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Boating in Nockamixon State Park
Summer 2005
Lake Nockamixon, with over 1450 acres, provides some excellent
boating.
If you are looking for something really fun to do with the
family, try renting a boat on Lake Nockamixon.
We rented a pontoon boat in early September from the concession in the
park. The cost was $50 per hour for an 18' pontoon boat. The staff was very
helpful. They have a large selection of life jackets and provided clean,
well fitting, well maintained jackets including one for our nine year old
son.
Rental Office
The boat is a typical pontoon boat with a canopy, bench and some lawn
chairs. The engine was electric start. The staff will show you the
prop and give you instructions about staying at least 100 yards from the
shoreline and the slow speed zones. We paid attention to their advice
and did not damage the prop (which would result in the loss of your
deposit). That is fair, props are expensive and costly to repair.
We chose to head Southeast. There is an out of business
restaurant, The Lake House, where you should turn around. This was the Friday
before Labor day and there were very few boats rented. We had the lake almost to
ourselves. The view from the lake is very picturesque, especially when returning
when you see Haycock mountain (actually just a really large hill). There
were about a dozen larger sailboats cruising in the vicinity of the marina that
day.
Some tips.
The boats are easy to handle for anyone with any
experience. The staff will get your boat pointed in the right direction
Closed Restaurant - Lake Nockamixon
The pontoon boats come with canopies. If you will be out
for a while the shade can be nice. They are also a lot more stable than
the small motor boats.
If you are unfamiliar with boating, take a careful look as
to where the rentals are located as you leave the dock.
Our trip to the southeastern end and back was mostly at
full throttle. The rental place said it was about 3 miles or so. That took
about 20 minutes each way.
Leave yourself plenty of time in returning. They want an
idle speed from the no wake bouys to the docks. Take a note of how long it
takes you to get from the dock to the bouys on the way out.
There are restrooms at the rental concession stand.
If you can, consider visiting on a weekday as things
should be much less crowded then.
