New Melones Lake Marina

Great place to rent a boat. Very easy to reserve and the people that work there get you in and out quickly so you can get on w/​your water activities. They’ve even got a website just for online reservations. Water levels are down but this is the 4^th largest reservoir in CA so it’s still pretty deep. Highly recommend this place.

Marina has great lake access. The water is currently low but it still deserves 5 stars for the facilities and fishing opportunities. This lake is pretty large the Stanislaus river dumps into New Melones. Check out the bridge going into Angels Camp it’s a 5 star view as well.

We rented a 17ft ski boat on a weekday and it was worth every dollar. Ended up about $ 300 for a half day but that was plently because we got a late start. The lake is massive and just beautiful! The water was perfect temp for swimming also, lots of northern lake are to cold to enjoy. The staff was friendly and the boat was clean. We would def rent a houseboat here if we lived closer. My kids loved tubing and we only saw a few other boats on the water. I wish this lake was closer to home!

We had an awesome time on our 5 day houseboat trip. The houseboat was very clean and perfectly stocked. I am very picky about my surroundings and this place did not gross me out one bit!!! I took gloves and bleach in case I needed to get down on some heavy cleaning. Happy to say I didn’t have to use ‘em. The houseboat met all of our needs. House boating at New Melones will be an annual trip for us. The lake was perfect!!! I must mention the staff at the marina… wow!!! I was impressed with their professionalism and polite fullness. They were very busy when we arrived yet had a good system in place to assist us. They were very helpful and carted all of our luggage/​supplies to the boat… what a relief! We highly recommend boating here.

Had a great time on the lake! seemed like we had most of the lake to ourselves. The boat was clean, and in excellent condition. Great service, the trip exceeded are expectations!

New Melones Lake is a great place for camping. At the pariticular campsite we were at, we were no where near a shower. Although the restroom was near by. They do have a noise curfew of 10PM — 8AM. Check in time is at 3PM and check out is at 2PM. There were no problems with our stay and we had a great time.

If you are looking at Mew Melones Marina to rent a houseboat… I recommended to look elsewhere.
Our trip started arriving at 3pm to board our houseboat. Web site and paperwork state: «Our typical departure time is between 2 — 5 pm but we guarantee you will be able to board by 3 pm»…so at 3p we arrive and told that an orientation person will be right with us. So 30 minutes later at 3:30pm I ask «So what does guaranteed boarding by 3pm mean to you?»…as the gal looks at me with a blank stare and states «boarding is between 2p and 5p… there is no guarantee»…read your own paperwork people! OK, can we at least start getting our stuff to the boat… nope, keep waiting. finally after completely wasting 45 min of standing in the heat, the dude runs us through the boat and we get loaded up. He did hook us up with some ice for our troubles. That was appreciated.
The floors on the boat needed a good solid deep clean. Ground in dirt all over the place… more than just a quick mop would pick up. Not very clean at all.
On the boat once we got out, we discovered the ice machine wasn’t working… and ironic as the orientation dude specifically said «the ice machine works»…not a deal breaker since we did get some free ice… OK dinner time. Fire yup the BBQ… well, no BBQ brush… annoying…but we made do. Clean up time… where is the «all purpose cleaner» that is listed on the things that are on the boat… no dice.
Now I probably could have asked for these things when we went back to the marina to fuel up our ski boat, but a kinda got sidetracked when I realized that fuel prices on the lake were $ 5.49 A GALLON! TWO DOLLARS OVER STREET PRICE! Freakin $ 5.49 a gallon! A buck over street price is typical for a marina but this was just flat out gouging!
So on day three of our five day adventure, the AC started leaking and dripping on the couch. Annoying… and now a damp couch. Which was ripped in several places along with the dining table seats. Classy. As we pulled away from the shore to head back in at the end of our adventure, about a gallon of water came gushing out of the ceiling and onto our bags from the leaky AC!
We arrive back at the marina… only to be told that check in is gonna take «a bit longer than normal» cuz one of their gas pumps was just shut down by the Weights and Measure guys! At $ 5.49 a gallon, that pump BETTER be accurate!
Now through all of this, all of the staff was friendly but never really apologized for any of the issues. Every person BLAMED someone else…“The mechanical didn’t tell us he shot off the valve”…“They understaffed us today so we are behind”…“that must have been housekeeping”…sheesh, talk about passing the buck! An apology goes a long way for customer service!
I have been houseboating at Don Pedro, the Delta, Oroville, Shasta, and Bullards Bar… We did have a blast and it was a great trip overall. I know that the operations cost a fortune and I would never expect everything to be perfect, but for a $ 3,600 vacation, I would expect a better maintained vessel and management to make sure that they have systems in place to keep the vessels flipped and ready to go. The poor kids on the dock had great attitudes and were busting ass for probably crap pay trying to keep up.
This was my first trip to New Melones… based on the crappy boats and gas prices, I won’t be back.

Rented a houseboat from these folks for a 3-​day weekend. Really nice boat (Escapade 4) in great condition and had a great houseboating experience. Slide off the back, jacuzzi on top, stargazing, great weather 2 families had a total blast.
Couple problems — Took an hour and half for my turn to get my stuff loaded from my car to the dock. Its too far to carry your stuff, they wont let you drive your car down there to unload or provide you with a means to transport it. (think 3 days of groceries, 96 degree day and a hot car!!)
Had an electrical issue that I tried calling repeatedly for assistance (even called an left my number she said they would call me back) and they wouldn’t get me any help., so basically we had the run the generator the whole trip. The issue was instructional, not a problem with the equipment.
They are the only marina on the lake so gas is $ 5.50/gallon and ice is $ 18 for big bag… bring as much of your own stuff as you can!

