Shasta Lake - Question

We are heading up to Shasta this summer and wanted to know from those of you who have been there before and know the lake...

Where are the best riding spots? Which arms are the best and least crowded? Any good tips would be much appreciated, thanks!

Here's a map to help...

Stefani,
Squaw was my favorite. Pit was really good but there were some close calls with underwater trees.
Joe

Stefani, You can find good water all over the lake, but the best is in the Pit River and Squaw Creek arms.

When are you all going? I'll be up there July 1-11.

There's usually good water to be found everywhere except in the wide open water areas.

We rode this area (see pic) alot last year and it was mostly nice all day. Red Circle is generally the area we're talking about.

Rene, I'm going to email you. Sounds like we will be up there around the same time. Maybe we can meet up on the water:-)


How long would it take to get from Shasta marina to McCloud arm or one of the other arms for that matter? Anyone know?

McCloud, Pit, Squaw Creek in that order. The bad thing about the pit is the tree's that are all over the place. Just make sure you run in the middle of the arm and you'll be fine. It's not as bad as people make it out to be.

Great, thanks for the info guys.

So, has anyone ridden in the Sacramento arm? That's where we are launching out of. How long does it take to get from one arm to another?

Stefani, Last year I camped up in the McCloud arm and it took a long time to go over to the Sac arm. I don't remember how long, but it was like going from Lazy M to Tower Park.

On a house boat it's not as bad because you can play Playstation on the way.

That's like a full day trip on a houseboat!! Yikes!

The area circled above is called Big Backbone. It's a good cove but the best part of it is restricted with a 5 mph marker. Overall, it's a great cove. That's the cove my buddy got busted for Sea-Doo'n naked! Got pulled over by a female sheriff. Funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

I agree, Sqaw Creek is a good area. Just a long arse houseboat drive to get there. At least for us.

Rene, what's the scoop on your July 1-11 trip? We might catch you on the tail end. We should chat off line. We have some June trips tentatively scheduled.

The pit has the trees because WWII broke out when they got to deforesting that part of the lake and most of the workers left to join the war.

Stefani,

There are a bunch of people from Wakeworld going around those dates.

Here is the link with some info.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3320/105335.html?1085501855

Should be a great time!

Kara

Stephani,

I have camped at Lakehead and Antlers (both on the SAC ARM) and one other (forget the name) the last few years and the boat ride to say the PIT or SQUAW is a good 40 minutes with a speed boat. Both arms have stupendous water to wake on...it depends on the number of boats, winds, etc. The kids prefer the PIT, naturally with all the trees and underwater obstacles...
The SAC arm is good as well, a spot we used quit a bit was near one of those floating outhouses (it was good for the girls). It was on the left near a small island on the way to the open part of the lake...The water was absolutely flat in the afternoons and no one was there...there is also a nice cove to pull into over there as I recall.
I have found that Shasta has great water everywhere you go...
This year we will be on the lake from June 20th thru the 27th, renting a houseboat out of Sugarloaf, the "Stargazer". Anyway, hope this helps.

Shasta Marina to McCloud your looking at 1 hour at 30 mph. It's a little longer to the pit and squaw creek, 5/6 gallons of gas or 20 bucks one way depending on how you look at it.

Face planter, is that by houseboat or speed boat?

Robb, we'll be missing you guys by like 10 days:-(

Kara: I sent an email to Rene. We will make a point to come find you guys at least one of the days that we are up there. Would love to meet everyone:-)

Thanks again everyone for the info.

That is at X2 speed not house boat. House boat 5 to 6 hours. One thing to think about also is the sewer dumping that needs to be done after 3 or 4 days. You can dump where ever but they might charge you, where the home for the houseboat would be free.

How long are you going for?

Good point about the dumping, didn't think about that. We are going for 5 days, 4 nights. We will probably stay closer to our marina. We probably won't know where until we get out there. We will hook up with those who are already out there via speed boat rather than houseboat. Too expensive and long to make the drive via houseboat.

Shasta Lake Marina to Big Backbone (Circled Above) is only maybe 45 minutes max. It's a really nice place to ride, but it is a bit of a trek to the marina when you need speed boat gas and ice.

I would definitely get your HB as early as possible, and head straight out of Obrien inlet. Obrien can be kind of bad. It gets alot of boat traffic and it can get really muddy and shallow if the water level is a bit low.

The water at Big Backbone or even in the small cove directly across from Obrien inlet is alot deeper and very clean and clear.

