Pontoon in South Dakota

Most people file South Dakota under prairie and the Black Hills and never picture a boat. Then they see the Missouri River reservoirs. Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, and Lewis and Clark Lake stack up along the river's spine for hundreds of miles (cruising water, walleye water, wake water), and boaters from across the Upper Midwest keep the ramps busy all summer. Marinas along the impoundments handle everything from tin fishing boats to houseboats, with fuel, slips, and services where you need them.

The reservoirs don't all look alike. Up north the bluffs go steep and rugged; downriver the shores roll out gentler and greener. Lake Oahe (one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, with over 2,000 miles of shoreline running from Pierre up to Bismarck, North Dakota), can feel like wilderness once the marina drops behind you. Lake Sharpe, near Pierre and Fort Pierre, stays narrow and riverine. Lake Francis Case and Lewis and Clark Lake open up wider, and their broad water near Chamberlain and Yankton draws sailors and families in equal measure.