A recap of info previously posted:
Refer to
http://www.sv-windward.com/tech/happy_hooker.pdf for a map of the lake. Watauga Lake is about 13 miles from the west end to northeast end, with another couple of branches to the southeast that will take you back several more miles. Most of the land is National Forest, so there are lots of little coves to anchor or tie off in. The water will be cool that time of year, but very clean. The Appalachian Trail runs along the shore on the west end of the Lake, and along the ridgeline to the north, so there's an opportunity for some decent hiking if you don't want to spend all your time on the boat.
Never any guarantees about breeze, but there usually is some that time of year, and it can range from not much to way much / 2nd reef time. Best sailing is usually the western half of the lake, but I often sail from west end all the way northeast and then back. Lots of little coves to explore and mess about in, particularly if you have a dinghy.
You can launch at Watauga Lakeshore Marina for $5. Parking on Memorial Day weekend may be dicey due to all the houseboaters, but a friend with a store in Hampton (a couple of miles away) can accommodate vehicles/trailers for a nominal per-day charge and work out shuttle back to the lake.
Rat Branch (National Forest Service (NFS) launch area) charges $2 per day. This includes parking, and it's apparently OK to leave your rig there for several days as long as you prepay. Note that this ramp is well lit but unattended, so caveat parker.
Carden's Bluff campground is also NFS. There are 43 first-come-first-served sites at $12 / night. Sites are limited to 5 people / 2 vehicles per site. Facilities include flush toilets and showers but no hookups. No alcohol permitted. Gates are locked 10pm-7am. No docking facilities, but you can walk 100' down to the lake from many of the sites.
Lakeshore usually has some overnight slips available for $10 for the night... that's more than $0 for the night, but they have power, water, flush toilets and showers, so a night or two dockside might go well with at least some of the group.
Lakeshore's web site is
http://www.lakeshore-resort.com/. I know nothing about their cabins and motel except that they exist. Motel prices range from $75-$95 / night Sun-Thu (add $10/night on weekends), weekly rates $490 - $610. I'm sure that does not include tax. They also have cabins, with kitchens, from $125 (sleeps 4) - $300 (sleeps 8 ) per night, $787 - $1890 / wk.
Much of the Watauga shoreline is National Forest and open to camping; lots of it's steep but there are still some choice spots. Carden's Bluff doesn't take reservations, it's show up and grab a site. They're likely to be busy MemDay weekend, but should calm down rest of the week. For people whose boats are too small to sleep aboard and don't mind primitive camping, another alternative would be for them to set up at a basecamp site somewhere on the lake. If they're in really small boats, those of us with larger boats could ferry gear for them.
I almost always anchor rather than sleep at the dock. There are numerous places to raft up at anchor or tie off to shore, some of which have a beachy shore suitable for campfires
Watauga Lake Sailing Club will have a race at 8am on Saturday May 28, plus a dock feed/potluck that night. WLSC is a super-friendly group of people, although their standards are low enough that I was Commodore for a couple of years. I think they've invited the local Power Squadron to participate in the dock feast as well, but we can usually accommodate some transient sailors if we know what to plan for.
There used to be someone at Fish Springs Marina who'd rent out a 22' and 27' sailboat, and that may also be an option. Lakeshore does rent pontoons and a couple of deck/ski boats, although not overnight, which may be a sweetener for people whose kids need to go fast and smell gas sometimes.
. See ya there. Jeff