If this is your first HB trip, make sure you loosen the ropes every day and back the boat off the shore so you don't get stuck. The water drops about 1 foot per day.

Do any of the rented HB come with Anchors? I have Houseboated at McClure and we had to beach it. Is it the same way at Shasta?
We learned the rope lesson our first year! Ha, that was a good lesson learned! We unfortunatly didn't have a heads up and learned the hard way.

Everyone beaches them.

the best thing to do is put the nose right on the beach (gently of course), then bring the ropes out at 45 degree angle from about 1/2 to 2/3 back from the front of the boat to the shore.

See the pic.

Thanks guys for the tips!

Look at that water....

Anyone up for a little houseboat racing?

I would love to race you. But we are on the same HB! How about a little X2/X10/X-star action? I'll dust you both!

If you like Shasta, then you would probably like Whiskeytown Reservoir too. Whiskeytown is just west of Redding. It is smaller. No PWC allowed, and it lays down like glass after 5pm. Hitting Whiskeytown after work is a good thing. You should consider a side roadie if you can. Definitely worth it. PS I'll let you use my season parking pass if you give me a tow.

Stefani, If you do nose onto the beach like in John Klein's pic beware of bears coming on board. I've had a bear board my houseboat once at Shasta, and my friends have had bears board their houseboats too.

no dan, dont give away our secret spot

Rene, are you serious???

You need to watch for Bears and Snakes on the house boats. We had a bear come on board 3 times last year. You just scare them away. I've only heard of snakes on the boats.

I've done shasta for the last three years and have never seen a bear. However, the deer like to come around. They will almost eat out of your hand.

I guess it really happens though: Here's a link:
http://www.reddingemployment.com/newsarchive/20020629lo206.shtml

I haven't seen a bear at Shasta yet, that article you posted is in Little Backbone and that is where Miggity takes the houseboat everytime. The deers do come down alot to the water. I like this picture of this deer. I don't think he liked the food I was trying to give him.

Oh by the way, have a great time at Shasta, you are going to love the lake and have a great time, Stefani.

John, that's the same cove we've had our two bear encounters (2 in 15 plus years).

Here's a pic of the last one with a fish in his mouth.



He was a big guy.

On the pump out thing listed above. As long as the marina gives you plenty of chemical, you can go a lot longer than a few days without a pump out. The holding tanks are pretty big. Not that we're proud of it but we once went a whole summer without pumping out (the motor on the houseboat was being rebuilt) and it wasn't that bad. Even with our near every weekend use. We had a good time at the dock that summer, even though we couldn't pull off.

John,

Great shot of your houseboat positioning...I will have the same issue (two boats)... Whats it like towing the speed boats around with the houseboat? Wondering what method you use as to not bash up the boats? Inline? Them tied on the side? I would just sh&^ if the boats get all bashed up bouncing off the HB...Just looking for some recommendations. Thanks

Robb, on the rare occasions we have two wakeboats, we tow them both at different lengths. Do not tow them in line or you will have a problem when you stop. Just get two long ropes with clips (so the knots don't get so tight after towing) and set them at different lengths. We often tow two Sea Doos and my X-Star. All on their own ropes and at different lengths. Never a problem.

Is it possible to rent wake boats anywhere at Shasta? I've always wanted to do a vacation out there but to bring a boat out there from the east coast could be a bit tedious (not to mention I don't have a boat to bring out there... ). Sorry for the randomness...

whoa... with bears in the area is it safe to camp?

Wow, its like a flash back from the "Great Outdoors" but instead of the bear running up the stairs he'd be climbing the ladder! That's crazy!

Does anyone know why HB's don't use anchors? Just wondering why people don't anchor off the shore to prevent bears, getting stuck, etc. Wouldn't it be nice to just float in a cove and not be up on the shore?

Robb:

A couple of things about two boats.

1. Try to find a cove that is not wide open to the larger body of water. While it's pretty easy to dock one boat where it's not affected by rollers, it's not easy to protect both unless you sink an anchor and park off the houseboat... and that's a pain. Have two bumpers per boat, one in the front one in the back.

2. We towed both boats in sequence. We tied one to the houseboat on a tube line (55 ft) to the bow eye, and the other on a tube line from the rear tie down eyelet to the bow eye on the second boat. We would tie them up once we had left the cove in the open water, then untie them before entering our new location. Make sure you get the rudder straight so the boat will track, or you'll drag it all over the place.

