Paradise Point Marina

The moon is bright, the water calm. An owl hoots, a fish flops. Fido perks his ears. No, you’re not camping: You’re floating through the weekend on a houseboat.

Whether you opt for a stripped-down model sleeping six or a floating palace that can handle a crowd, there’s nothing like a waterborne vacation to bring out your inner Huck Finn. more »

The San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta is a boater's paradise that in places feels like another world. Its 1,000 miles of navigable waterways wind through one of the richest agricultural regions in the nation and are easy to get lost in, so navigation skills are a must. Other challenges—like knowledge of tides and currents and being on the alert for low bridges, snags and shallow channels—make houseboating here a different venture than on a lake. more »

Houseboats can be rented from seven marinas on Northern California's largest—and arguably most beautiful—reservoir.

Shasta Lake is the houseboating capital of California, if not the world, and for good reason.

The lake's 360 miles of jagged shoreline are indented with cove after cove where houseboaters can anchor out in solitude or bob in the company of others. more »

The Sacramento River Delta is a watery maze worlds removed from the urban clutter of Sacramento and the Bay Area.

On a Sunday drive you'll see old-time bridges and miles of levees that in the mid-1800s transformed a once trackless wetland into 55 agricultural islands—two of them connected by public ferry— that still produce food for Northern California.

Regrettably, there are not many areas in the Delta where you can legally let Astro off leash. But don't let that stop you. more »