Questions for all you Delta People?????

Okay so this trip I've been planning is taking us to the Delta for four days 8/14 thru the 17th or 18th. Then off to Berryessa for four or five more. My question, is there any tent camping allowed along the Delta? If so, Where? I've got a map from Dean's anglernet which shows a bunch of resort but no info. Any and all Local help would be apprieciated(sorry).

Depends whether you want to be North Delta or South Delta.

North would be something like Veira's and Snug Harbor
South has tons.
Tiki Lagoon
Turner Cut right next to Tiki Lagoon
Orwood Resort

Here is a listing for camping, but post on here and ask before going as some are really really crappy or horrible for wakeboarding but great for wind powered sports.
http://www.deltaboating.com/camping.html

Peter thanks for the fast response. We going for wakeboarding, this will be our first trip there. Any personal favorites you have north or south doesn't really matter.

Tower Park is nice too.

There is a campground right across Highway 12 from Tower Park that is even nicer than Tower Park.

Sparky it really comes down to where you want to ride. If you are interested in seeing more water ways with less travel on the water the South Delta is your best bet.

Turner Cut is nicer than Tiki Lagoon and both at least have some shade, which is important. There is also a dock you can leave your boat at, but not sure about security anywhere on the Delta.

Many people on here should know much more about camping on the Delta than myself. You can not see the campgrounds from the water (levees are too tall), and we tend to not leave the water.

If you want great wakeboarding stay at Orwood. Old River, Twin's and Victoria are close and one of those three places always has great water Also Orwood has good food at the little cafe' right at the boat ramp.
Have a good trip.
al

Sparky - I'll agree with Peter, where you stay will truely depend upon the experience you want! The North Delta as Peter mentions is less traveled with great water (I don't have enough knowledge of the North Delta to point you in the proper direction, Cabin or Joe Umali would have better knowledge on this) The South Delta as Allen indicates has great riding to but can also be pretty busy. Your hopes here is that most Delta locals will be heading to Boardstock at Clear Lake that weekend. Orwoods offers excellent tent camping, boats are close to campsites and are only accessable by foot to campers. Either way make sure to grab a map of the Delta! Also remember we do have a lot of unwritten rules. I'm sure myself and a lot of other natives to the Delta can answer any questions that you might have in order to provide you with the best experience possible!


(Message edited by jetgofish on July 25, 2005)

You should be able to camp at the Lighthouse and ride out of B&W off of Hwy 12. The north fork is great riding and it's less crowded. From there you can also ride up into Locke.

Okay where do I start.

Peter, Thanks again!!! AS far as where I want to ride, I have no knowladge of this area and was looking to you locals for guidance.

By the way THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'm sure it's hard to let an outsider into your backyard with out even knowing them. Rest asured, I will treat it with the ut most respect. And any secert spots you're kind enough to throw my way will be taken to the grave.

With that said, Teri, what are some of the unwritten rules? Thanks for the heads up on Orwood. And is the map so I can find my way around. I usually boat with a GPS.

Allen, are you talking about the discovery bay area? I see a referance to the old river in my Gps software.

J Rod, please Sir, a little more details on the lighthouse and B & W.

Thanks again, my hope is that it won't be to crowded Monday thru Thursday.

I figured you would have plenty of riding mid week, hence my sugestion of the South Delta. From there you can easily tour around tons of sloughs, without having to travel super far. The map is a must and GPS might be in order. Make sure you are back at camp before dark or you could easily get lost. Stay somewhere South of the main channel (San Jauquin river), and hopefully someone comes on and has some other suggestions for camping. If it were me I would stay at Turner Cut over Orwood, but Orwood is closer to a grocery store(Safeway in Discovery Bay) and Orwood also has the little cafe which is decent food. Although I believe Turner Cut or Tiki had a restaurant. Whiskey slough is a great place to ride, right by Turner Cut, and not far from Victoria sloughs. Victoria is known as being One Way, which is one of the unwritten rules. You have to ride there at least once just to see how straight of a line and glassy it is. At the end is a bar/restaurant (burgers etc), and used to have gas (Jarrod?).

The Delta can also be very shallow, but with some care you will be just fine. Steep rocky shores are usually fine, and you will be amazed as you are parked next to tullies and the depth meter reads 20 ft. The current/wind can be nasty so keep an eye on shore as it is generally not far away. We always kept an oar close by to facilitate man powered movement when in questionable situations or depths. In 13 years of boating at the Delta I have never ruined or even bent a prop (Quick I need wood!). Often the floating debris is just tullies which are soft but do keep a watchfull eye for bigger debris.

You could try to rent a house at Discovery Bay on deep water. I am not sure if anyone does that but it would be a cool way to cruise the delta.

Midweek on the delta is amazing. Have a great time!

Sparky - I live in Discovery Bay and I'm willing to offer you any guidance or assistance that you might need.

I'll side with Peter on the South Delta amd Orwood, I've never camped at Tiki or Turner Cut, but do know that the cafe there is a hit and miss on food, I would say your best bet would Orwood.

Unwritten rules of the Delta, biggest one respect and no power turns! Also as Peter mentioned most or a lot of slough are treated as directional. The Delta at times can be narrow and have blind turns, when approaching a blind turn, slow down clear the intersection and merge safely; mid week you shouldn't have much boat traffic.

The Discovery Bay area offers great riding mid week with places such as Rail Road (Santa Fe Cut on a map) Twins (North and South Woodward on the map) and Victoria's (North and South Victoria's on the map) Old River and Middle River also offer excellent riding. Should you stay in these area's you won't have to watch for shallow sholes, just be aware that these area's range in depth from 5 to 18 feet at any given time and tide will fluxuate every 6 hours!

