Slipways and Launching - The Complete Guide To Boating on Loch Lomond

Slipways on the Loch

Public

There are now only three official Public slipways, one is located at Mallarochy Bay, near Balmaha on the East coast of the Loch. The others are located in at Balloch at the Southern end of the Loch. From 2012 the National Park Authority have introduced charges for slipping.

There are also numerous other accesses to the Loch some private and some illegal, most however are now limited in some way. Caravans sites, boat yards & marina tend to have there own slips and most can be used either for a small fee or as part of your accommodation.

Balloch - Drumkinnon Bay

The slipway is run by the Park Authority by the ranger service. The slipway closes at 10pm but offer secure parking and chain down points for your trailer. The are jetties for getting passengers on and off and the slipway offers deep water for bigger boats. Access to the slipway is made from Balloch Road on the west side of the River and is located next to the "Maid of the Loch" Paddle Steamer". This is the most secure for overnight parking of cars and trailers.

The building next to the slip is the headquarters of the water borne rangers and you can also register your boat here.

Charges now apply for slipping from the 1st of April 2012.

The fee has 2 options, an Annual Launch Fee or a Single Use (Day rate) Fee.

Annual Launch Fee
This is a once per year payment for unlimited use of the launching facilities at DMMS and Milarrochy Bay. It is set at £55/craft/annum. (2012 prices)

Single Use (Day Rate) Fee– This is a payment to accommodate for first time or infrequent visitors. For a single use of the launch facilities a Single Use fee is set at £15/craft/launch. (2012 Prices)

Contact: +44(0)1389 722030

BALLOCH - RIVER LEVEN

The Balloch slipway can be very busy, unfortunately the design is extremely poor , and if you have a large boat I would not recommend it.

The road down to the slipway is found from the Moss O Balloch, the road is narrow and twisty.

Quite often you will get to the bottom to find some tourist blocking access, or someone has left the trailer in an awkward locations.

The slipway is not manned by the Park Authority, and it is not un-common for tempers to get frayed due to others being un-considerate.

Although Jet-Bikes can slip here I would not recommend this has there is a 11Kph speed limit in the river to around 1000m from the mouth of the river.. there is a good chance if the engine is cold that the plugs will foul before getting onto the Loch. There is also a good chance of getting a few bricks thrown at you as well, (speaking from experience).

MILAROCHY BAY

Milarochy can be very busy especially at the weekends, this is the most popular slipway for Jet-Bikes, the Eastern end of the Loch is somewhat windier and is also frequented by Wind Surfers and the Loch Lomond Sailing Club.

The Slipway as you can see runs onto the shore and can be quite shallow, I would recommend a tow bar extension. This slipway is manned by the Park Authority, they will check your registration and also limit cars accessing the shore. There is a speed limit of 11Kph to a fair bit off shore. The road to Balmaha can be quite busy on holidays and weekends with day trippers.

Charges now apply for slipping from the 1st of April 2012.

The fee has 2 options, an Annual Launch Fee or a Single Use (Day rate) Fee.

Annual Launch Fee
This is a once per year payment for unlimited use of the launching facilities at DMMS and Milarrochy Bay. It is set at £55/craft/annum. (2012 Prices)

Single Use (Day Rate) Fee – This is a payment to accommodate for first time or infrequent visitors. For a single use of the launch facilities a Single Use fee is set at £15/craft/launch, (2012 Prices)

Contact: +44(0)1389 722671

Private

(Charges will apply for use of these slipways, please check with operator)

Name	Location	Phone No.	Comments
Loch Lomond Marina	Balloch	+44(0)1389 752069	Wooden slip way into River Leven, difficult to access for large boats due to access road.
Ardlui Marina	Ardlui	+44(0)1391 704243	Shallow slipway within secure marina, good access even for large trailers.
Balmaha Boat Yard	Balmaha	+44(0)1360 870214	Shallow slipway, sandy bottom, not suitable for keeled boats.