we rented a boat for my daughters 16th birthday. That was what she was wanting to do this year for sweet 16! Things to know. 1. if in summer, even on weekdays you will need to call and make your reservations in advance. Most likely they will not have boats available if you just do a drop in. You are able to call and reserve 14 days in advance. 2. the amounts of people allowed in the boats are different than what is on their website. it is actually less now for some reason???? not sure what that is. but hopefully they update it to be accurate at some point soon. 3. The prices listed on the website is for the boat only. It does not include gas. 4. They had half day or all day rentals available. 5. If you want to pull a tube behind, the tubes they sell in the marina span between $150-$260!!! YIKES. You will also need a tow rope and y line and that will add another $70. I called all over to see if there was a place that would rent these items and the answer is no :( We used one of our river tubes from home and well it was not the BEST but the girls made the most of it. 6. when you get there you go down around back of the marina and go to the building with the blue roof to check in at. 7. you can bring food and beverages on the boats, but if you make too much of a mess you will get charged a cleaning fee. 8. they will hold your drivers license and credit card while you are out on the boat. 9. They do give a you a boat talk to tell you how to make the boat run. The fellas down at the dock where very friendly. They were helpful and really made everyone feel comfortable. They helped us figure out how to tie our tube on even though it was not quite what they are used to. They also hooked up our y hook up and towline. 10. After you done, you will want to go up to the marina to pay. They take your stuff up there. That was not totally clear and i was hanging around down at the dock. You can paddleboard and kayak down below the marina if you want. You are not supposed to swim in the lake except at the swim beach. read more

Great folks always helpful. Nice to have a place to keep your boat that the CLM watch over for you.

I tried to get gas 20 minutes before they close on a weekday. I got there an hour before my boat reservation at 5:30, because the marina closes at 5pm. Got ripped a new one by dock manager John because I can only get gas before 4:30. He had everything locked up and it would have taken a minute to give me two gallons if he hadn't been trying to leave early. What kind of comedy is this? read more

Out of the lakes I've been boating on this year this is my favorite- The reasons why,... It's Beauty was the first thing I noticed- Although the boat ramp at the marina was pretty shallow and awkward to unload (unless you know what your doing)-and when we came the first time after being in Cherry Creek state park we had to get our boat sterilized (de con) - They did a good job with keeping the lake clean- This lake is the cleanest near me- It's not as packed as the other lakes near us- The restrooms were also tidy and have soap- My overall experience was a positive one and now I recommend it to all my boating friends - I will be returning definitely- read more

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I love Carter lake and the Marina. Don't know what's up with the bad reviews. I've had nothing but awesome experiences with the Marina. Got our first boat and John helped us launch and bring it back in. Don is tough but in a good way...they keep the Marina running smooth and they don't put up with stupidity. read more

Carter Lake Marina - Boating Near Me - Loveland, Colorado

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They are wonderful- good boats, well maintained, great customer service- help orient you and make sure you are ready to go. Thanks for a couple of great days! read more

I rented a pontoon boat for the day for a family day of tubing! we get to the dock and listened to all the rules on driving the boat and all the charges I would receive of the boat did not come back the way it went out! The picture on the web site shows a nice looking boat! well, the boat I rented was far from nice! I pulled my two small grand kids aged 8-10 in the tub. The boat didn't even have enough power to get them outside the wake! Then it stated acting really weird Erving up and slowing down. So I go to the Marina tell the guy it won't run right and he says that's a large tube and the motor is only a 60 horse! He said I should have rented the 90 horse instead! I was not told this prior to renting. I could go on and on but I won't. I will never rent a piece of junk there again! read more

This just in from Randy C: (grammar, punctuation and spelling exactly as written) "Biking at cater should be banned.bikers are cheep.no one will miss you!" Wow! We are having a great time laughing at you Randy C. English major? Nothing else needs to be said considering this is from someone at this establishment? Maybe consider riding a bike Randy C, perhaps it could increase your IQ! Oh wait, you probably don't even understand this response eh? Too proper for you. Take care little buddy! read more

