Are you looking for the best places to take you houseboat this summer. While not designed for the rough ocean waters, a houseboat can be a delightful opportunity to get away from it all. These lakes on the list tend to be large enough for you to find a private cove, but large enough that you are close to any amenity that you would need while houseboating.

• Lake Ouachita. near Hot Springs, Ark.  arkansasstateparks.com/lakeouachita
• Don Pedro Lake,near Modesto, Calif.209-852-2396; donpedrolake.com
• Smith Mountain Lake, southwestern Virginia 800-676-8203; Smith-mountain-lake.com
• Dale Hollow Lake, on Kentucky/Tennessee border 888-406-4704; dalehollow.com
• Lake Lanier, near Atlanta 800-847-4842; lanier.sam.usace.army.mil
• Lake Mead, near Las Vegas riverlakes.com
• Table Rock Lake, near Branson, Mo. tablerocklake.us
• Shuswap Lake, British Columbia shuswap.bc.ca
• Green River, southeastern Utah go-utah.com/Green-River
• Center Hill Lake, near Nashville 931-858-3125; smithvilletn.com/lake via USATODAY.com

If you are looking to rent a houseboat, Go Play Outdoors has a good list of companies.

Looking to buy a houseboat, the National Houseboat Expo has a ton of information.