favorite places ... with pictures

SRJ,

What Cowboy and Starfighter said. LS is a launch option - nice public facility, but obviously means you can't keep the boat there. Hamptons, Pilot House, and EZC are, as you saw, all right next to each other. Becky and I looked at all three, and Holly Acres as well. Pretty sure EZC is the only one of the 3 marinas with a public launch - I know PH's is private. We opted for Pilot House for a number of reasons.

Chances are though that storing the boat at any of these will cost more per year than Loudoun's property tax. Benefit is that you don't have to drag the thing around all the time.

Dan

Not dragging it down would be a big plus. Why did you settle on Pilot House? I like the idea of the floating dock EZC has, and the fact I could drive down in the car and leave the truck up here. email me with preferences if you prefer.

There's a ramp on Quantico just down the road from the marina...It's free and all you have to do is show your license to get through the check point...It's not the nicest ramp, but has a pretty long dock and is usually not that busy. FT Belvoir has a ramp as well, but I think its $8 to launch.

Do you need military ID to use Quantico or FT Belvoir? I thought I had read somewhere that they were military only, even if you come in from the river.

Well, you can get on Belvoir but you would have to go through a vehicle inspection if you don't have military ID....Quantico you just need to show your license to get into the town at the check point. I've only launched out of Quantico because its closer and free. I think there is a ramp at Pohick Bay and I believe there is another one in Belmont Bay as well....Check out ActiveCaptain.com and you will see all kinds of markers on the maps...I've only been as far north as the occoquan and as far south as Tims II...Hopefully I can do more exploring this year and finally meet some of the folks on here...

I'll show my newness to the area ... I thought Quantico was a military base and only active or retired military could use the facilities. If it has public access, I'll probably try to check it out in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the site recommendation.

Quantico is kind of a weird animal. The town is seperate from the base, but you still go through a check point. I've seen all kinds of civilians down there fishing off the dock by the ramp. I don't think you would have any problem using it. Like anywhere else, you'll have to watch the water levels as it can be challenging to launch/retrieve at times. There are 2 ramps on Quantico, but only one can be used to get out to the Potomac. The other is only for use in the inlet because the access to the Potomac is in a restricted area (too close to airfield). I believe someone posted the notice on here a while back in the forums. If you do venture out to Quantico, go in the 619 (Joplin Rd) entrance. Follow that past the golf course, then turn left onto Potomac AVE. Follow Potomac AVE and turn left onto River Rd, then start looking for signs for the boat ramp. FYI, if you continue to drive on Potomac AVE, You'll run into the Quantico Marina. Good Luck!

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to check it out the next time I get down that way. Any pictures of the area or marina? Anyone know if the Tim's boat ramp that shows up on activecaptain.com is public? I can't even see one when I zoom in on Tim's area of the shore. Anyone ever used Pohick Bay Regional Park to launch? Just wondering if it gets the use Leesylvania does.

Lots of good info in this thread. One correction though, unless it changed recently. You can access Mount Vernon by boat. Channel is marked, and you should hail Mount Vernon Wharf on your VHF for instructions.

Mike

do you know what channel they monitor?

I've launched my boat from Pohick Bay about eight or so times last season. A few times the tide was low and managed to get her in the water safely. Docks are fixed (not floating). When I had my jetski, I used pohick bay pretty much exclusively and shore-launched. Hydrilla can be an issue there, especially late in the summer when the water is really cookin. Overall, can't really say anything bad about the place. Did my first overnight trip there ;-)