You will find more than 20,000 acres for boating on Lake Gaston. The Lake, actually a part of the Roanoke River, is 34 miles long and has 350 miles of shoreline. The main lake is about a mile wide. The water feeds in from the west from Kerr Lake. Power boats and jet skis are permitted.
There are several creeks off the main channel of Lake Gaston. Most can be accessed by boats. Several, especially on the north side of the lake have highway bridges over the creeks, but the culverts are wide and tall enough to clear most boats if you lower the Bimini top or ski rack.
There are a number of marinas and public boat ramps along the lake. For navigation, there are buoys about every mile. They are numbered starting from the east, where buoy number one is about a mile from the Gaston Dam.
There are some stumps in the shallow parts of the lake. Many boaters have lost a prop on them. Most have been marked with floating milk jugs or other homemade markers. There are also some areas designated with “no wake” buoys.
Emergency Information
For accident reporting and boating violations.
Information provided by the Lake Gaston Water Safety Council.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: 919-707-0049 or 800-662-7137
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: 804-367-1258 or 800-237-5712
Sheriff: Brunswick County: 434-848-3133 or 800-848-3199
Sheriff: Mecklenburg County: 434-738-6171
Sheriff: Halifax County: 252-583-8521
Sheriff: Northampton: County 252-534-2611
Sheriff: Warren County: 252-257-3364
Virginia State Police: 804-674-2000 or 800-552-0962 or #77 (cell – VA Only)
While both North Carolina and Virginia counties around the lake have 911 service, the counties and states are not interconnected. In some cases services of fire departments and rescue squads overlap county jurisdictions and state lines. In addition, using cell phones further complicates this problem. You must be able to tell emergency responders where you are.
Other Contact Information
Missing or Damaged Mile-Marker Buoys: 252-535-6161 (ext. 3)
Danger/Hazard Buoys in North Carolina: 919-707-0150
Danger/Hazard Buoys in Brunswick County: 434-848-3107
Danger/Hazard Buoys in Mecklenburg County: 434-738-6191
