Overview

The western end of Atwood Lake on an overcast summer morning.

You probably won't plan a weeklong trailer cruising vacation around northeast Ohio's Atwood Lake but, if you live in the region or are passing through on your way to a more mainstream destination, it can make for a fun day or two's diversion (especially if you enjoy fishing). There are a couple of reasons Atwood is worthy of inclusion in the sailor guides. One is that it is one of the few inland Ohio lakes that allows overnight camping on the water in your boat (although only in a designated boat camping area). It is also the lake that I learned to sail on and has always been a special place for me.

Covering 1,540 acres of water, Atwood is one of five man-made lakes operated under the jurisdiction of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. It features two marinas, three public launch ramps, and a 500-lot campground. Beyond the campground, which occupies the northwest corner of the lake, the shore is dotted with dozens of private homes and docks and a private yacht club. Overlooking the lake from a hill at the midway point is the Atwood Lake Resort and Conference Center and its golf course.

The lake is essentially divided into an east and west half by a relatively narrow dogleg, with the west end being much deeper and wider. In fact, the water shallows to less than 4 feet deep at over half a mile from the east end shore. Like most inland lakes, there is no marine chart available, but the few offshore shallows are well marked with warning buoys and the bottom is mostly harmless soft mud.

A 25-horsepower limit helps make it one of the most sailboat-friendly inland lakes in Ohio. The lake population seems to be about equally split into thirds between sailboats, pontoon and house boats, and small fishing and sport craft, with an occasional waverunner thrown into the mix. It is probably one of the few lakes I've sailed where sail and power boats seem to coexist peacefully and with genuine goodwill toward each other. That being said, the sheer number of boats on such a small lake requires an above average degree of vigilance. While most of the powerboaters are responsible people, some are inexperienced and/or ignorant of the basic rules of the road. Never take it for granted that a powerboat is going to grant your sailboat the right of way. As an example of how quickly things can get out of hand, read my account of the legendary Mother's Day waverunner eating incident in our True Trailer Boat Adventures section.

On weekdays and evenings, the character of the lake is absolutely idyllic and I can honestly say that my many night sails there have provided some of the most magical moments of my life. This changes drastically, however, on weekend and holiday afternoons as hoards of pleasure boaters from across the region descend on it. If you're on the lake during a breezy Saturday afternoon, plan on making frequent course corrections to avoid collision with your fellow sailors, especially if the yacht club is engaged in one of their many races.

Being both inland and in a hilly region, the winds are often light and always variable, sometimes seeming to shift a full 180 degrees and back again within minutes. The dogleg in the middle of the lake, combined with the shifting winds, makes it a real test of one's sailing skills to navigate the lake fully from end to end. Although strong winds can create a nasty chop at times, Atwood is too small to generate much in the way of real waves.

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