| Lake Amistad is large, stretching across the border of Mexico and
the United States, and houseboats are an efficient way to explore it.
Boats from 50’ to 65’ can be rented from the marinas. Waterskiing and
motor-boating are also popular. (You can boat on the Mexican side of
the lake, but you’ll need to acquire a Mexican permit
first.) Fishing can be done from almost anywhere along the shore
(save harbors and beaches) as well as from a boat. Lake Amistad’s “big
fish” are the Largemouth bass, Smallmouth bass, Striped bass, Channel
catfish, and the Black crappie. If you prefer to take to the
water on a kayak or canoe, you’ll find a number of excellent routes
within canyons and caves. Some of the sites especially explorable by
canoe (although also by boat) are kayak are the vertical walls of Box
Canyon, the waterfalls of Indian Springs, and the rock art of Parida
and Panther Cave. Panther Cave is the more famous of the two
sites. Its rear wall is occupied by an 80 foot panel of ancient
motifs, the largest being that 10 foot panther. Parida Cave was
heavily looted and graffitied before it could be preserved, but the
current site is beautifully cleaned up and still full of significant
pictographs. Both can only be reached by boat. Hikers will have
trails, though, such as the Sunrise Trail, but they’re also welcome to
hike the shoreline and, really, anywhere within the U.S. park they can
reach. Birding is another popular activity here. Swing by Spur 454 and
406 to catch Interior least terns in the summer, and watch out,
generally, for Black-capped vireo, Golden-cheeked warbler, and Colima
warbler, as well as waterfowl and shorebirds. If you’re not a
birder and not a boater, swimming is just fine. The summer temperature
of the water is about 84 degrees and you can swim absolutely
everywhere, save the coves with boat ramps. There are plenty of
cliffs, but cliff-diving is really not recommended. |
