Dallas Area Lakes?

[tball]

There's a pretty good chance I'll be moving to the Dallas area this fall; probably south of the metroplex. From looking at a map I've seen the following lakes but don't know anything about them:

Mountain Creek Lake
Joe Pool Lake
Lake Arlington
Lake Ray Hubbard
Lavon Lake
Lake Tawakoni
Benbrook Lake

I'd very much appreciate any boating info for the area concerning lakes, ramps, indoor storage, danger areas, places to avoid, and anything else. Thanks in advance...

[Cornut]

We live in Richardson (just north of Dallas); we haven't ridden at most of the lakes you listed, but here's what I know:

Lake Ray Hubbard - It's near us, but we've never ridden there because it's chock full of trees, submerged stumps & submerged abandoned roads.
However, there are plenty of folks who know how to avoid all that stuff & love it. We may check it out someday if we can find a good guide.

Lavon Lake - This is the lake we hit most, since it is closest to where we live. It's kind of small, so it does get crowded at times. But otherwise, we can usually find some decent water & we like it a lot.

We also ride at Lake Lewisville & Lake Ray Roberts (near Denton) pretty regularly. They both have some great coves, but Lewisville gets a lot of crazy (or drunk) boaters on holiday weekends.

[aprgriggs]

I ride at Lake Lewisville...can find good water most of the time. It is in North Dallas, but just South of Denton. If that helps any.

[89 skier]

Cornut, You gave away the secret spot!

I've ridden Lake Ray Hubbard a few times without any problems...Besides my friend almost sinking my boat by not putting the drain plugs in it before it was launched.

Lake Lewisville is the main place I go, mainly because I know people that live really close to the lake and there are a ton of places to hide in order to get away from some of the crowds.

Lake Lavon is a smaller lake and not frequented by too many wakeboarders, but it is nice because it has several long skinny coves to make good passes in.

Grapevine Lake is another one that is good for riding on.

It all comes down to how far you want to drive to get to a lake. Most people go to which ever lake is closest to them.

Other lakes include Lake Kiowa (very tiny), Lake Worth, Cedar Creek Lake (but not for boarders...too choppy), Fairfield Lake (hour south of Dallas...warmed by power plant discharge), and Possum Kingdom to name a few.

[acurtis_ttu]

www.dallaswakeboarding.com

[Cornut]

89 Skier,

Sorry about that. Based on the crowds that were there the last few times we went, I didn't think it was much of a secret.

[Bowen]

Cornut, could you please go back and edit it...its getting too crowded as it is...especially now that they are building houses and putting retaining walls up.

[Stanfield]

Yeah, delete that part.

[Cornut]

OK, but I'm a little surprised at the backlash here...........just tryin' help a brotha out. I think crowds are inevitable at all decent riding places as the sport continues to gain popularity.

[ttuclint]

also check out Bridgeport, real nice lake and doesnt get real crowded because its a bit of a ways away.

[tball]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm not used to having so many places to choose from. Growing up it was Lake Conroe or drive two hours to Livingston. Lately it's been Stillhouse or Belton with an occasional excursion to Travis. I'm heading up to DFW in a couple of weeks and will seriously base where I live on where I'll use the boat the most. I wish there was a computer program that I could put in my requirements for work, church, lake, gym, and boat storage and it would give me the best place to live to be near all that stuff. Maybe someday.

Thanks again.