Any maps or way to tell boat traffic around the lake?

[RyanDe]

Good points. So I should look for protected places. With that in mind what areas on the islands should we be looking at and what areas should we stay away from?

[Pricestavern]

In general, the wind comes from the Northwest the hardest. Not all the time, mind you; there have been a number of good blows coming up from the South and East but if you can be sheltered from the Northwest you'll be better off more often than not.

Study a map of the lake. Coves over the most protection. There is a trade-off in your view with a cove, of course; tough to get long panoramic views.

[Dave R]

Look at a chart and make note of choke points between ports (marinas and public docks). Traffic will be heaviest on a straight line between these choke points. A classic example is the triangular section of lake between Governor's, Stonedam, Bear, Mark, and Timber Islands, and Meredith Neck. That spot sits between most of the popular ports and marinas and is loaded with choke points. At it's worst, it's not really that bad though, compared to other places I have been been.

That said, in many cases, the coves and such that are off the beaten path and protected will also have lots of wake action because people seek out calm water for water sports (and then make giant wakes in them...).

Your best bet is to simply have a plan for waves, either man-made or from wind and not worry about it. There are tons of products on the market to protect a docked boat from waves. A mooring is also a great way to make waves irrelevant to a boat.

[tis]

Ryan, the Barber's Pole side of Cow Island is going to be a lot calmer than the other side. The broadside of Rattlesnake is going to be a lot rougher than the west side. Between Treasure and Sleeper's is going to be calmer. If you can get in a smaller area without the wide expanse of water, it is going to be calmer. I agree with Pricestavern that the Northwest wind is the most common.

[CaptT820]

I would take your boat out on the lake on different days of the week and in the peak season versus off season as it makes a huge difference, especially when you are spending a lot of your hard earned money. My wife and I spent 5 years looking at property before we bought on the south side of Sleepers Island last year. For us the biggest factor was southerly exposure due to a number of different reasons. The advantages for southern exposure include:
No need for a breakwater (these can run $25-30K or more)
The ice melts out the fastest in the spring with less chance for damage
Even on cooler spring/fall days the sun is there to keep you warm

We are directly across from the West Alton Sand Bar, so we visited on a very busy summer day before buying to see if it was going to be a circus. The area was busy, but you literally could not hear anyone talking or much boat noise to speak of. I would definitely go out to all areas of the lake to really see what areas that you and your family like best, and like others have said, you'll know when you find it.

[RyanDe]

Originally Posted by CaptT820

I would take your boat out on the lake on different days of the week and in the peak season versus off season as it makes a huge difference, especially when you are spending a lot of your hard earned money. My wife and I spent 5 years looking at property before we bought on the south side of Sleepers Island last year. For us the biggest factor was southerly exposure due to a number of different reasons. The advantages for southern exposure include:
No need for a breakwater (these can run $25-30K or more)
The ice melts out the fastest in the spring with less chance for damage
Even on cooler spring/fall days the sun is there to keep you warm

We are directly across from the West Alton Sand Bar, so we visited on a very busy summer day before buying to see if it was going to be a circus. The area was busy, but you literally could not hear anyone talking or much boat noise to speak of. I would definitely go out to all areas of the lake to really see what areas that you and your family like best, and like others have said, you'll know when you find it.

Yeah, we love that area and sleeper in general. We like rattlesnake but it seems very steep and rocky, the west side seemed to be pretty calm. We're going again Friday to cruise around and it's supposed to be pretty windy (10-14) so that should give us a good idea of what the islands look like. Also, being the Friday of labor day hopefully we can see what a busy lake looks like too.

[beagle]

If you are looking into a cove property. We considered property in Johnsons cove years ago. Of course we asked the selling realtor, her reply was oh they are applying for no rafting zone... So glad we didn't get that, it's packed with boats all the time. And just because an area is designated nrz doesn't mean you won't have lot of individual boats anchored out in front. Just ask here and someone can tell you how it is.

[RyanDe]

Are there signs I should look for too while we're out on the lake? Like whips and lifts probably means that this area gets pretty choppy. Same with breakwaters, what are the others?

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by RyanDe

Are there signs I should look for too while we're out on the lake? Like whips and lifts probably means that this area gets pretty choppy. Same with breakwaters, what are the others?

Lifts I think are primarily used for those that don't want their boats sitting in the water. Whips don't necessarily mean the water is rough either, those are nice to have no matter where you are as it prevents the boat from dock contact. Sure both are also solutions for areas where it's choppy as well but that may not be the reasoning behind their use per say.