Boating on Ohio’s Great Inland Lakes
Having been in the boat business in Ohio for over 50 years, we’ve seen recreational boating and fishing explode in popularity in Ohio. What once was a niche hobby has now become a way of life for many people, and a focal point for summer plans and family memories.
There are an abundance of diverse lakes in north-central Ohio, each with their own character and style. From the relaxed atmosphere of Charles Mill Lake, Clearfork Lake and Hoover Reservoir, to the high-octane thrills of Pleasant Hill Lake, Apple Valley Lake and Alum Creek Lake, there’s no shortage of opportunities to enjoy life on the water in North-Central Ohio.
Below are the lakes that we most often deliver boats to, along with some information about each lake.
Charles Mill Lake
Charles Mill Lake is located 4 miles east of Mansfield, Ohio, conveniently located at the intersection of State Routes 71 and 30.
Charles Mill Lake is a quiet place to relax and enjoy nature, with 1,250 acres of lake and 34 miles of shoreline to explore by pontoon, fishing boat, stand-up paddleboard, kayak, or houseboat. The lake is a fisherman's paradise, with a variety of fish, including bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, saugeye, and hybrid striped bass.
Charles Mill Marina has over 325 docking slips available for pontoons and houseboats, offers great boat rentals, and our in-house parts and service department is staffed with factory-certified technicians. We provide pontoon parts and accessories, fuel, live bait, fishing tackle, ice, snacks, drinks, clothing and gifts.
Charles Mill Lake Park offers seasonal and daily camping, cabins, a swimming pool, sandy beach and two launch ramps.
What is the horsepower limit on Charles Mill Lake?
Charles Mill Lake has a 10 HP limit, which provides a laid-back, relaxed and family-friendly environment.
Boats with larger horsepower motors are allowed on the lake if otherwise powered by an electric trolling motor. It is recommended to raise larger engines out of the water to avoid low lying areas.
How deep is Charles Mill Lake?
Charles Mill Lake has a maximum depth of 24 feet, although the majority of the lake is 6 feet or less.
What’s the best kind of boat for Charles Mill Lake?
As a 10 HP limited lake, Charles Mill Lake is a great lake for pontoon boats. Pontoons of all sizes, from mini 16’ pontoons, all the way up to 40’ pontoon houseboats, are common on Charles Mill Lake. Kayaking and stand-up paddle-boarding have become increasingly popular in recent years, as the lake’s calm waters and low-wake make for peaceful paddling.
Pleasant Hill Lake
Pleasant Hill Lake is located in the heart of Mohican country, just outside of Perrysville, Ohio. Pleasant Hill Lake encompasses 850 acres and is very popular for water-skiing, jet skiing, as well as fishing for saugeye, crappie, muskie, pike, and bass.
Pleasant Hill Marina is open seasonally from April to October and offers boat rentals, service, fuel, docking, live bait, fishing tackle, ice, snacks, cold drinks, marine accessories and clothing sales.
Pleasant Hill Lake Park offers recreational activities such as camping, log cabins, hiking, hunting, picnicking and horseback riding, along with a number of special events throughout the summer.
What is the horsepower limit on Pleasant Hill Lake?
Pleasant Hill Lake is an unlimited horsepower lake and does not have a speed limit. There is a large no-wake zone on the west end of the lake, which also happens to be the shallower part of the lake.
How deep is Pleasant Hill Lake?
The maximum depth of Pleasant Hill Lake is 35 feet. The western part of the lake averages 10 feet in depth, while the middle of the lake is about 20 feet deep.
What’s the best kind of boat for Pleasant Hill Lake?
With unlimited horsepower, Pleasant Hill Lake is renowned by water-sports enthusiasts for wake skating, water-skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, and kneeboarding. As such, we recommend anyone interested in these activities to buy a boat with features like ski tow bars, under-deck aluminum skin for pontoons, and larger horsepower motors.
Pleasant Hill Lake is very popular during the summer and wake from other boats can make for a bumpy ride. Consider the additional stability and buoyancy of a tritoon to help reduce the up-and-down.
Pymatuning Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Pymatuning Lake?
Pymatuning has a 20 horsepower limit.
How deep is Pymatuning Lake?
Pymatuning Lake has a maximum depth of 35 feet, with an average depth of 15 feet. The lake depth varies based on location, with the southern end of the lake generally being the deepest, and getting gradually shallower on the north end of the lake.
What’s the best kind of boat for Pymatuning Lake?
Renowned for it’s fishing, Pymatuning is home to mostly pontoons and aluminum fishing boats with lower horsepower motors. While 20 HP motors are the highest allowed on the lake, it is not uncommon to see 10 HP motors.
