Houseboating on Lake Mead

It sounds like I’m on a rocketship blasting off for the stars. But the XS1 is a water-bound sleek, 75-foot long, 18-foot wide, $1-million houseboat that chugs along at a top speed of eight mph. That’s fine, because when you’re on the extraordinarily picturesque waters of Lake Mead, you want to go slow and easy.
I’d come late last summer to check out houseboating – my first-ever such experience – and in particular Forever Resorts million-dollar baby, which comes spread over three floors and includes six private staterooms, two and a half baths, a seven-person hot tub and all the scenic splendor you can handle on this gigantic lake formed by Hoover Dam.
Forever Resorts is all over the west, including here at Callville Bay Resort and Marina, a clean and serene Lake Mead port that’s about a 40-minute drive from the cacophony of Las Vegas. The company’s new daily rate pricing is in effect at its 12 marinas in Arizona, Nevada, California, Texas and Missouri, ranging from $436 to $2,114 for its fleet of 250 boats, even the high end not that daunting when you load up a boat and divvy up the cost accordingly.
The beauty of houseboating is that you can put in anywhere on the lake’s shore, and with Lake Mead’s 550 miles of shoreline, it’s not hard to find a spot. You beach the craft, drive a few stakes start barbecuing steaks; the boats come with gas-grills and fully equipped kitchens. From here, available water sports include water skiing, bombing across the lake in high-flying and quad-burning personal watercrafts, or just chilling by fishing.

On one of our days, we left the houseboat for a pontoon craft at the base of the gargantuan Hoover Dam for a slow cruise down the Colorado River, spotting curious bighorn sheep along the way and shadowed by the titanic Black Canyon walls of volcanic rock. Amazing vegetation is found here, from barrel cactus needing a drink every three years to tropical plants popping up around the occasional hot spring springing out of the canyon walls, 140 degrees worth, hot even for this inhospitably hot climate.
We also checked out the Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave, Nevada, just down the road from Searchlight, home town of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and where Forever Resorts has built what they hope will be the country’s first floating LEED-certified structure, adhering to strict building codes set forth by the US Green Building Council. We also took in Temple Bar Marina on Lake Mead, known for a massive rock formation that gave the area its name and unobstructed 20-mile-long water-ski runs that make the area a favorite of watersport enthusiasts.
Most people houseboating are brand new to the sport, Forever Resorts officials said, but are easily taught how to drive the craft and operate them safely. But really, at eight mph, how much trouble could you get in?
If you’re going to spend time on the water in the west, houseboating is a great way to do it. The XS1 is no rocketship, but with central air, a 45-inch flat-screen HDTV in the living room, and a flying bridge with wet bar, it’s a most comfortable way to stay connected to the planet.

Posted by Paul E. Kandarian, Globe correspondent

Photos of the houseboat and water skiing on Lake Mead by Paul E. Kandarian for The Boston Globe