Houseboating on Raystown Lake - Mountain Discoveries Magazine

30
mountain discoveries
Houseboating on Raystown Lake
Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn?
Not Quite!
Shane Riggs
Photography by: Lance C. Bell
Written by:
M
ark Twain
Twain never
never envisioned
envisioned this
this when
when he
he
ark
sent Tom
Tom and
and Huck
Huck adrift
adrift on
on aa raft.
raft.
sent
While the
the duo
duo of
of Sawyer
Sawyer and
and Finn
Finn had
had aa raft
raft of
of
While
logs lashed
lashed together
together and
and that
that suited
suited them
them just
just fifine,
ne,
logs
the houseboats
houseboats of
of today,
today, like
like the
the mighty
mighty Mississip
Mississip
the
itself, have
have come
come aa long
long way.
way.
itself,
Imagine renting
renting the
the best
best lakeside
lakeside or
or beachfront
beachfront
Imagine
cottage. Now
Now imagine
imagine pushing
pushing that
that building
building from
from
cottage.
the shore
shore onto
onto the
the surface
surface of
of an
an azure
azure lake
lake and
and setting
setting
the
sail, the
the scenery
scenery changing
changing in
in front
front of
of your
your very
very eyes
eyes
sail,
with each
each passing
passing day.
day. Now
Now picture
picture giggling
giggling children,
children,
with
water slides,
slides, diving
diving platforms,
platforms, soothing
soothing hot
hot tubs,
tubs,
water
hours spent
spent fifishing,
shing, sunning
sunning on
on aa private
private deck
deck
hours
with no
no disturbance
disturbance save
save for
for the
the sounds
sounds of
of singing
singing
with
native birds.
birds.
native
Now you
you have
have an
an idea
idea of
of what
what houseboating
houseboating
Now
on Raystown
Raystown Lake
Lake is
is all
all about.
about. Only
Only you
you just
just have
have
on
half
the
picture.
The
full
panaramic
snapshot
can
half the picture. The full panaramic snapshot can
only be
be obtained
obtained by
by actually
actually booking
booking aa vessel
vessel and
and
only
living it.
it. Seventy
Seventy miles
miles north
north of
of Cumberland,
Cumberland, MD,
MD,
living
Raystown Lake,
Lake, offers
offers aa full
full docket
docket and
and wealth
wealth of
of
Raystown
houseboats
at
the
ready
for
a
vacation
at
nature’s
houseboats at the ready for a vacation at nature’s
pace. Only
Only with
with perks.
perks.
pace.
Houseboating at
at Raystown
Raystown Lake
Lake provides
provides the
the
Houseboating
nature lover
lover —
— be
be itit water
water or
or mountains
mountains —
— with
with
nature
scenery unparalleled
unparalleled to
to that
that of
of any
any other
other type
type of
of
scenery
getaway
spot.
From
one
of
three
private
decks
on
getaway spot. From one of three private decks on
board, boat
boat tenants
tenants can
can see
see wild
wild turkeys,
turkeys, deer,
deer, bear,
bear,
board,
turtles, squirrels,
squirrels, raccoons,
raccoons, beaver,
beaver, ducks,
ducks, ravens
ravens and
and
turtles,
even two
two known
known nesting
nesting families
families of
of bald
bald eagles.
eagles. Family
Family
even
outings on
on the
the water
water allow
allow children
children and
and children
children
outings
at heart
heart aa chance
chance to
to slide
slide or
or dive
dive from
from the
the back
back of
of
at
the boat.
boat. Quiet
Quiet evenings
evenings can
can be
be spent
spent anchored
anchored in
in aa
the
private cove,
cove, allowing
allowing the
the natural
natural rock
rock of
of the
the water
water
private
to lull
lull you
you into
into aa peaceful
peaceful slumber.
slumber.
to
The menu
menu of
of activities
activities is
is endless.
endless. You
You can
can do
do itit
The
all
or
nothing.
From
physical
activities
such
as
hot
all or nothing. From physical activities such as hot
mountain discoveries
31
Houseboats of various sizes and styles (below) line the docks
while others seek solitude anywhere along Raystown Lake’s 118
miles of shoreline. Above: A family outing—houseboat style.
dogging from
from the
the back
back of
of aa boat
boat to
to just
just relaxing
relaxing
dogging
near an
an island
island in
in the
the middle
middle of
of the
the water
water with
with aa
near
book
and
waving
to
neighbors
as
they
sail
by.
book and waving to neighbors as they sail by.
For the
the angler,
angler, this
this is
is aa paradise.
paradise. Fishermen
Fishermen can
can
For
cast lines
lines and
and pull
pull up
up muskies,
muskies, small
small and
and large
large
cast
mouth bass,
bass, stripers,
stripers, carp,
carp, perch,
perch, lake
lake trout,
trout, brown
brown
mouth
trout, Atlantic
Atlantic salmon
salmon and
and crappies.
crappies.
trout,
Anchored, travelers
travelers can
can trade
trade their
their sea
sea legs
legs for
for
Anchored,
land and
and hike
hike or
or bike
bike one
one or
or all
all five
five dedicated
dedicated trails
trails
land
in the
the awaiting
awaiting 21,000
21,000 acres
acres of
of lush
lush uninterrupted
uninterrupted
in
forests. In
In 2004,
2004, 10
10 additional
additional miles
miles of
of trail
trail will
will be
be
forests.
added with
with plans
plans for
for an
an additional
additional 25
25 miles
miles in
in 2006.
