For July 4^th weekend, my partner and I decided to try the pontoon experience at Falls Lake State Recreation Area. Due to our experience from last summer (we really thought that somehow walking up to a boat rental service and expect to have a pontoon readily available, boy were we wrong), we decided to rent a pontoon months in advance from this boat rental service called  Motor-Boatin LLC. Their service was quite seamless, from making the reservation online to day-of-pickup. We were given a safety brief, instructions on how to operate the boat, and then we were on our way.

Falls Lake was truly magnificent as we navigated through the calm waters on the boat, all the while enjoying the cool, crisp, and refreshing breeze. The weather was also in our favor; the lake was glistening from the sunny and bright day and I was able to soak in the sun’s rays (with lots of sunscreen of course). I brought my MP3 player, and after discovering the boat had a speaker system installed, we Rihanna’d the place up for a lively experience! We also got to enjoy some magnificent views such as a lovely bird nest, with a cast well-enjoying the beautiful day in the middle of the lake. For a first-time experience boating through a lake, this was definitely one for the books.

So, Falls Lake, NC has more than 300 campsites spread out throughout four of the access areas that offer sites such as RV hookups to primitive tent camping. We ended up reserving a campsite from Holly Point campground loop 2 (site 40) and the site was perfectly situated that allowed us to have minimal interactions and enjoy a quiet and serene weekend next to the lake. The site did lead to a path to the lake; which was quite useful as we managed to dock the boat at the access point and was able to have easy access to our campsite! After a long day enjoying the sun on the lake and the cool breeze, we got the fire ring, with a grill attachment, going and threw on some wings and pork ribs for a hearty dinner next to the fire. The night didn’t have any bothering mosquitos and it wasn’t too hot. What was truly amazing was that our campsite area managed to ‘light up’ with fire flies throughout and provided what was a magical and fantasy-like experience.