Big Marine Lake

[Eric Bro]

Too lazy to drive to Waconia or Mille Lacs from Stillwater area, I drove the to Big Marine in northern Washington Co instead to try it with a NW wind. I was rewarded with a fantastic session.

I launched at the boat landing at the west end of Lomond Trail, about 2/3 of the way down the east side of the south bay of the lake. With the NW wind you get over a mile of fetch, and flat terrain beyond that. The lake is about 1-2' low, and that exposes a reasonably large beach area, (though nothing like White Bear and especially now), but enough to rig for a few kiters and plenty of shallow to stand in for launching. The best thing about Big Marine is the clean, clear water. But even on a Saturday there was enough room to launch downwind of and stay clear of others using the beach area. During the week this should be doable all summer, especially since the new county park is taking most of the traffic to the southwest side of the lake. And as long as the lake is low it makes the boat launch unusable for all but the smallest boats so it keeps the boaters away.

The downside is that this launch could probably handle only a hand-full of kiters as there is not a lot of area to leave kites on the beach. And with the NW wind direction it demands upwind skill since you can easily get blown into reeds and a dock downwind of the launch. I don't recommend it for beginning kiters. But with the 18-25kt NW I got to play in some nice rollers and got tons of power to launch with a 12m. FUN!

This is a great alternative that is pretty close on the east side. I can't believe I don't see any other kiters out there!

Eric

[JAE]

Eric,

I've been there 4 times this spring. I think is a great option on a NE to NW wind. I stopped by there on the way to work last Wednesday when we had a good NE, and it would have been good - had to work though. No one ever seems to use that boat landing any more with the new one on the north end of the lake and the new park reserve across the lake. It’s nice and shallow for a drift launch, and there is plenty of room to rig.

I was even lazier than you though. I live up on Green lake in Chisago and decided to give it a go here. I've got a pretty good launch at a neighbor’s house when there is a NW wind. Had a great session once I finally got out.

jeff

[Randy]

Thanks for the post, Eric. This park is only a five minute drive from my house and I was at the playground earlier in the day with my grandson. Our Forest Lake spot requires a little West or the fetch gets cut off. The wind was flukey, even though we could see caps on the far shore. Big Marine was lit the whole way. For a variety of reasons, we decided to stay and play Forest Lake's switching conditions (third lake). It was still fun, but from now on, when it's anything from NNW, N, or NE, the drive to the new park is on the list.

While I've yet to kite it, scoping it out, it seems like the best rigging/launch is just north of the swimming beach. They've cleared out a nice picnic are that seems safely upwind from the swimming area. The lower water level of the lake has some slippery mud to traverse, but it looks shallow for launching and landing, and gives you a little upwind grace period from where I'm guessing you launched from.

For sure, this is a site for experienced kiters, given the proximity of a swimming beach and a government regulatory agency. Also, does anyone know if there are submerged deadheads in this end of the lake?

For kiters with family, this could be the best destination to satisfy your non-kiting and non-windsurfing posse. They've really done a classy job with the park with a sand beach the quality of Ramsey and a premier playground.

Again, Eric, thanks for the post and attention to this new spot. It's got a lot of the same characteristics of launching and landing from Forest Lake City park, without all the boat traffic of first lake.

Just out of curiosity, did you notice any radical directional changes for the wind? We were noting up to a thirty degree fluctuation throughout the day, making for some interesting rodeo riding. I'm thinking your longer fetch would have eliminated much of this.

[Eric P]

Hey Randy, the fluctuation in direction was also ver evident at Waconia, even from the south beach. I'd say it changed as much as 45 deg. in a matter of minutes throughout the day. It was crazy, but fun. You could usually anticipate a change because the wind would die for a few minutes, then turn on from another direction.

[JAE]

Randy,

I believe Eric is talking about the old boat landing straight east accross the lake from the Washington Park Reserve. There is no swiming beach on that side of the lake. Thats where I have been going a few times this spring.

jeff

[Reds]

Eric - thanks for the post...I'd like to get out and try Big Marine sometime.