The barge selling "Hawaiian Shaved Ice" floated gently on Lake Havasu, but the party was over, the crowds gone. Twenty-four hours after Memorial Day, the lake was emerging from something of an aquatic hangover after three days of wretched excess.

Lake Havasu's party reputation has been honed over decades. Hit this desert oasis at spring break or a holiday weekend and you may not see the lake beyond scores of party barges, canyon leapers and college-age revelers.

But if that's not your scene (or peer group) and you arrive the day after, or midweek, you'll have the lake to yourself: miles of beautiful coastline, remote canyons, empty coves and 60 miles of river to explore. Hardy types can drive right onto the lakeshore beach to a campsite that comes with an electricity hookup and an awesome sunset.

Also known as the American home of London Bridge, Havasu mostly is famous for its water sports, with summer regatta events almost every weekend. But even if you're a novice boater, you can have fun.

"Visitors have several options," said Jim Salscheider, executive director of the Lake Havasu Marine Association. "Pontoons are easy to operate, they're safe and carry up to 10 people. We also rent a lot of kayaks now, (personal watercraft) and deck boat cruisers in the 18- to 20-foot range — enough for boaters of all ages to explore remote areas or stick close to town."

The option to enjoy the outdoors or civilized pursuits is Lake Havasu's big appeal.

"Out of the four Colorado River lakes, Havasu is the only one with a city on it," said Salscheider. "We have the boat channel (that comes right into town) and of course, the world-famous London Bridge. Plenty of restaurants are just steps away from your boat dock and hotel. There are lots of activities — we're not just a marina."

Plus it's an easy half-day drive from Las Vegas (five hours from Los Angeles).

"There is no quiet in Vegas," Barry Manilow once said. But time it right and you'll find it on Lake Havasu.

ON THE LAKE

Havasu is a 45-mile-long reservoir lake, created 70 years ago when the Colorado River was blocked by the Parker Dam.

Out on the water, boaters have two options: to stay close to town and meander or explore Lake Havasu in either direction. The northern end of the lake is the most interesting and a popular day excursion is to Topock Gorge, about 20 miles, navigating the Devil's Elbow, Cathedral Rock and several sandbanks.

Lake habitat also includes marshes and underwater rocks to avoid; luckily, they're easy to spot.

The lake is pristine, cobalt blue (Havasu means "blue water") and cold, but during summer, air temperatures soar well above 100 degrees. There are no waves, but the lake has beaches, coves and backwater canyons, and is surrounded by rugged desert scenery. Topock marsh, a major fish and wildlife habitat within a national wildlife refuge, is especially popular with bird-watchers and anglers. In the lake's quiet backwaters, bighorn sheep will come down to drink.

At Topock's Golden Shores Marina, a small landing area, boaters can tie up and head to the upstairs pub overlooking the river for a seafood lunch and a cold beer.

BACK IN TOWN

Lake Havasu City's single greatest attraction is London Bridge, the same gracefully arched bridge, quarried in Dartmoor, southwest England, that spanned the River Thames in London for almost 150 years until it began to sink into the mud.

When the bridge was replaced in 1971, American millionaire Robert McCulloch bought it for $2.5 million and shipped it in numbered pieces to the Arizona desert to be reassembled on a peninsula jutting into Lake Havasu. The 900-foot bridge spans a dredged channel into the city complete with replicas of lighthouses built to one-third scale.

As a grand entry, the bridge is impressive and an authentic piece of history. Witness the strafing scars left on the stones by German bombers during World War II. Next to the bridge are many restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

OUTSIDE TOWN

Parker Dam, about 20 miles south of Lake Havasu City on the California-Arizona border, is not as impressive as Hoover Dam to the north, but it is the deepest dam in the world. Men and machines dug 230 feet down into the bedrock below the riverbed to make the structure secure. Of its 320 feet, 235 feet are below the riverbed.

Self-guided tours are no longer available at Parker Dam. However, visitors can park in the turnout on the California side of the dam and view the structure and information panels around the site.