This is a family owned and operated business who have been on this lake for over 30 years. It's hard to find the small-town vibe these days-- I appreciate Carter Lake Marina! read more

John was such a condescending d*ck. Seeing how old he is it's no wonder that their system is antiquated (no online reservations) and that the staff is unprofessional and short with customers. He berated us for coming in late even though there was no time we had to be there. We paid to have the boat from all day. When I said that we had been told 4:30, he said that was impossible.- that his staff reads off a paper. (Even though the woman I spoke with was so distracted she had to apologize multiple times and ask to call me back.) I tried to get away from him while he was doing the briefing on the boat because he wasn't wearing the mask over his nose, but he kept moving closer to me. The boat was dirty, in disrepair and should be retired. He should also retire and do something else, because he is obviously incredibly unhappy with his existence. read more

Unprofessional and disappointed. Tried to rent a pontoon for 1/2 day. We called the day before as instructed. We called and would only rent for one full day. read more

Seriously the worst customer service ever!!! I put a $20 deposit down on a pontoon boat & I called with a full weeks notice & was told there were no refunds. I tried to change it, maybe get into a smaller boat or maybe with less time... I was told NO MATTER WHAT that the $20 depo would be kept because I wasn't sticking with that orig reservation. How hard As*'ed could you be? Why so strict? They would still get a rental, get some business but with the rude gals that work there, I hope people take their business elsewhere! read more

John and RaeAnn do a great job of running the Marina. They have done it for years and have been very helpful We have a mooring out there and the people they have working are also wonderfully helpful when I have left something on at the boat or things like that read more

Wow, this has to be the WORST experience I have ever had at a lake before. My friends and I had taken our boat out for the day to tube and ski but, unfortunately, we experienced some trouble with our battery. We died out in the middle of the lake. Fortunately, we had enough service on our phones to text my parents to call a ranger to help us. They contacted the carter marina to come jump our boat. They said they would help us as soon as they could. We waited TWO plus hours before we saw NO ONE! The carter marina is completely unprofessional in how they handle Emergency situations. We are stranded! A storm was rolling in and we were all afraid Of what could come next. Thankfully, a nice family was able to tow us in to safety. The carter marina including "Don the owner" is completely incompetent and even tried to swindle my partner into paying $75 for an emergency jump. Thank God we are safe but will NEVER return to cater. read more

Started off pretty well. The gentleman with the visor was very nice and went through the "orientation" of the boat. We were excited to go out and had a great time on the lake. When we got back things took a turn. The slim older gentleman (70s) was very aggressive in stating that he was charging us $40 for cleaning. When I inquired about it he showed me some chip crumbs and stated "this just won't come out with vacuuming! We need to shampoo it and you were told about this during your orientation". As it was my birthday and I didn't want to end on a bad note I said ok. He seemed surprised and then treated me nicely till we got to the store where we reviewed the bill. I asked him, to make sure they would shampoo the boat for the crumbs and he became aggressive again "you can come down and watch us if you want". As he was saying this I was looking out the window watching the crew sweep and shop vac the boat. No shampoo. I didn't say anything because I'm not looking for confrontation on my birthday with my family. I then watched them park the boat to rent tomorrow. they charged me $40 cleaning fee for a shampoo that never happened and then when paying they had the audacity to ask for a tip. Buyer beware. read more