One thing you learn real quick is that the houseboat moves real slow and you can blow half a day moving from one place to another. We used one of the boats is kind of a scout boat that looks for a good cove and use the radio to communicate the cove location back to the house boat. once you find that sweet spot, you need to hang out there or another HB will come along and take it. It's actually kind of crowded in the good spots. The good spots are hard to find somtimes.

Bess,

We always camp at Shasta. We have never come across a bear. When we were there last year we had heard of one that got into a car and later got hit by the train that runs right next to the campground. They are around. Also, about renting a boat. I know that there are several marina's that do rent them. Just not sure about the rates and details.

Stefani, you will have a great time! Lets for sure try to meet up.

We've rented a boat up there and it was about 1400 bucks for a week... ski nautique with a tower. Not the best deal in the world but what are you gonna do. I'm headed to shasta in 4 days so needless to say i'm pretty excited.

Dude the deer are so friendly at shasta! They would always come eat off the end of our houseboat. My grilfriend said their family had a bear come down to their houseboat one night, but I don't know. When I was there for camp I heard some weird things at night, but who knows.

Lake Shasta is awsome! I can't wait for my houseboat trip this summer.

Anyone else going this weekend?? We will be there Friday through Monday. Can't wait!!!

Stefani - We will be at Shasta from 6/28 - 7/2. We will launch our Houseboat from Sugarloaf. We hope to see you out there.

Bears on the Lake aren't generally an issue, they are an annoyance that can be handled if you store your food and trash properly.

Bess - here is a link to Shasta info including wake boats and houseboats. You wouldn't be disappointed with Shasta, the water is awesome, and there is plenty of it this year! http://www.shastalake.com/

Saw a bear swimming near the gap at Packers Bay on Monday. Got to shore and went up into the brush. I have had a bear go onto a friends patio boat and get the trash can in the night before. Just make sure the gates on the houseboat are closed and...don't feed the bears.

Kara, We are going to be there Sunday (camping) and on the houseboat Monday out of holiday harbor for the entire next week!

Actiondcpd,
Where are you camping at?? We are staying at Shasta Lake RV Resort on the Sac arm. Looks like the weather will be great!

Kara, I saw on another post that you are from Oregon. Can you tell me how long it would take to get from Independence, OR to Bridge Bay? My sister in law lives there and we want to meet at Shasta sometime. Thanks!

Shasta here i come... leaving friday to monday

John,

Thanks for the info on dealing with the boats. I certainly don't want to find myself yelling at my teenage boy or wife because we crashed up the boats we're towing...I've seen it and I know it will be some work...Thanks again.

Well this sucks.. I'm going to miss most of you. We are going Monday - Friday, July 5-9!

Bears, Deer and Snakes, oh my!

Thanks for all the tips again. We will have three wakeboard boats to tie up as it turns out. What a shame. 3 boats, 12 people, 5 days of glass... This is going to be horrible!

Kimmy,

We are in Bend and it takes us about 5 1/2 hours total towing the boat to get to Shasta. We take a different route than you would take from Independence. I would say maybe 5-6 hours since you get to drive I-5 all the way down. My sister in law made it from Portland in about 6-7 hours.

Kimmy,

I'm from West Salem. Longest it took us was 9 hours that was with a group of 5 or 6 cars. Never again will I do that.

The shortest was 6:10 that was with one stop for gas and food. I filled up the truck while the wife got food.

I wouldn't worry to much about the wild animals. I'd just be aware that they are and about.

Try not to drink to much

Kara, we are rolling in that Monday. Sounds like you will be at the same resort so if you see us, stop and say hi. We will have three MC's, a blue X2, green xstar and yellow X10. We will be checking out our houseboat in the early afternoon.

If anyone else is still around, please stop and say hello:-)

SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA! SHASTA!

little excited!

"are we there yet"

hahahaaha - see u up there Aaron, Im bringing the beer bong so buckle up ;)

Lzy

the rides about to begin... i'll call you guys saturday

I'm jealous.

Have fun!

It all depends on what you are doing. If you are just wakeboard probably pit river however it sometimes get crouded and you get a bunch of after wakes. Plus you got to consider the fact that the water level keeps going down so some places are not good in certian areas and you risk chances of shallow water and trees coming up out of know where. Try the Mccloud Arm once you get passed all the traffic from silverthorn and bridge bay its nice. Or you can head near the dame it gets pretty nice on certian spots. But you can basically find alot of good riding spots where ever