Lake Norman info?

[Fly'n Family]

Hey Guys,

I've accepted a job flying out of NY, it's commutable - and my family and I are seriously looking to relocate from Colorado to the north side of Charlotte.

We're flying out tomorrow morning to spend 4 days, look at some homes with a RE Agent - and of course, we'll be checking out Lake Norman.

We have a 370 Sundancer we would be relocating with, so I'm just looking for some general information - primarily right now on Marina's. It seems we're gravitating towards Mooresville and west up to the lake itself - so what would be a good marina with a covered slip I should be looking at?

Appreciate any input, thank you.

 

[JimT]

Good luck with your move. We are at Peninsula Yacht Club in Cornelius. No covered slips at PYC or anywhere on the south end of the lake. Covered slips are mostly up in the Mooresville area. Cliff and Bill will chime in with the particulars. Keep in mind the lake is much wider on the south end. More room to run a 370.

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

Have you considered west and south of CLT around the Lake Wylie area also? Even just south into South Carolina. Still accessible to Charlotte and IMO, less traffic than to and from the Mooresville area. Up that way, Id consider the Denver side on the west side of the lake.

Covered slips on Wylie..........Pair 49 right at the Buster Boyd bridge. Power, water and 24/7 access.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

We're not overly knowledgeable of the Charlotte area. Research, and I've flown in there a couple of times is about it. These next 4 days we hope to narrow down an area or two so we can concentrate on a more limited area moving forward.

Our number 1 priority is be located in an area with the best public schools available for the kids. The north/northwest area seemed to have highly rated schools. We'll take a look south to see what it looks like in that direction.

I know little about Norman, other than its sizeable - and even less about Wylie. Is Wylie suitable for a 370 to continuously enjoy? What is the water cleanliness, and clarity like at both Norman and Wylie? Bought my son a Whaler from Lake of the Ozarks - and was shocked how filthy and infested that lake was.

Thank you for the responses. This is a major move for us - and the more info I can get the better.

 

[JimT]

LKN is much bigger and the water is a lot cleaner/clearer than LKW. Much more to do on LKN as far as boat up restaurants/bars. The traffic sucks everywhere as far as I am concerned but I-77 from Charlotte to Mooresville is some of the worst in the country. There is hope that the toll lanes under construction will help when completed but I am not convinced. You need to take a couple of days to explore but make sure to do some of that during the week so you can assess the time required to get from wherever you will live to where you will work.

 

[BillK2632]

Regarding marinas on the west/north side of LKN:

BoatRack - Nice marina, they are also a Chaparral dealer. Covered slips and dry storage. Cliff keeps his boat there.

Lake Norman Marina - This is where I am. They are a Cobalt dealer, have covered wet slips and dry storage. Probably would not work for you, you have to go under a low RR bridge to get there. But for smaller boats especially dry storage I really like it.

Midway - South side of the big HWY 150 Bridge. It's older, covered slips and a good restaurant (The Boat House).

River City - North side of the big HWY 150 Bridge. Covered slips and dry storage, also two restaurants there.

Peninsula Yacht Club - Have to mention this, Jim keeps his boat there, I used to keep my 290 there. Probably the nicest on LKN, it's a private club/marina with all the amenities and activities you would expect. But it is not covered.

I personally like the north west side of the lake, I live in south Charlotte and traffic wise it is just easier for me to get there. I-77 has become really bad traffic wise. Also, the north/west part of the like is a little quieter and better suited for small / dayboats like mine. Plus I go right by Cliff's marina and he always has cold beer!

Google Lake Norman Marinas, there are more than you think on the lake. Covered slips are getting fewer and fewer, no new construction of covered slips is allowed.

We really need to get a LKN raft up or something going...

 

[Fly'n Family]

I sure appreciate all of the replies.

Looked up Wylie...looks like a nice lake, but we'll put our boat on Norman. We've been on a smallish lake here in Colorado for years, and something like Norman is exciting to be able to get out and stretch her legs, explore, and it looks like it has a lot of coves and numerous amenities on the water itself.

Not real particular where we live. My job will be flying out of NY - so my commute will always be from where we live to the CLT airport once a month. I was thinking the northern area so we would be closer to the lake, and hopefully it's away from the downtown city aspect. We're also going to check out the west side of the lake now as well too.

