV gets most of its water from Mead, they had to lower the water intakes for the water works.

There are amazing fish too!

Enjoy!

Mark
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One year I hired a motor boat and another time a few of us rented jet skis from

The Lake Mead Marina.

You need to pay a big deposit on your credit card, watch a mandatory video and observe the speed limit within the harbour, or they have a complete sense of humour failure. Not with me, some yank.

Get there quickly before the water all disappears! Lake Mead Marina moves further and further from the road every year I go there, as the water level drops.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think MartynK has done it but he is in Spain at the moment so may take a day or two to respond. Suggest you PM him in case this post slips down the list

[/ QUOTE ] I thought he was back and pacing up and down in N Wales waiting for me to take him fishing.
 
I'm not sure HE knows where he is!

last week he told me he was going to be in N Wales this week then yesterday I got a text from him saying he was sat having a coffee overlooking Sitges Marina!
 
Yes that was the place we used. A UK couple in a boat got a right bollxxxing for speeding when leaving the mairina!

Be carefull about jumping other boats wakes too...we read the rules after we got back...its actually against state law to have more than 2/3 rds of the hull out of the water /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif But with no one around whos to see /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
pity you can't make it earlier like mid sept and take in the Reno air races, un believable machinery, P-51 Mustang's with monsterous horse power and worth millions racing around pylons at a few hundred feet in excess of 500 mph. bring your ear plugs though /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Yup been there and had a great time, would really recommend it as a break from the bright lights and a little peace and quiet.

Apologies for all the pics etc, but this is how we did it.

First we found the place to hire from, Lake Mead Boat Harbor - http://www.boatinglakemead.com/content.asp?nav=85166&cpid=2308&

They hire Bayliners - Bayliner 215 Discovery 21 ft Openbow
V8 engine Seats 6 people

Costs are;
$70 per hour
$410 per day
$400 Security Deposit

They made me put another $50 when I wanted an Anchor, which to be honest is great if you want to just find a small bay and have a picnic (yes its a good idea to take one)

The boats were clean and had no problems at all, but they would not reserve for me, so it was first come first served, and in fact we were the only people to go out all day, so we had the place to ourselves.

Here we go with the pictures - first we had the helicopter ride over lake mead (on the way to the grand canyon) so you can see it from the air;
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and finally the Hoover dam from the air;

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We then back the next day and hired the Bayliner, took a picnic, and really wasnt sure what to expect, but it was pretty painless - cant remember if I needed my ICC? I took it, but not sure if they asked for it.

This is the approach from the road to the marina
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and the google earth image of the same spot

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and then a shot of the Bayliner that we had;

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The lake was just absolutely spot on for fast boating, flat calm (well this day it was!)

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and some of the views were fantastic, although the pictures do not do it justice

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The first thing we did was take the boat around to the Hoover Dam, which allowed us to get reasonably close to get some pictures, but for obvious reasons it was well bouyed off. This is SWMBO just posing for the picture.

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Here you can see the 'tide' line where the water level is dropping - it seems that many of the islands now showing were under water at one time.

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and this is SWMBO enjoying her go at the Helm as we motor back to the marina. To get this picture I was hanging on for dear life at the front, as it was a telephoto lens rather than wide angle!
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It was a great day out, and one of our cherised memories of our time in Las Vegas.

Anything else I can help with drop me a pm!

MartynK
 
[ QUOTE ]
last week he told me he was going to be in N Wales this week then yesterday I got a text from him saying he was sat having a coffee overlooking Sitges Marina!


[/ QUOTE ]

Well that didnt last very long, back in the wet UK, can see why you have a boat in the Med /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I thought he was back and pacing up and down in N Wales waiting for me to take him fishing

[/ QUOTE ]

Well looking at the 5 day forecast, its going to be hard to spot a sunny day - but I will be there from Thursday! Look forward to catching up, even if its for a quick drink
 
We didn't have time to rent one of those Bayliners when we were there last year, but LM looked stunning (if a little choppy in the strong breeze the day we were there). The restaurant in the marina served half decent food as well, which was a surprise considering how ropey it looked !! We'd done the drive out from Las Vegas after flying over Lake Mead on the helicopter trip the day before and deciding it warranted a visit after going to the Hoover Dam. Some great little gravel side roads lead down to the lake but only really suitable for driving if you have a 4x4. It's a good demonstration of how much the lake's dropped in level, I have a photo of my TomTom showing us parked up 1 1/2 miles into the lake, yet the shoreline was just infront of us.

Well worth the visit.

Oh and if you're a car nut, on the way back from Lake Mead is Las Vegas Speedway alongside the freeway. Next to the freeway is the Shelby factory and museum. Get there before 5pm most days and it's open to the public with some very nice cars on display and a small shop. You can't miss it, the building with SHELBY in 6ft high blue letters can be seen from the freeway and the car park next to it with 1000 or so Shelby Mustangs sticks out a mile.
 
If you like Shelby's how about this one?

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I have passed the Shelby sign on numerous occasions and I had no idea the public could visit the place.

On my list for my next LV visit.
 
What a great response, thank you very much everybody.

I have gone from thinking about it to definitely doing it thanks to you!

MartynK - I have a few questions so I'll PM you, thanks for offering the help.

Peter.
 
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