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We are considering a move to Raleigh and are wondering about the water access in the surrounding lakes such as Lake Jordan and Falls Lake. We have jet skis and are looking for areas to launch and use these.
We would really appreciate feed back in regards to the below questions:
1) Is the capacity of the boat ramps adequate in the summer?
2) Are there days where all parking spots are taken?
3) How crowded is the lake in the summer? Is there room for cruising and playing on a jet ski without bothering other users? (not talking about crazy riding)
4) How often is the water level too low to launch?
5) As the Raleigh area gets more populated, are there concerns about too little water in the lakes?
6) Are there shallow areas in the middle part of the lakes? Is there a depth map of these lakes?
7)Is the water tested for pollutants and are there concerns that the lakes could be closed for boating at some point?
Thank you in advance.
Last edited by AMPL; 01-09-2018 at 11:53 AM..
Reason: trying to make letters larger
We are considering a move to Raleigh and are wondering about the water access in the surrounding lakes such as Lake Jordan and Falls Lake. We have jet skis and are looking for areas to launch and use these.
We would really appreciate feed back in regards to the below questions:
1) Is the capacity of the boat ramps adequate in the summer?
Most launch ramp areas on either Falls or Jordan have a daily fee ($6 or $7 per car). You can buy a yearly pass for $60. These ramps typically have more than enough parking, even on the most busy days. There is at least one launch area per lake that is free. These are typically very crowded most weekends with nice weather, and all parking spots will often be filled up.
My advisement is to buy the annual pass for $60. You'll avoid most of the congestion, and this same one pass is good for Falls, Jordan and Kerr.
2) Are there days where all parking spots are taken? Only at the free sites. Not often at the pay launch sites.
3) How crowded is the lake in the summer? Is there room for cruising and playing on a jet ski without bothering other users? (not talking about crazy riding) Jordan and Falls can get fairly crowded on the first weekends of May and any holiday weekends, but you can always find places to ride. The wider areas of Falls Lake (north of RollingView Marina) are quite uncongested, and you can find a number of good areas to ride without bothering anyone.
4) How often is the water level too low to launch? Very, very rarely.
5) As the Raleigh area gets more populated, are there concerns about too little water in the lakes? Not that I know of.
6) Are there shallow areas in the middle part of the lakes? Is there a depth map of these lakes? In some of the wider areas of Falls Lake, yes. When the water is at normal levels, these areas don't present much of a problem for V-hull boats, so they'll not be a problem for a jet ski. When the water levels are lower, one does need to be more careful.
7)Is the water tested for pollutants and are there concerns that the lakes could be closed for boating at some point? From what I've heard, the water is tested frequently. I've never seen it closed for boating, but there are rare occasions that there are cautions posted about swimming.
Lake Wheeler is small and has rowing clubs so jet skis are banned. Ramps have sucked since the big windstorm tore them up, what, three years ago, anyway?
1) Is the capacity of the boat ramps adequate in the summer?
Most ramps aren't an issue. There can sometimes be a long line at Barton's Creek (Falls Lake on Six Forks Rd) because it's free and it's the one closest to Raleigh.
2) Are there days where all parking spots are taken?
Yes, but most people are fine parking on the grass or whatever. We've always found a place to leave the car and trailer.
3) How crowded is the lake in the summer? Is there room for cruising and playing on a jet ski without bothering other users? (not talking about crazy riding)
It's crowded, but it's not terrible, especially for a jet ski. Us Wakeboarders aren't too keen on jet skis, but it's really no problem sharing the waterways.
4) How often is the water level too low to launch?
Rarely. The current conditions that we are seeing are uncommon.
5) As the Raleigh area gets more populated, are there concerns about too little water in the lakes?
I don't think this has been brought up.
6) Are there shallow areas in the middle part of the lakes? Is there a depth map of these lakes?
Navitronics maps are fairly accurate. Most of the lake is safe and many of the shoals are well marked. The best thing to do is to chat with some locals at the boat ramp. I may be biased, but most in the wakeboard community are VERY cognizant of low spots since our boats are inboards and easily damaged.
7)Is the water tested for pollutants and are there concerns that the lakes could be closed for boating at some point?
Swimming beaches can sometime be closed in the heat of the summer for bacteria concerns. As a wakeboarder, I ride 3-4 time per week, and take quite a few hard falls that i end up ingesting water on. Never been an issue for me. There aren't any signs abound that the lakes will close to boaters. There is a reasonably large investment in boat dealerships in the area, as well as boaters. So I'm guessing that there would be significant pushback from those groups, if that were to come up.
The "full pool" level is 216 feet. When the lake gets really low, vertical branch-less tree trunks and stumps will start to appear in some of the coves, some with propeller blades embedded in them. On the other hand, be particularly cautious when the lake floods (and it can very quickly after a heavy regional rain), as there will likely be a lot of big debris working its way down to the dam.
You might want to look at Lake Norman near Charlotte, too, if you're not coming to the Triangle for a specific job offer. Lake Norman is a very large recreational lake.
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