Appreciate any more thoughts and opinions. We're heading to the DEN airport shortly, and will be in Charlotte this evening. :smt001

Thanks guys

 

[CliffA]

like Jim said the south end of the lake is wider but it also has a lot more boat traffic.....there is plenty of room in the northwest side of the lake for a 370.....plus then you would have the option to go down south to the 'big water' or not....

my marina is 'The Boat Rack' on the northwest side.....it is a pretty nice marina with covered slips and dry storage and not overly expensive.....no real complaints....always has enough water to allow boats in and out even during severe drought conditions.....owner just installed new dock lights on all docks which helped a lot with visibility at night....the restrooms have just been renovated as well but no bathhouse.....has a small store and gas docks but no pump out station.....also has a full service and parts department......the wet slips usually stay full but there is movement each year with boats leaving usually around March when the slip rental fees come due....very close to a reasonably nice waterside restaurant called 'The Landing' but your 370 cannot dock there....they do have a small shuttle pontoon boat during the summer called the 'Tiki Boat' because it is covered with straw...you can anchor out in the cove just outside the restaurant and the Tiki Boat will shuttle you back and forth to the restaurant.....food is decent and not overly expensive.....very laid back atmosphere....you can also easily walk to the restaurant from the marina.....the restaurant will also deliver food to the marina well into the night if needed....there are several owners that boat all year (including us) so we spend a lot of WE's at the marina during the winter spending time with good dock friends.....if you choose this marina your 370 would likely need to be kept on 'D' dock which are the larger docks at the marina....if you dock bow first on 'D' dock you can sit in the cockpit of your boat an have a nice unobstructed view of the lake...we live about 1.25 hrs. south of the lake....we travel the west side of the lake on highway 16 to and from the marina....Hwy 16 has nowhere near the traffic as I-77 on the east side of the lake.....

you can forget about 'Lake Norman Marina'....it is a nice marina but your 370 will not go under the railroad trestle...

'Midway Marina' is an older marina.....the property in general needs some attention...the covers over the wet slips are in poor condition and I hear the management is not going to fix them anytime soon....there is a nice restaurant at Midway called 'The Boat House Grill'.....great breakfast.....there may be a couple of slips wide enough for your 370 to dock at for the restaurant but not sure....I think they do have a pump out station....

'River City' looks to be in decent condition but I personally don't like the location.....it is located on the northern end of the lake where it narrows down and all boats must go by it to go north on the lake....there are 3 waterfront restaurants right next to the marina which are very popular.....this location means there is almost always lots of wake waves coming from boats and the boats in the covered slips rock all the time and sometimes pretty violently from what I have seen...I don't think there is a pump out station here....

as Jim said there are more nice marinas on the lower lake but none of them have covered slips.....but some do have pump out stations....and there are more waterside restaurants on the lower lake but you may find accessing them on a 370 may be difficult.....

let us know if you need more info or maybe a cruise around the lake to check things out.....if you could hire a helicopter to fly you around the lake that would be the best way to see it and the surrounding communities......Google Maps or Google Earth are also very helpful to get a general idea of the lake and surroundings.....

cliff

 

[Fly'n Family]

Fantastic, informative write-up Cliff...many thanks.

We survived I-77 (I think that's what it was) and the family is now about 20 miles north of Charlotte and a mile or two east of Norman.

Dark when we got out of the airport, but looking forward to seeing how things look tomorrow. Looking at some houses with the RE agent, and of course gonna see some part of the lake.

Will update tomorrow night, looking forward to seeing this area.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Anywhere on the east side of the lake where anyone would suggest to have lunch or dinner?

 

[JimT]

North Harbor Club in Davidson is on the water with great views and a nautical theme. Exit 30 off 77. Port City Club in Cornelius has excellent food and also on the water. Extit 28.

 

[sdarc]

^^^ +1.
Was my home away from home. Still go down. Great place.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Good grief...I have NEVER seen such absurd traffic in my life - everywhere.

Looked at some beautiful homes, love the look of the lake - but the traffic is causing some serious pause. I-77 was a nightmare, but even when you got off it - whether in Cornelius, Mooresville or where ever - unreal nightmare.

Beautiful area, amazingly affordable nice homes, and great people...but the traffic is worse than anywhere I've seen - including places overseas where they turn 2 lanes magically into 6.

Just stunned...

 

[Wylie_Tunes]

Good grief...I have NEVER seen such absurd traffic in my life - everywhere.

