To the lake!

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

So after I post this I'm going to be packing my clothes, make a breakfast and start the 4 hour drive to THE LAKE. Every family, at least in Saskatchewan, has picked their one traditional holiday location. My family goes to Loon Lake and they're already there.

So as I pack my stuff and look forward to some swimming and card games I figured I might as well ask you guys about your experiences with camping out by lakes. Mine have always been pleasant and it is the best part of the summer in my opinion. Didn't get to go camping last year but this year I have money for gas.

[HEADING=2]Now then, the questions for discussion:[/HEADING]

What's your family's lake of choice?

What's your favorite memory of the lake?

What's the worst?

And, if your family isn't a lake/tenting/RV kind of family, how do you spend your vacations?

Well, I'm off to catch the last bit of summer here before the rains of autumn begin.

Cheers Escapist!

 

[Pandalisk]

I... have never been to a lake in all my life. There's always been this void in my life and i think this may have been it.

I've been to a sea lough before!! Does that count?!

 

[Doclector]

My family always went to the sea. Also, is "the lake" seriously that big a thing in america? I kinda thought that was a movie stereotype. Of course, a lot of stereotypes have basis in fact...

 

[tippy2k2]

It takes you four hours to get to a lake!?! Holy smokes...

I've never seen lakes as a big deal but that very well may be because of my location. I live in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. I could pick a direction and drive for fifteen minutes and hit (at least) one lake. I much prefer the pool to the lake.

Our family vacation spot generally changes each year since we have so many options. I suppose when we do go on vacation up north, it's generally about two hours away to the Mil Lacs lake area but I think that's more for "getting away" than the great lakes up there.

 

[Muspelheim]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8284/7694046562_77b5d269dd.jpg

A place called Mollsjön, a rather quiet spot about an hour or two from town. Rather popular, but not enough to have become a tourist trap.

The best memory ought to be early in the summer, when the young perches in the shallows would nibble your feet. They're practically tame.

The worst? Well, idiot teenagers have built up an unpleasant amount of old beer cans and glass shards on the bottom at certain places. You'll have to watch your step.

We didn't use to camp, though. We usually just stayed the day at the lake before driving back home in the evening. Me and a friend considered going camping an evening there once, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hron
It was rather recent memory, and our parents vetoed the suggestion, which was a bit of a shame.

In all, it's a very nice spot, not a very large lake, mind, but it's hidden away enough to feel a bit secluded but close enough to not be a logistic nightmare. Very good picnic destination. If you've got a permit, you can fish on certain times of the year, as well. And the forest around it is lousy with mushrooms in september.

 

[Goofguy]

It takes you four hours to get to a lake!?! Holy smokes...

There are actually plenty of lakes in Saskatchewan, I guess Redlin's family has been going to that specific one for a long time.

OT: My family doesn't do vacations anymore. I wish we had a lake we like to frequent but alas, no. All my vacationing these days is by my lonesome or with friends, and that usually consists of going to a city I've never been to and checking out the sites.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I... have never been to a lake in all my life. There's always been this void in my life and i think this may have been it.

I've been to a sea lough before!! Does that count?!

Same here althought I'm living near to the sea (coastal town) unless the OP state that it got to be non salty water?

 

[Neonbob]

My uncle has a lake house up in Maryland, and he invites the family up at least once a year. It's always fun, he's got a bunch of water toys out there for us all.
Between the jetskis, powerboat, and pontoon boat, there's plenty of stuff to do on the water, and the house is nice to just relax in.
My best trip up there was just this past summer, when I got to take my wife and daughter up there for the first time. It was awesome for them to meet the family.

The only downside is the trip up there. It's about 8-9 hours, and we got lost in West Virginia.
Both ways.
In the backwoods parts.
I thought I would be raped to death.

 

[Iyon]

We don't have any notable lakes where I live... only the sea. Which sucks because I'd take a lake over the sea any day.

My best lake memories come from Buffalo Pound Lake in Saskatchewan. From some rather psychotic tubing with my psychotic uncle, to drifting around in a boat with my cousins in the middle of the night.

Going to lakes is my absolute favourite way to spend a vacation.