I am so disappointed by the customer service I just received. We rented pantoon for Saturday 8/10/2019 from 230 to 530. The woman just called me 10 mins ago telling me we rented a boat for today for 3 hours from 230-530 I stated no it was for Saturday from that time. I would never rent a boat on Friday 1) I work 2) my mother landed at 7am and wouldn't put her on a boating adventure with no sleep. My date was for Saturday. I asked to speak to the girl who initially made my reservation because she stated that date was available. She continued to say no it's been booked since July 23rd to someone else. I asked for my deposit refund back as that is not right. She put me on hold and I can hear the gentleman in the back just screaming. So she gets back on phone and says will refund you your money but you can't rent from us anymore. I proceed to say well why wouldn't I be able to rent from you when it was a scheduling error in your employees part? She is cuts me and says will refund you your money and hangs up. Me being a business owner that is very unprofessional. Also they need a better scheduling system and better communication. read more

Boy are they grumpy, about LITERALLY EVERYTHING! Not a fun place to be especially for sailing (lots of motor boats), and absolutely nothing to do if there is no wind. We had to leave! read more

This is a review of the Marina. The staff at the Marina is VERY rude. The boat loading/unloading ramp was overcrowded and there are always dumb ass people who stand there with their boats blocking the loading zone. Anyway, I dropped off my husband at the other dock that had the gas. A staff member yelled at us for daring to do such a thing. My husband tried to ask a question and was not even allowed to get the question out. There are not signs that we saw that said ONLY slot renters may use this area. If they want more business they might want to be more polite to everyone because they will potentially be customers of their store and rentals. Anyway, We will go back to the lake because it is beautiful but we will NEVER rent a slot or give them any money at their store! read more

I drove up to Carter Lake Marina from Erie, CO because it is impossible to get through on the phone. They only take reservations 2 weeks in advance by phone. I tried to rent a pontoon boat for 9 adults and 3 children under 7. Their website said the boats would fit 12 but when I got there, they said that they would only allow 10 people and perhaps 2 people would have to switch on the shore. The lady taking bookings was extremely rude and brushed me off big time! One of the employees on the dock was rude and obnoxious when I asked him questions. We decided not to rent from a place that was so unprofessional and rude. Usually, I get in my backup mode but I decided not to waste the energy. If they are this rude before they got my money, what are the chances that they will be worse after they have my money? Don't bother going there, your experience will be a nightmare. I am disappointed o say the least. I am glad I did not react and start yelling. Just...not...worth...it! read more

The Water is high and crystal clear! Camping is very fun. Deer walk by every-night and the rangers clean out the pits after every reservation! No trash anywhere and just far enough from town! We will be back! read more

Carter Lake is terrific and probably the best lake in northern Colorado in my opinion. Clean water and gorgeous views. However, this Yelp page is for the Marina and that is the focus of my review. We've visited the Marina a few time and there are a number of issues. Where to begin. The people who work there are generally rude and have an adversarial attitude with their customers. Essentially it is a glorified convenience store with a fuel dock, a private dock (for customers-more about that later), some slips and moorings for rent, and rental boats (that are never available, watercraft always broken). It's important to note that the marina store has signs all over with verbiage like "using the restroom without buying anything is rude". As a matter of fact if you go in and use the restroom BEFORE purchasing anything you will get dirty looks, eye rolls,and huffing sounds. Generally we stop in the store to get a couple waters, etc. and use the restroom before launching our boat. During an all day boat trip this past Sunday we stopped at the marina twice during the day, made a purchase both times, and everyone used the restroom (of course). Later on in the afternoon the weather turned quickly, lightning was getting very close, which began chasing boaters off the lake. There was a jam at the public ramp, 10 or so deep, and with one of the ramps being closed this made it worse, only one ramp could be used. Given the weather, it was getting too dangerous to wait so I decided to have my wife let me off at the marina dock so I could get our truck and meet her at the south ramp which is generally less busy. Idling up to the marina dock an older gentleman (the owner I think) confronts us and tell us unless we are going into the marina we cannot use this dock at all and points over to the overwhelmed public dock telling us we can only use that one. I suppose the fact we've already spent $30 on water and ice cream at their store that day doesn't matter at all. I protested saying "listen, we're not docking, I'm just getting off to get my truck" he was having none of it though. Given the situation I ignored him and stepped off anyway (we weren't even tying up). With lightning overhead and my 3 kids in the boat, he was going to have physically stop me at that point. Bottom line: the marina staff is disrespectful, borderline unsafe in their policies (what if I had a medical or other emergency?), have no regard to any form of public good, and I will no longer shop there. Read the other reviews about the marina (not Carter Lake itself), and you'll see I'm not alone. Other stuff.. prices are fairly high which is to be expected at a marina, the kicker being $10 minimum purchase to use a credit card. Maybe other folks have wads of cash with them but not me. read more