Fishing layouts and amenities are a must on Pymatuning Lake, so consider features on pontoon boats like livewells, rod lockers, fishing seats, fish finders and washdown stations to keep your boat clean.
Buckeye Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Buckeye Lake?
Buckeye Lake offers unlimited horsepower, and is a popular destination for pontoons, tritoons, and deck boats.
How deep is Buckeye Lake?
Buckeye Lake is on the shallower side of Ohio lakes, and has a maximum depth of about 14 feet with an average depth of just 6 feet.
What’s the best kind of boat for Buckeye Lake?
Buckeye Lake is a very popular lake for recreational boats, with the most common types of boats being tritoons and pontoons with higher horsepower engines, along with performance deck boats and V-Hull fiberglass boats.
We recommend pontoons, tritoons, and deck boats on Indian Lake because of the shallow draft that these types of boats have (meaning they sit high in the water). The shallowness of the lake means that you will want to be cautious with your motor as well, and outboard motors are recommended here because of the ability to completely lift them out of the water.
Alum Creek Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Alum Creek Lake?
Alum Creek Lake offers unlimited horsepower and is a popular destination for water-sports lovers, jet-skis, sailboats and pleasure cruising.
How deep is Alum Creek Lake?
Alum Creek has a maximum depth of about 60 feet, however the majority of the lake ranges in depth from 20 to 40 feet.
What’s the best kind of boat for Alum Creek Lake?
Alum Creek appeals to many different types of boaters, from high-powered fiberglass boats and performance tritoons, to slower, cruising style pontoons. If you plan on using your boat at Alum Creek during the busiest times of the season, make sure to have a boat that can withstand some wave action and be stable in the water.
For deck boats, we recommend no smaller than a 19’ length boat on Alum Creek, with at least a 150 HP engine. For pontoons, make sure that your tubes are at least 25” to increase buoyancy and stability, and consider a tritoon and the added floatation of the third tube to really make sure that you and your guests are comfortable on the water.
Indian Lake
This 5,100 acre lake in Lakeview, Ohio offers four launch ramps and recreational opportunities around the lake. Skiing and tubing are popular on Indian Lake, as well as fishing for bluegill and crappie.
What is the horsepower limit on Indian Lake?
There is no horsepower limit or speed limit on Indian Lake.
How deep is Indian Lake?
Indian Lake averages 10 feet in depth and has a maximum depth of 25 feet.
What’s the best kind of boat for Indian Lake?
Indian Lake can be very busy during peak times during the summer, so we recommend larger pontoons or tritoons with larger horsepower (90 HP minimum for pontoons, 150 HP minimum for tritoons). Skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing are popular here also so consider ski tow bars and performance features like lifting strakes and aluminum under-deck skin.
Mosquito Lake
Mosquito Lake, located in Cortland, Ohio, is one of the most popular inland lakes in Ohio for boating and the second-largest inland lake located entirely in Ohio. This 7,850-acre reservoir is nearly 11 miles long and more than a mile wide.
Sailboats, runabouts, bow riders, cruisers, pontoons, bass and other fishing boats are common here throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Mosquito Lake Marina & Boat Rental is conveniently located in the marina area and offers boat rentals, gas, bait, tackle, marine accessories, food, beverages, clothing and sundry items.
How deep is Mosquito Lake?
Mosquito Lake averages 11 feet in depth, with a maximum depth of nearly 44 feet. Lake depths can vary greatly depending on location.
What is the horsepower limit on Mosquito Lake?
The lake offers unlimited horsepower but does have some limited speed zones, including a 15 MPH speed limit for the lake area north of the St. Rte. 88 causeway. Additional speed and no-wake zones are prominently noted by navigational markers and signs.
What’s the best kind of boat for Mosquito Lake?
Mosquito Lake appeals to all kinds of boaters, but many people come to Mosquito Lake for the outstanding fishing. With that in mind, prospective boaters would benefit from fishing layouts on pontoons and tritoons, including features like livewells, rod lockers, built-in fish finders.
As a large, unlimited horsepower lake, we do recommend a larger engine to be able to fully navigate Mosquito Lake. For pontoons, we recommend no smaller than a 50 HP motor and for a tritoon no smaller than a 150 HP outboard.
Apple Valley Lake
Apple Valley Lake, located in Howard, Ohio is 511 acres and offers tubing, skiing, fishing and more. Boating is restricted to property owners and their registered guests.
What is the horsepower limit on Apple Valley Lake?
Apple Valley Lake has no horsepower limit for boats with inboard motors and a 300-horsepower limit for boats with outboard motors.