 

[Erja_Perttu]

I live by a beach next to an estuary. On the one hand, that's cool, I never have to travel to be near water. On the other hand, it's got the second fastest tidal flow in the world, is full of silt and rubbish and therefore awful.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

My family always went to the sea. Also, is "the lake" seriously that big a thing in america? I kinda thought that was a movie stereotype. Of course, a lot of stereotypes have basis in fact...

It depends on where you are. I know that it is a really big thing in the northern parts of the US, and many areas of Canada. However (from my understanding), in the southern areas and near the coasts, it is much less of a big thing, probably because they have much fewer lakes. I couldn't tell you where all the lake places are in America, though.

On topic: My family has this little trailer home next to a lake in Minnesota. We go swimming, canoeing, and fishing. It is awesome.

 

[eimatshya]

My family hasn't really done anything together since I was little, but back then, we used to go camping every year at this place (about a four hour drive):

Spoiler: Patrick's Point, California

This was kind of a neat change from the part of California that I grew up in where it's hot and dry.

Spoiler: Chico, CA

 

[Jonluw]

I don't have a dedicated lake or other place where my family goes camping every year. That's weird. Why would you want to see the exact same bit of nature every time you go out? Isn't the entire point to admire nature and see something new?
My family normally spends vacations visiting relatives, hiking in the mountains (Visiting several lakes. Wacky, I know.), and going to foreign countries. Most often something southern so we can relax on the beach, but lately we've started going to places other than beach resorts and stuff.
We're actually packing our shit to leave NYC as I'm writing this.

When we're out in nature, we normally don't go 'camping' as such. In the sense that we don't set up tents and sleep there.
I did go for a short camping trip with an American friend recently though. It was pretty tiresome and there were a shitton of other people around the lake, but we had our own stuff going on so it was fun enough.

 

[Darren716]

Up where I live we have the Great Sacandoga Lake which is extremely popular so basically everyone in our area goes there but luckily it's big enough so it doesn't become too crowded.

 

[iDoom46]

Lake of choice: the ocean
Best memory: almost dying (rouge wave flipped me over and almost broke my neck)
Worst memory: almost dying again (riptide almost dragged me out to sea as a toddler)

If we camp, my family goes up to the mountains, or another land-locked location. But usually we spend our summers travelling, via plane (though I've always wanted to take a cross-country road trip), to different cities. And every couple of years or so we save up enough money to travel outside the country.

 

[Easton Dark]

We go to Lake Huron. One of the great lakes. Much better than yours.

My memories are my own.

 

[Lizardon]

My family didn't really do vacations. I grew up on a farm in rural Western Australia, and farmers don't tend to get holidays. My dad would rarely even leave the farm for day, even on Christmas he would have to go out and change the irrigations (although starting doing that for him when I got old enough).

I'm not really a fan of camping style vacations anyway, the few I've been on won't very enjoyable.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I live in Toronto, but Lake Ontario is awful for swimming due to the city's pollution. Nice to look at once in a while, though.

Instead, my family has to go north to Lake Simcoe or Lake Huron if we want to swim. We don't camp, though; over by Lake Simcoe, we stay at my aunt and uncle's place, and we stay in a cottage over at Wasaga Beach when we go to Lake Huron. They're both popular public swimming places that are in towns, so there's really no need to camp. They're more like trips to the beach than trips to the lake.

To be perfectly frank, I don't remember much from either location; I haven't gone swimming in years. I mostly spend my vacations lying around at home or looking for things to do.

 

[NightHawk21]

I've been in way too many lakes to pick a favorite. I will say though that the some of the lakes up by Sudbury Ontario are very nice and tranquil and the one's I've been too have always been beautiful secluded and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Amazing lakes, even if the water is cold as ice in the middle of summer.

 

[Spaghetti]

Our family's favourite lake?

Spoiler

So much quality kitchenware!
[sub]Apologies for the very British middle class joke[/sub]

Well my parents and sister are big fans of Lake Garda in Northern Italy for holidaying, though I personally prefer Loch Lomond in West Scotland. Some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. Though it's a bit hard to get to since I moved to London...