Texas Houseboat Vacation
 

First post, but I have read the forums for years and time to ask for a little advice...Father of a wakeboarding and lake loving family! We are looking for a houseboat vacation not a great distance from central Texas. Thought about Amstead, but not sure how safe. Travis sounds fun, but I don't want to overlook other options. Thought that 5 days on a houseboat, with our Malibu, letting the kids bring a friend would be great fun! Suggestions for Texas lake or rental suggestions?
Hope I didn't post under the wrong topic....
Thanks!!!

went on an Amistad houseboat vaca. 2 weeks ago. We took my buddies 'bu and my supra. Went up devil's river. it was windy, but there are def. places and times to ride. It was an awesome trip. Much safer than you think, border patrol everywhere down south, which was good to see. I considered Devil's river very safe, we didn't encounter one boat or group that looked suspect. We were packing just because we did not know what to expect.

It was very beautiful, and well worth it. Would i do it again? probably not just because it was a little too windy for us, we ride quite a bit and are pretty picky.

But Travis is always a great houseboat lake.

Thanks for the response! We definately want smooth water and enjoy riding early and late. I had a buddy just tell me that Travis is always really rough, but we are thinking headed that way. We really don't want to come off the water and there seems to be a lot of enjoyable spots on Travis for everyone.
Any suggestions for an area or cove to anchor?

I can't advise about an exact lake in Central Texas but we did a house boat trip in Tennesse a few years back with friends and it was one of the best vacations ever. I would defintiely do it again.

Lake Ouchita is only about 100 miles from TX. I can't vouch for the company, but the lake is one of the best. Smooth water during week, clear, nice scenery. Worth the drive for a 5 nighter.

http://www.dreamchaserhouseboats.com/

Can't speak for central Texas, but did Broken Bow, OK (southeast corner) a few years ago. It was a 3 hour haul from Tyler, which 4 hours from Austin. Great lake with lots of long (several miles) coves, nice deep and clear water.

The boat we rented was a 50' IIRC, and there weren't a whole lot of options for other boats. That may have changed since then, not sure. The boat we had slept 10 and was in good condition. The only thing was we couldn't tow the MC behind it but it wasn't a big deal. Beautiful lake.

^^^^^ Second Broken Bow. It's not a huge lake, but it's a very scenic lake with plenty of places to ride. It's also not very crowded either, so butter can be found most anytime. It's been 5 years or so since I've been there, but when last there we checked into houseboats and they were around $1200 a night.

I have done both Broken Bow and Ouachita. They are both awesome lakes but I have to say that there is no comparison to Ouachita. Over 200 islands on that lake and the water is incredible. The link that was posted earlier is a good one. We rented there and my family still talks about how great that trip is. It's a bit of a chore to get to but worth the effort. Travis is great but usually pretty rough from boat traffic. There are also a few "adult" areas on that lake that you should be aware of before you go rolling in with kids.

I second choosing Amistad...Travis is way too busy and you have to know the lake well to find the good wind protected water. Amistad has much less traffic and the Devil's River is one of the cleanest rivers in the world! I love Lake Powell as my #1 houseboat destination, but Amistad is a very close second!

Thanks guys I really appreciate the comments and help! We have decided to skip the Travis option and looking into Amistad or Lake Ouchita. You guys have been a great help!

John, if you would like some good info on Ouachita pm me and I can give it to you. We have been to that lake several times and I know it very well. Lake Powell is also a great houseboat lake but quite a haul to get there. Never been to Amistad.

Here is a few pictures, i tried to upload ones that showed the water and scenery. Sorry about some of the subjects haha.

If you look on This Map
- Point A is where we dropped anchor, which was really the best place we could find. We didn't want to burn that much fuel to go all the way up river. It was flat most of the time in that cove, and you could get a decent run in there.

- Point B is a great place to ride. The water gets more shallow (15 -30ft) and much clearer, which is kind of crazy. 80 - 100 foot bluffs on both sides, and natural dispersing banks allowed several boats to run the same line.

In any case its a lot of fun, like Kat said there really isn't much out there, except Rough Canyon which is good for forgotten supplies and emergencies.

Lake Ouchita looks good! I think that might be our next houseboat destination. Either there or Bull Shoals lake.

Nice

I use to be stationed at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio and put in Amistad every weekend. Launch of Park Road 2, Rough Canyon Marina and head north till the water turns blue! Here are old pics from when I use to be there...

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/100_0397.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/100_0434.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...0pics/a581.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...0pics/1588.jpg

looks like awesome place

rented a house boat on lake travis thru justforfun.com

We had a good time on the trip. I'd reccomend it.