Fantastic folks and very helpful. They also handle boat registrations for the area…read more It's a smaller marina but they have the basics, everything you need for a day of fun on the water!! They also rescued me when my boat refused to crank. I was stranded on the water. I called them and Logan came out and towed us back. Great service!!

I will start this off by saying that I grew up in Swain County and was a multiple repeat customer…read moreprior to this. I rented a deck boat from Almond Boat & RV Park for $450 plus fuel. While the boat ran adequately, it was obvious that maintenance and cleanliness were not priorities from the time I cranked the boat. The only gauge that functioned properly was the tachometer. The other gauges either didn't work entirely or only worked part of the time. Considering the price of the rental, I expected all of the boat's instruments to be operational. On top of that, the boat wasn't very clean when I received it. There was black, dried algae underneath the front seat cushions, which clearly indicated the boat hadn't been cleaned in the time leading up to my renting it. If they are going to charge premium rental rates, customers should receive a clean, well-maintained, fully functional boat. At the end of the day, my group had tracked a small amount of dirt into the boat. I rinsed out almost all of it before returning the boat, leaving only a little dirt on the floor. When I pulled in, Jim was already on the boat with a 5-gallon bucket ready to rinse out the boat, indicating he could clean it with that. However, Logan insisted it would require an hour with a pressure washer and charged me an additional $50 cleaning fee. Given that the area in question is only about 4 ft wide (at most) and the boat is maybe 19 ft long, a 1 hour estimate seems to be either a gross overestimation or simply intentionally dishonest to make me concede to the cleaning fee (you decide). After paying over $500 for 8 hours of rental, I find it unreasonable and dishonest to nickel-and-dime customers over a small amount of dirt that is completely predictable when people spend the day at a lake. It's even harder to accept when I know that the boat wasn't clean to begin with. The boat served its purpose, but between the poorly maintained gauges, the questionable initial cleanliness, and the unnecessary cleaning charge, I won't be renting here again. Logan clearly doesn't care about repeat business, and if this is how they treat a local, repeat customer, I can only imagine how they'll treat everyone else. I will now look to the many other marinas on Fontana Lake to give my business to. I suggest you do the same.

Would not recommend…read more Lakeshore gives discounts for five star Yelp reviews. Boat was broken and they wouldn't give us a discount to take it for a few hours. Also would not give me a life jacket for my dog and were nasty about it. Professionalism at this establishment could be improved upon, although some of the employees are very kind and helpful. Their competitor, Signal Ridge, is much cheaper and runs their business with much more care for the customer. I would check them out instead.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS DISHONORABLE COMPANY! The owner gave us a walk through of the boat but…read moreintentionally neglected to tell us that the ladder was broken. She did, however, tell us to not beach the boat. We didn't realize the ladder was torn off, broken and had jagged rusty edges until we were at the far end of the lake about to take a swim by a waterfall. So we were unable to get on and off the boat safely. When we returned the boat the owner was nowhere to be found. Just a young man who knew all about the broken ladder that had been broken for weeks. When we called to speak to the owner and discuss the danger of knowingly renting a boat without a working ladder, the owner again wasn't available but a woman named Taylor gave us a scripted "too bad for you" response and claimed the previous renter must have damaged the ladder. We were also never given copies of our paperwork or any notification of the charges. Our only mistake was trusting the owner and not reading these reviews. Buyer beware!

My husband and I had a great 4th of July, thanks to Eclectic Sun! We rented a tandem kayak and they…read morelet us bring our pup Waffles on the kayak. Even though we got there super early, because of the holiday, there was a HUGE line getting into Devils Fork Park with the park rangers checking in with every vehicle - the rangers were turning away everyone without a parking reservation. I called Eclectic Sun and the nice lady on the phone said to show them our kayak reservation confirmation and that she would have a parking spot saved for us. Because we were in line for 1+ hours, we didn't get in until way after our reservation time but everyone was super nice and adjusted the time for us. The guys at the life jacket rental and down by the water helping people get in and out of their kayaks were also all very nice. All kayaks they had seemed to be in great shape, we had no problem using ours. Once you're out in the water, you can just dock it at any beach area you find around the lake (even though it was a busy day at the lake, there are so many beaches, you can easily find an empty one). We will definitely come back and rent one out again!

Waterfall tour was amazing . From start to finish! Each waterfall more beautiful than the last…read more.. Capt Shane and was helpful & kind. Affordable and bring your bathing suits if you want to swim! Sidenote: parking is convenient if your their early and there's a separate charge for that. $8 per person! Sidenote 2: the water is a beautiful turquoise.... Close to the color of the water in the Caribbean!

Had an amazing experience with our guide James. He picked us up at 7:15, and we went right to the…read moremouth of the Nantahala. Then to a few other areas of the lake. We caught several fish, and most importantly, my kids each caught a fish and I didn't have to worry about untangling their lines or helping them put some bait on a hook. I could sit back, relax, and enjoy. When it comes to fishing, it doesn't get any better than that. Will 100% call them for another trip next time I'm up at my cabin.

Kyle of Fontana Guides was easy to work with especially when we needed to change days due to…read moreweather. Went on a 4 hour drift fishing trip with my 17 yo son who had never fly fished before. Our guide, Brandan, was easy going, helpful and a real joy to have leading us on the water. Caught a number of trout including an 18" rainbow that my son reeled in! Epic day!

My husbeastie and I are up in Sapphire Valley, spending our week in my family's time share. The…read moreweather has been absolutely fabulous, so we decided to do something outdoorsy. As a teen, I would tube down this river so I offered this as an option to the man and he agreed. Given that he's a larger man, tubing was out, but a single person kayak, called a ducky, would be fine. I opted for the same thing. It was a touch more expensive vs opting for "Extreme tubing" but it was a lot more fun. We both got kitted out in our life vest, got our paddles and into the van and were driven to the Dillsboro drop off site, we were given pointers of where to go and what to look out for. The staff was great! The water was cool but not terribly cold, the river wasn't crowded for the height of summer and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was about 2 hours in the water from the time we put in until we took out. Yes, we did get stuck on a few rocks but we managed to get off of them without dumping ourselves into the drink. We certainly got an upper body workout from using our paddles!

We went on a Sunday morning. They don't do rafts on…read moreSunday. But they do tubes and kayak. We decided the way to go was tubing. The staff was sooooo friendly. We totally recommend this place. The water was a little low. But still it was enough for us to relax and float. And have a little fun at the drops. It took about 2 hrs. To go down the river. And at the stopping point, we didn't have to wait. Some one was there waiting for us to drive us back to our car. $15.00 per person for tubing.

boat storage needed was filled with covered storage to keep out of rain and sun. sales and service…read morestaff always Very pleasant and helpful.

Great marina with lots to offer! We enjoyed their ice cream and sandwiches very…read more much and boat rental was very well done with knowledgeable staff who were also very accommodating with a special request on day 2.

This is our third year renting from Anchorage and it was perfect again! The whole process was super…read moreeasy. Gina, Barney and their team were so helpful with everything. Our pontoon boat was really nice and we had the best week on the lake! We will be back very soon, and Gina will be our first call! Highly recommend!

Great experience! Nice location on Fontana Lake. Staff is very helpful with getting the boat set…read moreup and ready to go.

We have rented boats on Fontana Lake for several years - and Alarka Marina is the best! Their boats…read moreare brand new, spotlessly clean, and have plenty of power for a fun day of tubing! Additionally, their staff is friendly, helpful and informative! It feels more like borrowing a boat from a friend than actually renting from a marina! Last but not least - their rates are very competitive! Don't waste your time and money with other companies!