Looked at some beautiful homes, love the look of the lake - but the traffic is causing some serious pause. I-77 was a nightmare, but even when you got off it - whether in Cornelius, Mooresville or where ever - unreal nightmare.

Beautiful area, amazingly affordable nice homes, and great people...but the traffic is worse than anywhere I've seen - including places overseas where they turn 2 lanes magically into 6.

Just stunned...

Sorry but i gotta LOL. Between my wife and i we drive it every day. West side of the lake and access to 485 is MUCH better.as is traffic on the south side of Charlotte is a little better. Nice area, not knocking it, just the 77 traffic between exit 23 and 36 is horrible.

 

[mtnandy]

You should check out Smith Mountaon Lake Va. It is large, deep, clean and not wall to wall with boats. Lots of large boats so your 370 will be fine. Not much traffic to get to Ronoke to fly out of.

 

[BillK2632]

Yeah, I-77 from uptown through exit 36 is bad. Part of the reason I put my boat at Lake Norman Marina. The drive from south Charlotte up HWY 16 is much better. Like I mentioned earlier, we have always wanted to live at the lake, but my office is in Southpark Charlotte and and we live in that area, it's a 10min drive to work for me - that's worth more than having the boat out the back door right now. If you want to live in that area you have to consider the traffic, especially if you need to come into Charlotte regularly - personally I wouldn't do it, 2hrs a day in the car commuting to work is not for me. You probably experienced the worst traffic Charlotte has. It's even bad on Saturday and Sunday, we go to Winston-Salem regularly (daughter is there now - just graduated from Wake Forest) and traffic routinely backs up around the lake - I swear people slow down to look at the lake along the I-77 causeway.

You fly, there is an airstrip / fly in community on the lake, runway out the back door, lake out the front.

 

[JimT]

Yeah, I-77 from uptown through exit 36 is bad. Part of the reason I put my boat at Lake Norman Marina. The drive from south Charlotte up HWY 16 is much better. Like I mentioned earlier, we have always wanted to live at the lake, but my office is in Southpark Charlotte and and we live in that area, it's a 10min drive to work for me - that's worth more than having the boat out the back door right now. If you want to live in that area you have to consider the traffic, especially if you need to come into Charlotte regularly - personally I wouldn't do it, 2hrs a day in the car commuting to work is not for me. You probably experienced the worst traffic Charlotte has. It's even bad on Saturday and Sunday, we go to Winston-Salem regularly (daughter is there now - just graduated from Wake Forest) and traffic routinely backs up around the lake - I swear people slow down to look at the lake along the I-77 causeway.

You fly, there is an airstrip / fly in community on the lake, runway out the back door, lake out the front.

Your story sounds like mine. We looked at moving to the lake 10 years ago and decided even then that we didn't want to deal with the traffic commuting into Charlotte. We live in town. The wife works in South Park and I work uptown. On a bad day my commute is 15 minutes and the wife 10 minutes. A coworker of mine lives in Mooresville and he has anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the time of day and the inevitable fender benders. Every weekend when we are the the boat we comment on how beautiful the lake is and how much we would love to live there. Just can't do it.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Hey Jim, what's the annual cost to park a boat at PYC? PM if you like.

Thank you

 

[sdarc]

Ned to learn the back roads. Went down to North Harbor today and 77 getting stupid at exit 33. Hopped off and meandered my way there. Plus I got to show my skills to new lady friend.

And water is down.

 

[CliffA]

you may have already noticed this but there are 4 main roads that surround the lake....I77 goes north to south on the east side....Hwy 16 goes north to south on the west side.....Hwy 150 goes east to west on the north side...Hwy 73 goes east to west on the south side......all these roads connect to each other....understanding this goes a long way to avoid traffic issues especially once you learn some back roads in the area.....as was stated earlier traffic between exit 23 and 33 on I77 is normally heavy...but it is heavier than usual right now due to construction of a toll lane...traffic on Hwy 16 and Hwy 73 is rarely heavy.....traffic on Hwy 150 can be heavy from the intersection with I77 back to Mooresville, but from that intersection towards the lake the traffic lightens up some.....

the lake level is several feet low right now due to drought conditions in western North Carolina....the lake is part of the Catawba River Basin which originates in the mountains of western NC.....so now is an excellent chance to check out the water levels at whichever marina you choose....the water levels won't get much lower than they are now....

good luck and keep us informed of your plans...

cliff