I am tempted to tell everyone how horrible this lake is, but that would just to save it for myself. If you are looking for a bit of heaven on earth, New Melones Lake is it. The lake is huge (4^th largest in Ca.) and the scenery is magnificent with Oak trees rimming the lake and grasslands covering everything. The campgrounds are first rate, many with lots of shade and lots of privacy. Most people go to Don Pedro or McClure because their campgrounds have hook-​ups while Melones doesn’t, but if you are a tent camper (we are) or don’t mind running your generator during the day then this is truly heaven.
We live in L.A., so for us it is a 8-​hour drive to get there, yet we do it almost every year, that’s how good this lake is. We’ve been to Camanche, Don Pedro, Hogan, and a bunch of others, but we are always drawn back to Melones.

Love this place! We have a slip for our boat here. They got us in fairly easily and everyone on deck was super friendly! I love that we can just park, hop in and Go!!!
The water level is so high, it has made it even more beautiful. I have heard of lots of debris here, but come on, we had a crazy winter!!! It was not that bad, just keep your eyes open!
There are some magical hidden spots on this Lake and I won’t Unilocal them… Some things are better left untouched by so many Unilocalers…

Rented a jet ski this Sat all day on the lake. I must say the employees here were very nice and cool. We checked in quick and fast. No runaround and bs. The marina also sells stuff there if u wana get anything last minute. The prices arent that bad being a vacation spot too. I knocked off one star for the beat up jet ski they really need to invest in some new one. I notice they were all beat up and stuff not just the one we rented. I will defin come back to rent a houseboat one summer and/​or rent a boat our bbq patio boat.

Hey House-​boaters– I just rented the Eclipse Boat for my Birthday weekend trip July 16 – 18, 2010. First of all, the lake and surrounding area is beautiful! My experience with the New Melones Marina is that they are service oriented and want their house-​boaters to enjoy their experience. Good business model.
The weekend price for the houseboat was affordable. 15 people were on my boat and they slept comfortably. Our boat had a generator problem that couldn’t be fixed right away so we had to re-​board the Escapade (now that is a BOAT– excellent) The
crew took care of us and gave us a small credit for our inconveniences. I really like these guys and will go back to this lake for house-​boating.
Thanks Cody, Laura, and other NM Marina crew.

This review is written to provide some feedback on my recent houseboat experience at New Melones where I rented an Eclipse for 5 days. I was less that satisfied with the experience.
My first complaint was over the service at the Marina where it was advertised I could get everything I needed for my fishing needs. Everything except a fishing license that is. The clerk told me that the owner had decided to stop selling fishing licenses because «there was no money to be made from it.» I proceeded to sign all the waivers that seemed to tell me that I was renting the «jewel of the lake,» and that I would be responsible for any damage. Understandable.
Upon boarding the houseboat, the orientation was thorough enough. However, I noticed that the upholstery had a large slash in it. The employee said they «already knew about it.» So, I wondered why it wasn’t repaired.
We got on the water and found that the generator wouldn’t restart. An employee came out about 15 minutes later and messed with it for about 15 – 20 minutes. It started again. Apparently, he did not know about the «reset switch» which he later called to tell us about. Keep in mind that this is all wasted time in my «5 day» rental that really starts around 3:30 PM the first day and ends at 9:00 AM on the last day. That really means 3 days when you take a look at it.
As the trip went on we found that one of the pull out beds was broken and came off its tracks every time you used it. The dishwasher didn’t seem to clean the dishes. The blender was cracked and the bottom fell out when it was removed from the base (sending the contents everywhere). And, the generator wouldn’t start on the last morning.
At the end of the trip we brought all of these issues to the attention of the management. They responded, «well its an old boat and this is the last year it will be in service.» She then gave me a coupon to refer my friends. Yea — Right!
In summary, in this tight economy people expect a lot when spending almost a thousand dollars a day to do something. House boating on New Melones would not be my recommendation.

This past weekend we went house-​boating on New Melones Lake and it was AMAZING! About thirty of us rented two great house-​boats and had a perfect weekend on the lake. The hosueboats were great and well-​equiped with cool sleeping arrangements, a full kitchen, two bathrooms each, hot tubs, water slides, etc. I had never been house-​boating and had always wanted to go and now I can’t wait to go back! Thank you, Triton, for organizing such a fabulous trip!
Everyone who helped us load the boats and move them out into open water from the Marina was super nice (not to mention cute also!). The drive was about 2.5 hours from San Francisco and so worth it. A perfect lake, great friends, and nice boats… what more could you ask for?! Priceless! :)

Great memories here on my parents houseboat…, love it. :)

Shhhh. No one seems to head to this spot. Everyone is heading to McClure or Don Pedro. Let them go.
This marina has plenty of boat options to choose from. All at reasonable prices (although you will need a LOT of people for that houseboat that you’re eyeing).
This is the perfect way to beat the heat: Rent a powerboat on a nice lake, cruise to somewhere remote, and jump into the revitalizing waters.