Rowing is a more recent import, but no less promising. Former UC Irvine crew coach and sculling guru Mike Sullivan brought his peculiar brand of sculling evangelism to the shores of Clear Lake in 2002. The group he founded, Clear Lake Scullers, now numbers about 40 rowers of all ages and experience levels.

This welcoming group offers programs for youth and adults throughout the year. The club has a large fleet of boats, including several eights, four/quads, pair/doubles, singles and training gigs. All the equipment has been salvaged, refurbished, or bought very used, but it is an outstanding beginning fleet, Sullivan says. The boats currently are housed in a former schoolyard, but the club is working hard to build an enclosed boathouse.

There’s plenty of space in the enclosure for private boat storage, of course, or you can keep your boat at your new home—the market is currently glutted with tony lakefront homes and more affordable acreage nearby.

The rowing on Clear Lake is excellent, says Axel Altermann, a sculler who owns a second home on the lake. While rowing on such a large body of water can be disconcerting, he says the weather patterns are predictable. “Morning’s are

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calm. It’s as flat as an ice rink.” And with 161 miles of shoreline at your disposal, you only have to turn around once. “You can row as long as your arms hold out,” Altermann says. Rowers typically stick to the sheltered waters close to shore, where a strictly enforced 5 mph speed limit keeps power boaters on their best behavior.

Lakeport is a quintessential vacation town, bustling in the summer; sleepily cozy in the off-season. The surrounding countryside is full of orchards and rolling pastureland.

It’s an outdoor-lover’s dream, with superb hiking, cycling, climbing and of course fishing (in case you haven’t heard, Clear Lake is billed as the Bass Capital of the West).

You can get a good meal in Lakeport (try Renee’s Café for down-home breakfasts and old-school milkshakes; Park Place for pasta with a lake view), but with just 10 restaurants and four bars within 15 miles, this isn’t the

first place an epicure would look to retire. For Michelin 5-Star dining and high culture San Francisco is just two hours away;

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wining alone can be accomplished at one of Lake County’s many vineyards.

#10 Greenwood Lake, New York

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