Best lake within 2 hour drive of Asheville?

[glenzx2]

Originally Posted by gigimac

Another lake right in town, just north of downtown, is Beaver Lake, you just go north on Merrimon Avenue a mile or two or three, and it's on the left. You can boat there, canoe or rowboat, there's ducks, and a walk around most of the lake with dogs, AND there's a little nature boardwalk just before you get there, a place to pull over, very pleasant. Homes are all around the lake, so it's not as woodsy as Lake Julian, nor as large, but it's convenient. Both those lakes are public and within the Asheville City Limits.

Sorta beg to differ on Beaver Lake... need permits for almost everything!!!
To walk a dog is something like $50/year/dog! Permits to row/canoe. Certainly NO swimming! Not very friendly, IMHO. If you just want to go walk around a lake it is fine... same with Lake Louise in Weaverville (also not dog friendly).

[gigimac]

Dear Glenzx2,
Ooooops. Thank you for clarifying the swimming (altho I didn't say anything about swimming in Beaver Lake), however you CAN rent canoes or paddleboats. But I DO get it. The original poster indeed is coming in September after Labor Day so they can swim in warmer water than now, and if they're going to bring a boat or want to rent a motorboat, they'd be VERY disappointed if they went to either Lake Julian or Beaver Lake, on both the boating and swimming issues. Plez ignore my hasty advice.

But for folks thinking of one day living here and just enjoying the ambience of a local lake and renting a floating boat, I guess I just wanted them to know they do exist in town. And if you got dogs, people do walk 'em around Beaver Lake (by law in Buncombe County all dogs have to be licensed and leashed, with pooperscooping desired). But I AM sorry for mischaracterizing the OP's intent, so thank you again. I'll try to be more careful.
GG

[backpackerchik]

I don't currently live in Asheville, but I'm a kayaker (flatwater) and familiar with the area. Fontana Lake a BIG lake, and I guess it depends on what kind of recreation level you're looking for. Fontana is in (or borders) GSNP and offers some very remote and peaceful paddling. It has over 200 miles of shore line. I believe it's about 1 hour from Asheville, but I might be wrong. If you're looking for a really awesome full day or multi day canoeing, you would find it there.

[lbbshine]

Lake James is nearly ten times the size of Lake Lure... about 700 acres compared to 7000... but both are stunningly beautiful! Some of my favorite hikes are near Lake James in the Linville Wilderness, but Lake Lure has more vacation rentals and better restaurants. You can't go wrong with either and they are just about 45 minutes apart if you don't mind curvy back roads.

[wilson720]

Im not sure what the poster meant about the water too cool to swim in. I just got done swimming in Lake Chatuge in Hayesville, which is beautiful by the way, and the water was very comfortable. Now if youre swimming in a creek or river....yikes its COLD. LOL!

[Catbirds]

How about Lake Nantahala? I think you can get there within 2 hrs of Asheville. You can also raft, canoe, or kayak down the river. I love this area.

[vandemusser]

Man, I'd check out Lake Santeetlah and Lake Jocassee if I were you. Both are about 90 minutes from Asheville. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, but the idea of going to Beaver Lake after paddling one of these two makes me chuckle:

Santeetlah Lake - Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina (http://www.nantahalawilderness.com/santeetlah_lake.html - broken link) - nice site with photos.

Lake Jocassee (http://www.lakejocassee.com/devils_fork.htm - broken link) - Devil's Fork is a nice state park with campground and boat ramps on Jocassee. Most of it is undeveloped.

[CJCWorld]

I was going to suggest Lake Fontana. It's near Bryson City, NC. Probably from Asheville, I'm going to figure 1 hr. 45 min, because I'm in Clyde area, and it's really about and hour or so from here, so I added in a few minutes so I hopefully wouldn't let you down on the time frame.

So for a few lakes, you have:

Lake James
Fontana Lake
Lake Lure

And of course you could hunt around for your smaller lakes. I've not hunted around much of these three lakes, but I have been out on a boat on Fontana, I may be more leaning towards that one just because I like the mountainous area so much.

[Sunandsalt]

Just yesterday I returned from a 10-day stay in Almond, which is about 1.5 hours from Asheville. The drive doesn't seem that long though. Our cabin was literally right around the corner from Lake Fontana and just down the mountain from Nantahala River--perfect for anything you might want in some relaxing water fun. The water was warm but refreshing in both places. Very clean and jade-colored. The river has a better view though since the lake is right on the highway. There is a very easy access point at the lake where kayakers start off; there were often small groups of kayak classes taking place. Weekends were surprisingly busy (not crazily so, just enough to annoy you slightly if you are in the mood for a quiet, solo swim) considering the low volume of people during the week. You can rent a pontoon boat on the river for $50/hr. It will probably be less busy in September than it was mid-July, but the boats were all booked two days in advance. Beautiful area though, and close to everything. I recommend it to anyone.