2006.
added
Raystown Lake
Lake is
is home
home to
to two
two separate
separate places
places
Raystown
to
rent
houseboats
for
three,
four
nights
or
a
week.
to rent houseboats for three, four nights or a week.
One of
of them
them is
is Seven
Seven Points
Points Marina,
Marina, the
the largest
largest
One
marina
of
its
kind
in
the
entire
keystone
state,
with
marina of its kind in the entire keystone state, with
fleet of
of 16
16 houseboats
houseboats that
that rent
rent from
from $1000
$1000 to
to
aa fleet
$2300
per
rental
period.
$2300 per rental period.
Renters can
can choose
choose from
from units
units that
that sleep
sleep up
up to
to
Renters
eight, have
have four
four separate
separate bedrooms,
bedrooms, ceiling
ceiling fans,
fans,
eight,
plenty of
of storage,
storage, hot
hot showers,
showers, full
full ovens,
ovens, microwaves,
microwaves,
plenty
and cedar
cedar lined
lined closets.
closets. For
For the
the truly
truly adventurous,
adventurous,
and
the boats
boats offer
offer aa chance
chance to
to slide
slide into
into the
the water
water
the
from
a
large
upper
deck
into
pristine
waters
on aa
from a large upper deck into pristine waters on
lake with
with 118
118 miles
miles of
of shoreline.
shoreline. Some
Some boats
boats are
are
lake
even equipped
equipped with
with hot
hot tubs,
tubs, providing
providing the
the rare
rare
even
sensation
of
being
surrounded
by
a
surge
of
soothing
sensation of being surrounded by a surge of soothing
bubbles while
while sitting
sitting under
under the
the stars,
stars, all
all the
the while
while
bubbles
floating on
on aa manmade
manmade lake.
lake. The
The houseboats
houseboats range
range
floating
40 to
to 58
58 feet
feet in
in length.
length. All
All boats
boats are
are air
air conditioned
conditioned
40
and all
all have
have generators.
generators.
and
And there
there is
is Lake
Lake Raystown
Raystown Resort,
Resort, which
which rents
rents
And
three house
house boats
boats but
but extends
extends its
its season
season well
well into
into
three
the fall,
fall, affording
affording aa late
late vacationer
vacationer aa chance
chance to
to
the
catch
the
changing
foliage
in
the
mountains
that
catch the changing foliage in the mountains that
surrounds the
the water.
water.
surrounds
32
mountain discoveries
The Raystown Visitor Center is a good place
to begin your visit to Raystown Lake. The
Center features a well designed, educational
museum, conference auditorium, gift shop
featuring local artisans, an amphitheater
and rest facilities. You pass the Center on the
main road to the marina and other facilities.
For more information on the Raystown Lake
Region, contact the visitors bureau at
1-888-RAYSTOWN or www.raystown.org
The perfect family outing.
Lake Raystown Resort has
been known to book their vessels a
year ahead of time. Seven Points
begins taking reservations in
December for the following year.
Make reservations early is the
rule of thumb when planning a
houseboat vacation. The Resort
boats can sleep up to 10 and have
two heads on board in addition
to the standard features. Boat
owners interested in enjoying this
experience often bring their own
canoe, kayak, fishing, skiing or
pontoon boat to use as a shuttle
and to increase the options for
water based fun.
People have also been known
to purchase these vessels. There
is one privately owned boat in
the marina that stretches 80 feet
long. Still another that has its own
interior elevator. Jim’s Anchorage,
located nearby, sells them but
employees here will readily admit
that most people enjoy renting
them for the thrill of captaining
their own ship for five blissful days.
Intriqued? There’s absolutely
no reason to be intimidated. The
moment a customer arrives at
the marina, he is greeted by a
friendly staff and given a temporary safe boating certificate, as
required by the Fish and Game
Commission, and then a mechanic
comes on board for a mini-lesson
in vessel operations. All boats
also have ship to shore radio with
help available 24 hours a day.
And the Coast Guard Auxiliary is
close by and on call. Life vests are
supplied for all on board.
mountain discoveries
33
Houseboating offers something for everyone,
from hot tubs and slides, to fishing and
swimming. Stay at the dock, drift with the
breeze, or tie up on an island or along quiet
banks.
Right: Ben Filson and Jennie Mull enjoy
soaking in a hot tub on one of the vacation
rental houseboats. Beautiful scenery and
the quiet calm of Raystown Lake add to the
enjoyment.
T.J. Schrack enjoys fishing
from his Grandfather’s
houseboat.
Resting like a blue sapphire
in the emerald mountains of South
Central Pennsylvania, Raystown
Lake is the only fresh water
impoundment between Pittsburgh
and Philadelphia. And every serene
inch of it is open to exploration
by houseboat. At Raystown Lake,
American and natural history have
formed a more perfect union.
While the lake is relatively new
as far as bodies of water are concerned, its appeal and what can be
witnessed by renting a houseboat
is incomparable and the
potential for personal
adventure limitless.
Private coves wait to be
explored, fish wait to be
caught, breathtaking
sunsets on a horizon
where water meet sky
wait to be witnessed.
And who knows?
You just might see ol’ Tom
and Huck driftin’ by one
beautiful sunset evening.
These photos show the various sizes of houseboats
available. There are also different hull designs—some
are pontoon types while others are more like a very
wide boat hull—both are very reliable and stable.
NOTE: For information on houseboat
sales or vacation rentals, see page 59.