Part 1 of Series..."What to Think About When Buying Lakeshore"

When buyers start looking for a lake cabin, or a lot to build one on, they don't always think through what might be most important to them. Sure they know if they like to fish, but a vacation getaway can also turn into a pretty strong attraction for friends and relatives, so make sure you think through how you will use the property before you buy. I will be adding new articles quite often to this ongoing series to help waterfront buyers make the right choices. This first article is on boating.

Part 1: BOATING
What kind of boating are you into...or do you want boats around at all? Generally, you won't find a lot of skiiers on lakes much smaller than 200 acres, but sometimes the real serious water-skiiers like the smaller lakes because they are calmer. I've seen skiiers - especially barefooters - out on 50 acre lakes at dawn every morning. That may end up taking away some of your solitude if you are more into peace and quiet, not to mention disrupting your sleep!

Sometimes the problem with a small lake is that there is no place to get away from the activity, although many of them have more tranquility than you will find on larger water bodies when the boats aren't out there. And overall, these little lakes get a very small amount of traffic...and almost none from non-residents.

If you don't want a lot of activity in front of your cabin, but you still want to be able to have lake big enough for boating when friends are around, you may find the best property for your needs in a back bay or channel. Normally those types of properties will be less expensive, but much of the time they will not have as good of shoreline or water quality because of less wave action. Also, make sure you have enough depth during low water years to get the type of boat you plan on using in and out of the dock easily. Here, you may want to look at lakes that start at about 400 acres, which will give you about a twenty minute ride around the lake for an evening pontoon cruise, and offer up a good variety of fishing holes.

When you start approaching the 1,000 acre range for lake sizes, you can almost always find a wide variety of shoreline types available. You also tend to start seeing larger boats with faster motors to get around the lake quicker and easier in rough waters. If you plan to do a lot of boating in and out of the dock, and if you see yourself using the dock or shoreline to water-ski from, then make sure you have at least four feet of water at the end of the dock. And it doesn't hurt to have a couple more feet for safety if there is going to be a lot of people using the property for swimming - and potentially diving from the dock.

Minnesota and Wisconsin have thousands of lakes in the 200-1000 acre range, so there are plenty of boating options no matter where you go, and there are still quite a few with 1,000-10,000 acres to give some great boating opportunities. But when it comes to the big boys, with 40,000 acres or more, you will be a bit more limited. These are the types of lakes you can make a day - or in some cases even a week - out of. You will find every variety of boat out here, from canoes to yachts to houseboats. Whether you enjoy resort-hopping, island camping, great fishing, or just long distance boating, you will be able to find plenty of recreational opportunities on the "big lakes." You can even cross into Canada and explore vast wilderness areas on some of these border lakes.

Here are a few of the larger lakes to choose from:
Rainy Lake - 220,000 acres
Mille Lacs Lake - 132,000 acres
Lake Winnebago - 137,000 acres
Lake Vermilion - 40,000 acres
Lake of the Woods - 305,000 acres
Leech Lake - 109,000 acres

This is not meant to be a complete list, and there are definitely other lake chains and rivers throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin that offer extreme boating. But if the ones above aren't big enough for you, it may be time to explore opportunities on Lake Superior or Lake Michigan. Now that's boating!