How deep is Apple Valley Lake?
Apple Valley Lake averages 30 feet in depth.
What’s the best kind of boat for Apple Valley Lake?
Apple Valley Lake can become very busy during peak times, so it’s important to have a boat that can withstand some wave action. We would recommend pontoons at least 22’ in length with larger 25” tubes to have more buoyancy. Tritoons take this a step further and provide even more stability in the water by adding a third tube.
Make sure to properly power your boat for Apple Valley Lake, we recommend no smaller than a 50 HP engine for pontoons, and no less than 150 HP (and ideally 200 HP and above) for tritoons.
Candlewood Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Candlewood Lake?
Pontoon boats on Candlewood Lake can have no larger than a 40 HP engine, while there is no restriction on fiberglass and aluminum boats. All fiberglass and aluminum boats (also called power boats) can be no larger than 21 feet.
How deep is Candlewood Lake?
Candlewood Lake has an average depth of 30 feet.
What’s the best kind of boat for Candlewood Lake?
Pontoons and deck boats are the most popular boats on Candlewood Lake. Pontoons are limited to no larger than 40 HP, so we don’t recommend features like ski tow bars, or tritoons.
Deck boats are a popular choice for Candlewood Lake due to the higher horsepower allowance. 17’ and 19’ deck boats with 115 HP and 150 HP outboards are very popular.
Holiday Lakes
What is the horsepower limit on Holiday Lakes?
While there is no horsepower limit on Holiday Lakes, there is a strict 40 mph speed limit along with restrictions on jet skis and certain power boats.
How deep is the main lake at Holiday Lakes?
The maximum depth of Holiday Lakes is 34 feet, with an average depth of 14 feet.
What’s the best kind of boat for Holiday Lakes?
There are no size restrictions on pontoon boats on Holiday Lakes, while fiberglass boats cannot exceed 19 feet in length, which includes deck boats.
Pontoons and tritoons are very popular options and watersports features like ski tow bars, lifting strakes for pontoons, higher horsepower motors and aluminum under-deck skin are popular.
Delaware Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Delaware Lake?
Delaware Lake has no horsepower or speed limit.
How deep is Delaware Lake?
Delaware Lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet, which is right at the dam on the southern tip of the lake. The lake ranges from 18 feet in the southern half of the lake, to areas as shallow as 3 feet in the northern end.
What’s the best kind of boat for Delaware Lake?
Delaware Lake is known equally for water sports and for fishing, so many owners opt for pontoon boats that have features to do both activities. Ski tow bars and performance tritoons are common, as are fishing features like livewells, rod lockers and fishing seats.
At 1,215 acres, Delaware Lake is on the lower end of size for lakes in the area. Don’t let that fool you though, the lake is narrow and spreads out over several miles. Boat owners would be smart to consider larger horsepower motors to help navigate from one end to the other more quickly.
Clearfork Lake
What is the horsepower limit on Clearfork Lake?
There is no horsepower on Clearfork Lake, however, there is a strict no wake policy for the entire lake.
How deep is Clearfork Lake?
Clearfork Lake has an average depth of 10 feet, but can get as deep at 40 feet in spots, especially on the lake’s east side.
What’s the best kind of boat for Clearfork Lake?
Given the no-wake policy, most boaters on Clearfork Lake opt for pontoon boats with smaller motors, such as 10 HP. Fishing on Clearfork Lake is outstanding, and boaters take advantage of this by buying boats with fishing amenities like livewells, fish finders, and rod lockers.
It’s not unusual to see sailboats, bass boats and aluminum fishing boats on Clearfork Lake, and is popular with paddlers due to it’s calm waters.
Hoover Reservoir
What is the horsepower limit on Hoover Reservoir?
Hoover Reservoir has a 10 HP limit, giving it a peaceful setting for cruising, fishing and paddling.
How deep is Hoover Reservoir?
Hoover Reservoir has a maximum depth of 60 feet, while most of the lake is 20 to 30 feet in depth.
What’s the best kind of boat for Hoover Reservoir?
At 4,700 acres and 45 miles of shoreline, Hoover Reservoir is a large lake for inland Ohio, and the 10 HP limit only makes it feel larger as the time to navigate the lake is extensive. Pontoon boats are the most popular boat on the lake, ranging from 16’ to 28’. Given the smaller horsepower, we recommend that boaters opt for Yamaha’s high-thrust 9.9 engine, specially designed with a larger prop to provide better control of the boat.
Paddlers are also drawn to Hoover’s tranquil waters, as many local crew teams use the large open space and smooth waters for practice.