We rented a fantastic houseboat here for a week and had a wonderful family vacation! 7 of us on board included 2 teen boys, 2 tween gals & 3 adults who all had a fun relaxing time. Water is chilly in the am as expected, but by afternoon is super refreshing! The kids fished a bunch and played from sun-up to sun-down in the water. We even beached at one point to have a fire & do s'mores. Great little hide-aways everywhere so we never had more then one other houseboat near us. Very cool camping spots in the zmiddle of the lake too, they are on pontoons and have kitchens & bathrooms and probably accommodate up to 15 people (big). Great fun was had by all!

Before I started visiting I hadn't heard much about Lake Oroville. It's about 3 hours from the Bay Area and it's a surprisingly nice area. The lake is really big and even with the tourists and houseboats, it seems to accommodate everyone without feeling overly crowded even on weekends. Except for the town which is nothing special and a couple of Native American casinos, it feels pretty rural. I am lucky enough to have friends here who have a ski boat. I'm not sure what it would cost to rent a ski boat or like many, rent a houseboat for a few days.

family place, I definitly recomend for everyone that want some peace and recreation, the lake and the scenery is beautiful

There is something for everyone here. Great Fishing, Boating, Hiking trails and Camping along with one marina filled with house boats and a nice bar/ restaurant. This is a big lake with many things to do or you can have picnic by the water then lay around and do nothing. The bad part is that half the water from this lake is sent to Los Ageles and Southern Calif. The local Farmers depend on it to water their crops also. This causes some very low lake levels by the middle of summer. But then no one wants those swimming pools in Southern Calif. to go without water.