Andrew McGonagle pushes Taylor Markel and Scott McLeod toward the water of Lake Mead for a refreshing ride. Photos by JANE KALINOWSKY/REVIEW-JOURNAL Paul Henry fills up his boat at the Las Vegas Marina before heading out on Lake Mead. Lake Mead's average water level last summer was 1,125 feet. Two weeks ago, the lake's average level was 1,140, up 15 feet from last year. Boat owners prepare for a day on the lake at the Lake Mead Marina recently. Lake Mead businesses are hoping this summer's higher water levels will mean a more successful summer.

After several summers' worth of depressing news, Lake Mead's legions of boaters, personal watercraft owners, swimmers and miscellaneous aquatic enthusiasts finally have reason to be more excited than usual.

Lake Mead's water level is higher this summer than it was in summer 2004.

Sure, we're still experiencing a nasty drought and Lake Mead's water level still is nowhere near where long-timers might remember it being. But this summer may be at least a temporary reprieve to the recent depressing trend.

Beyond that, it offers at least a glimmer of hope to marina operators, recreational boaters and water-lovers of all stripes who are keeping their pruney fingers crossed this summer will be a good one.

The early signs seem to be there. Martha Oliver of Callville Bay Resort and Marina said Memorial Day weekend -- the traditional start of the summer vacation season-- was "extremely busy."

Roxanne Dey, public information officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, said Memorial Day weekend this year drew about 221,780 visitors to Lakes Mead and Mohave, up from 214,098 last year and 188,309 in 2003.

But even more significant may be another set of numbers: The ones that indicate Lake Mead's average water level over the past few summers.

According to Dey, Lake Mead's average level last summer was 1,125 feet. Two weeks ago, she said, the lake's average level clocked in at 1,140, up 15 feet from last year.

Sure, 15 feet isn't that much. But it's still the best news fans of Lake Mead have heard since summer 2001.

In June 2001, the lake's average level was somewhere around 1,185 feet. But, from there, it's been all downhill, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: around 1,160 feet in 2002, then around 1,144 in June 2003, and then to around 1,128 in June 2004.

In contrast, Dey said, "the old normal range for us was 1,180 to 1,220 -- 1,220 means all the way to the top spillway gates at Hoover Dam."

A number of things are behind this year's slightly better showing. Among them, Dey said, is heavy precipitation in Southern California that decreased the need for the region's usual allocation of water.

One thing that wasn't, really, was our relatively wet winter.

"A lot of people think all the rain in Las Vegas had an effect on the level of Lake Mead, and that's really not the No. 1 factor," Dey said.

But Bob Gripentog, vice president of Las Vegas Boat Harbor, said Lake Mead has suffered from the perception over the past few summers it was simply too low to offer recreation-seekers any fun.

For some, Gripentog said, "the perception is it's a mudhole."

According to Gripentog, some marinas at the lake last year saw houseboat rentals fall off as much as 50 percent because of "the perception of low water."

"We don't have houseboat rentals, we have small boat rentals, but our boat rentals were off 15 percent," he continued. "They predominantly weren't affected by lower water at all, but by the perception of lower water."

Now, Gripentog and other Lake Mead businesses are hoping that this summer's slightly higher levels will translate into a more successful summer.

Callville Bay's Oliver said people who haven't visited the lake in years are surprised at "how much the water has gone down."

But, she said, "it's still a great place to be. There's still a lot going on, and there's a lot of recreation going on here."

Granted, adaptations have been necessary. For instance, Dey said lower lake levels have presented boaters with sandbars, rocks and obstructions they didn't have to deal with during higher-water days.

But, she said, "I think there's a lot more awareness of that now. When people come out now, they need to watch out for rocks and sandbars."

On the other hand, Oliver said, lower water has exposed more beaches for boaters to visit.

Janice Fromm, a master instructor at Blue Seas Scuba Center, said lower water has made it a muddier, more difficult slog for divers who enter the lake from the shore.

On the other hand, she said, "some of the things that were sunken before that we couldn't reach" now are more easily accessible to more divers.

While they'll never notice the extra 15 feet, sightseers also should enjoy the lake this summer, said Larry Hogan, general manager of Lake Mead Cruises.

"This is still a huge lake," he said. "All the marinas are still operating. All the restaurants are still up and operating. We're renting boats. We still run all our cruises."

Even fisherman should benefit from slightly higher water levels this summer, said Geoffrey Schneider, conservation educator with the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

Spring saw a "tremendous" spawn of threadfish shad, the primary food fish for all of the Lake Mead's game fish, in Lake Mead's Overton arm, Schneider said. "So that's an indication that, in the Overton arm, fishing may be very good."

Overall, Schneider said, "I think it's going to be an excellent summer of fishing."

Of course, diehard water-lovers probably didn't allow shifting lake levels to bother them much anyway.

Sean Steimel, sales manager for Honda of Las Vegas, said Lake Mead's levels haven't made "too much of an impact" on sales of, or interest in, personal watercraft.

Buyers, he said, "don't necessarily talk specifically about Lake Mead."

It's the same for water skiers, said Ryan Michaelson of Proshop Motorsports And Marine in Henderson.

Skiers "wonder if it's going to rise or when it's going to change," Michaelson said. "But it's not really an issue."