They have what you need! Great family run business. There are rental boats, knowledgeable staff, slips, moorings, tow service, they will even help launch and pull your boat off the lake and even inflate your tubes. This lake is a hidden gem and it looks like some of the people in the reviews want to keep it that way but I'm giving it 5 stars. read more

Yesterday I went inside to ask about boat availabilty, but first asked to use the restrooms. The lady told me that I needed to wait because the bathrooms were being cleaned. THe lady was busy answering phone calls, ringing up customers, and reserving camp spots. Did I mention the baby on her back in a carrier? After 5 minutes, I peeked inside and no one was cleaning the restrooms. I told her I really needed to go. She informed me that I could go across the street. "Per the health department, she needed to clean the restrooms." She went back behind the counter. Why would you close both men's and women's bathroom with the intent of not cleaning them? I will NEVER COME BACK!!! Does the health department care that she cleans the restrooms with a baby on her back? The want your money, but please don't use their restrooms!!!!! read more

Despite is arrogance of the Larimer Parks System and the very high fees there is a bright spot in the parks system - the Carter Lake Marina. It is obvious the staff loves boating and they are very knowledgable and helpful. I have rented a slip here in the past and the dock master runs a tight ship. I never had to worry because he was always on top of things. The marina isn't what it used to be since the county descimmated it by remodeling and eliminating the intimate cafe. The new store has the essentials but that's about it. Make sure you buy gas before you go to the lake unless you enjoy paying twice as much for inferior fuel if you can get it at all. The fuel station has very limited hours again thanks to the county. Be sure to plan for the hassle of mussle inspection by the county. The hours are limited and the fines for putting your boat in without are outragous. Don't even think about not buying the requisite permits because the county is exceptionally competent and effecient in handing out and prosecuting the citations. Rental boats and annual permits are available at the marina and this is a very pleasant lake for fishing and sailing. The water is a bit cold for water and jet skis. read more

I have used the services of the Carter Lake Marina for two seasons. The staff has been very accommodating, helpful, and they have given me some help with a boat I towed over from the western slope for a client. The facilities are clean, you can get some reasonably good marina food, and the docks are nicely kept and neat and tidy. If you need to ferry a boat to the west launch ramp, they will come and get you. They have had some hassles with Larimer County which I feel are unjustified. The staff has always been friendly to me and it is obvious that it is a family-run operation with good cooperation among the family members. I would like to see expanded hours of operation, but it appears that Larimer County may have some say in that. read more

Rude. We rented a pontoon boat from the marina. Everyone there seemed to be bothered by our presence. There is no "Hi, may I help you attitude." The dock hands seemed perturbed by our presence. They rudely questioned our every move from what tow rope are you using to how are you going to tow this. They made sure we were to clean up your chips before done. I'd hate to spoil their fine pontoon boat carpet. The boat itself was fine and we had a great time. When it came time to pay the dock hand comes up and adds up the fee. He doesn't pretend to give a **** whether you had a nice time. Here's your bill pay them. That's where you get to see the 2 rude ladies in the office who must think that they are funny; however, they aren't. They asked us directly for tip and were upset when didn't offer one. In my mind this was no different from a car rental. This was not a guided fishing trip. I didn't consider a tip and sure wasn't giving one after being treated as a bother to their day. Go to another lake or bring your own boat to Lake Carter would be my advice since they don't have any competition. read more