Best Boating

Although Martinez Lake has been voted Yuma's Best place for boating, the area commonly referred to as Martinez Lake is actually comprised of the Martinez Lake Marina, Fisher's Landing Marina, the Colorado River and numerous little lakes.

That's what Ron Knowlton said, and as owner of Yuma River Tours, he ought to know. "I'm third generation, playing on the river."

He's not surprised by the Yuma's Best vote. He said the area is popular for boating because of it's natural surroundings and numerous, large sandbars.

"Bass fishermen love it because of the backwater lakes," Knowlton said. "The water is clearer off the river. Families come out, launch their boats at the marinas, load up with supplies, stop on a sandbar to put out chairs, sunshades, volleyball nets.

"They play horseshoes, washoes, the kids get out there with their sand buckets. There's dry sandbars with hundreds of yards of sand. They're as big as two to four football fields. You can put hundreds of people on them.

"You can have a private little oasis to yourself, or pull up and join others on a sandbar. No one cares. It's common to go from sandbar to sandbar, meeting people. It's a nice, down-to-earth atmosphere. There are a lot of locals out here, but a lot of people come from San Diego and other places. There are a lot of birds, so bird-watching is popular too.

"It's open the the public 365 days a year."