As Great Dane suggested renting a house might be an option if you have some $$ to burn, otherwise Orwood is a great place. I personally don't know any one in Disco who offers short term rentals, but I'm sure they are out there and probably difficult to find.

Again any assistance we can offer or provide feel free to ask! If you have room, I'd be willing to ride with you on the 14th and show you around a bit!

midweek....you can just stay in the main channel at Disco bay,you don't need any type of "riding spot"

Ed, he wants to EXPERIENCE the Delta not play in Indian all day!

(Message edited by jetgofish on July 26, 2005)

I have a lot of info and map stuff here:
http://www.thevogts.com/delta/
If nothing else, please read the warnings...

Be safe and have fun.

Greg - Very impressive maps you have there! Another thing to take in account is the wind and tide. If the wind is blowing against the tide the water will be rough, if the wind is blowing with the tide the water will be smooth and rideable.

Thanks and good point Teri. I really don't address that or the tide vs current factors. Then that leads to the strength of the flow depending upon ones the location...witch could be very important.
Ug...work in progress.
Maybe that's too much information for visitors to swallow, I dunno. I'll see if I can come up with a simple way to illustrate it. If you can think of anything else I should add, let me know.
Also, feel free to point out any spelling errors you notice...they get me every time.

GV - great post & Maps... I am a fan of the tracy canal / shallow slough and the backup location as well ( one is always good on windy days ).... I am sure we have crossed paths at some time and hopefully accompanied by a wave ;)

Sparky, GV has highlited some of the best waterways / most frequent in the southern delta that many of us WW's ride... I would be happy to join ya for a pull or 2 if you need a 3rd or just want company... I have cash, gas, cleanup, whatever you may need if theres room

Teri and Aaron your both welcome, Teri not sure what time we'll be in on the 14th. Will be coming from Carmel(mom's house), probably leave in the early am putting us there around 10 or 11am. Maybe your up for an afternoon ride.

Where to get map or will GV's map suffice?

Where to stay, I SO CONFUSED. LOL. Sounds like Orwood. Although west of all the "spots" still seems pretty central to all. As a point of referance how far is it to Victoria canal from Orwood. Also the second page of GV's presentation makes mention of one way direction but show's arrows both pointing east and west. Which is it? or please clarify.

Mr. Greg Vogt, what can I say. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for offering that great map presentation up to us.

I'm still fighting with my customers to get away so things may get pushed back a week. I'd love to say to hell with them but their paying for this trip. So I'll stay in touch and post my Cell # when we get closer. This is going to happen, This is going to happen, sorry I have to keep telling my self that.
Later.

You can get a map at any launch point in the Delta, and definetely want one. The most expensive one is around $10 and is a roll up plasticoated map. Regular maps are at least half that price.

As to the confusion of where to stay well...good luck. Orwood is ok, my memory of the campground was there was not a lot of shade, but maybe I am just not thinking clearly. Being mid week you should be able to get any site you want. Having food within a very short walk of the campground can be a good thing. They have a mini mart right there and a few miles away is Discovery Bay, with a Safeway, including cheaper gas off the water. I would recommend pulling your boat out of the water at night and keep it close by no matter where you stay. You can also boat over to Discovery Joes for food and drinks. When you are at the Delta take a cruise, via water and/or land, around the Discovery Bay area as it is pretty cool to see. Hmmmm...Orwood is sounding better and better.

The one way sloughs are separated by tulles in the center. Treat it as a divided highway and no problem. Not all sloughs are this way so do not be too worried about breaking the unwritten rule.

Definetely get out and enjoy a new place. I miss traveling to new places for wakeboarding. Guess your trip planning is making me want to go somewhere new and exciting

Sparky - Again Peter said it all. One thing to keep in mind is that Disco Joes is now closed um, I believe Monday or Tuesday nights for dinner. I'd have to make a call down for you to be positive. Sparky, I'm good for Sunday afternoon or after 6 during the week. Let us know as time roles up, Aaron and I would be more than happy to kick it with you! This trip is going to happen for you!!!! One last thing Victoria's is about a 15 minute (20 at most) boat ride from Orwood, but keep in mind you will be passing excellent water to get there depending on the weekday conditions, but come one you got to get to Vic's at least once!

(Message edited by jetgofish on July 27, 2005)

(Message edited by jetgofish on July 27, 2005)

Is there a curfew on the delta. I know at Lake Mead or Mojave, no more boarding or skiing after official sunset.

Agian thanks

I believe it is ten minutes after sun set. There is not a speed limit at night on the Delta, it is just "safe navigational speed". We used to ride at night, but not anywhere close to Discovery Bay as the cops are common sight there. When you get to the Delta you will see what I mean about driving at night as even during the day things start looking the same. We have had four boats that could not find their way back to Tower Park follow us from Lost Isle.

Peter thanks for your last post.

Eight mores days!!!!!! Arrrrrrrgh, I'm jonesing so bad. Looks like we'll be leaving on time.

I'll check back!

To avoid any confusion, Discovery Joes is now Woody's Beach House Bar & Grill.
Also, if you saw the camping crowd at Orwood, it may deter you toward http://vieiras95641.tripod.com/ or http://www.ohwy.com/ca/t/towerpm.htm or http://www.bandwresort.com/contact.html

Rod thanks for the heads up. We'll be there during the week, I sure most of the weekend crowd will be gone.

Just have to deal with the crazy locals, Right!