About Lake Anna
Boating
Lake Anna is 17 miles long and offers over 250 miles of shoreline to explore. An array of watercraft and water sports are enjoyed at the lake. From canoes to sail boats to jet skis to power boats to sea planes, Lake Anna welcomes them all. Water skiing, wake boarding and tubing are popular sports. Lake Anna is spacious enough to accommodate a wide variety of water activities. It’s calm enough and small enough not to require vessels of sea-going size to comfortably navigate it. Lake Anna’s fresh water is easy on boat engines and there are no concerns about tides. In Virginia, children ages 14-16 can take a Boater’s Safety course and operate a Jet Ski. The link below is to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fishery. Go to it and click on BOATING for information on taking a class. It’s good for all boaters. - www.dgif.virginia.gov
Crystal Clear Water
Lake Anna is a fresh water lake. Its water quality is ranked among the best of any body of water in Virginia. Clean, clear, fresh water makes swimming in Lake Anna a pleasure. There’s no salt to irritate the eyes. There are no stinging nettles to avoid. There is no undertow to wrestle. The Lake Anna Civic Association has a Water Quality Committee that tests the water regularly to see that it stays that way.
Fishing
Lake Anna hosts a number of fishing tournaments and is attractive to both serious anglers and fishing novices. With over thirty species, Lake Anna offers an abundance of large mouth bass, striped bass, walleye, catfish, crappie and more.
Events
Throughout the summer, there are a variety of water oriented events at Lake Anna. At various venues on the lake, there are triathlons, Jet Ski races, speed boat rallies and wakeboard demonstrations. Each year around the 4th of July, there is a professional fireworks show over the lake. It’s always an extravaganza.
Lake Anna - 2 Lakes
Lake Anna was created in 1972 by Virginia Power to supply cooling water to its North Anna Nuclear Power Station. Virginia Power cleared the lake bottom and constructed a 90-foot high dam. With three dikes, it also separated the lake into two sections. The larger section, commonly referred to as the “public side” or the “cool side” consists of 9,600 acres. The other section is called the “private side” or the “warm side”, and is 3,400 acres. The power plant draws from the “cool side” and releases water several degrees warmer into the other section, hence the name “warm side”. At dike three, water from the warm side empties back into the larger lake and passes over the dam.
The “public side” and “private side” refer to access. The public side is serviced by several marinas where visitors can launch their boats. The private side has no public landings and is accessible only to property owners there. Each side has its fans. The public side is larger and has the convenience of easy access to gasoline for boats at the marinas. The private side has less water traffic and the water temperature is more pleasant in the spring and fall. Both sides offer gorgeous sunsets over the water, and nobody argues about that.
Owning Waterfront Property
While Lake Anna is not immune to hurricanes, its location inland makes it less susceptible to the catastrophic damage sometimes experienced in vulnerable coastal areas. Lake Anna houses and boats are not exposed to the routine corrosion associated with salt and sand blasts. Plus, there’s relatively little variance in the water level, so floating docks are not required. These factors may not carry a lot of significance when visiting the water, but are considerations when thinking about purchasing and maintaining waterfront property.
A Good Investment?
My wife and I have always tried to be conscientious about saving for retirement. We contribute the max to 401 K plans and IRA’s. We attempt to find a good balance of stocks and bonds. We aren’t counting on Social Security to support us when we get there in 2025.
In 1995, we asked ourselves, where do we want to be in thirty years? We dreamed of having a home on the water. In thinking about how do we get there from here, we concluded:
Why not buy it now and have fun with it now!
It was a big leap. Instead of building bank accounts, we’ll diversify and invest in real estate. Not just any real estate, but real estate we can enjoy and that will go up in value. It will take discipline, committing to another mortgage. In return, we’ll have an investment about which we can be excited.
The place we bought is a 45-minute drive from our house in the West End of Richmond. It’s a retreat I look forward to all week. If I need a break in the middle of the week, it’s close enough to take my dogs and cut the grass…a little serenity for the soul.
We now have enjoyed our home at Lake Anna for over ten years. We’ve had wonderful weekends by ourselves, great Mother’s Day events with family, frolicking 4th of July’s with our friends, baby showers and birthday celebrations.
Did we invest wisely? In memories, there’s no question. In return on investment, our Lake Anna property has outperformed everything else we bought.
Is there a guarantee Lake Anna is a good investment? There’s no guarantee in life, but our experience has been that Lake Anna paid dividends in more ways than one. Waterfront property is limited, and as with any commodity in tight supply and high demand, we predict Lake Anna property will prove a solid investment.
