I was looking back trying to confirm if a new launch was going to available this upcoming year. I thought I read it from this site but cant find anything confirming it when I did a search.
What I remember is that there will be a new public ramp added that part of some type of church/bible camp can anyone confirm this? And if so what stretch of the river will it be located.
thanks!
I was looking back trying to confirm if a new launch was going to available this upcoming year. I thought I read it from this site but cant find anything confirming it when I did a search.
What I remember is that there will be a new public ramp added that part of some type of church/bible camp can anyone confirm this? And if so what stretch of the river will it be located.
thanks!
This is what I read:
http://www.presspubs.com/st_croix/news/article_fe5c5a28-6c91-11e6-b490-4f78afd3cc12.html
Here is a quote from the article. “Nobody should ever have to pay to have access to the holy cross river,” Derek said. “So one of the first things that we’re doing is that you’ll never be charged to launch your boat on the river ever again at this site.”
Can anyone confirm that this will be available this year?
I am sure! That place will be a wreck if they dont charge. There isnt enough room as a pay launch. I think they are dreaming a little too much and a little cuckoo.
The sale of Beanies fell through sometime last fall.
It’s still for sale… Suzuki??
Is the Andersen windows boat launch free? Do they have parking, is there any type of pass you have to buy.
I live in WBL so I would like to launch closer rather then having to spend the money in gas and spending 15-20 each time I launch in lakeland.
It is owned privately now, no boat launch. Wonder what happened to plans up in Stillwater by the new bridge?
That brings me to my last question. Is the boom site (north of stillwater) safe both with launching your boat (is it to shallow for a 20ft boat?) and parking vehicle (break inn’s?)
That brings me to my last question. Is the boom site (north of stillwater) safe both with launching your boat (is it to shallow for a 20ft boat?) and parking vehicle (break inn’s?)
Good on both accounts.
I’ve spent many weekends with a vehicle trailer parked there and not once a concern.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bradl110 wrote:</div>
That brings me to my last question. Is the boom site (north of stillwater) safe both with launching your boat (is it to shallow for a 20ft boat?) and parking vehicle (break inn’s?)Good on both accounts.
I’ve spent many weekends with a vehicle trailer parked there and not once a concern.
Thanks for the response, there any rock or stumps to worry about.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bradl110 wrote:</div>
That brings me to my last question. Is the boom site (north of stillwater) safe both with launching your boat (is it to shallow for a 20ft boat?) and parking vehicle (break inn’s?)Good on both accounts.
I’ve spent many weekends with a vehicle trailer parked there and not once a concern.
Thanks for the response, there any rock or stumps to worry about.
Immediately after launching head downstream and go slow until you get to the docks and channel. There are a few deadheads to be cautions of in that small stretch.
Like I said in the pm, the rest of that area north of Stillwater is not mapped, use normal River rat knowledge to find the channel and remain cautious until you know the hazards.
The problem on the St. Croix isn’t launching. It’s parking.
Local governments have been allowed to ban all on-street or roadside parking for miles around each public access. Therefore, they have effectively closed the accesses because there is nowhere to park.
The Boomsite is a classic example. There is less than 20 parking slots available and even though there are wide, paved shoulders on the highway by the access, it has been declared a no parking zone for a mile in each direction to prevent people from using the launch. I strongly suspect that was done by the City of Stillwater at the urging of wealthy riverfront landowners who want the river all to themselves.
We need a state law in MN that states that any local agency that wants to effect no parking zones within a mile of a public access MUST prove that there is a valid safety concern AND that there has already been substantial numbers of accidents to bear out this concern. Mere speculation of what might/could happen is not a validated concern.
Any local unit of government that enacts an unauthorized no parking zone near a launch should be fined and should lose all state road funding for a period of 5 years.
Grouse
I strongly suspect that was done by the City of Stillwater at the urging of wealthy riverfront landowners who want the river all to themselves.
I’m sorry Grouse, I’m giggling! 
I agree the lack of free boat launches on the Croix is surprising. I am used to it but considering you can launch a boat free on any lake and everywhere on the Miss, it is weird. And its damn near criminal when you consider the fee launches extort, I mean charge. Especially to non-residents.
I hope they open up a huge public landing by the new bridge and knock Hudson off their pedestal!
North Hudson has a free launch…and parking if you’re early enough.
There should be numerous free launches every 5 miles. I wish some of our tax payer dollars would go here instead of ripping up the same roads over and over again every other year.
And people wonder why I launch in Prescott to fish Stillwater lol. Only 1.5 hr boat ride, but parking is guaranteed and if I drove in only saving 40 minutes of my time.
Certainly would be nice to have several more.
A town or township should give up land to accommodate those that don’t have access when they themselves do not have access? How many of you would greet an overrun of traffic in your neighborhood or your backyard on a weekly basis. Just what I want is an oversized chevy 1 or 3/4 ton or a dually Superduty connected to 44′ trailer or same vehicle with a 16′ trailer parked on the street in front of my house.
Beanies will be missed by many just not by those next door.
The biggest shame of all is that we have a free launch with ample parking at the Anderson location, but everyone involved is too thick skulled to make it work out. Simply no good reason that huge parking lot couldn’t be utilized better, regardless of who owns the property.
Capture.jpg
I honestly would be fine with paying an annual fee of $30 to fish the croix.
Every time I go out between putting gas in the vehicle and boat, paying for a launch and bait its cost close to $50-$60 every time. I love fishing the croix but after the first few weeks of walleye fishing I usually dont go back just because if the cost.
The biggest shame of all is that we have a free launch with ample parking at the Anderson location, but everyone involved is too thick skulled to make it work out. Simply no good reason that huge parking lot couldn’t be utilized better, regardless of who owns the property.
For sure Darren. Nice chunk of space that could go to good use.
I’ve been buying the City of Hudson annual pass for 80.00 (resident). Non-resident is 120.00. It is higher than I would like to pay but what isn’t? I complained to the city when they raised the annual resident fee from 30.00 to 70.00 because someone from MN complained about the descrepency between resident and non-resident. It sucks when you pay that fee and the lot is full every weekend by 9 am or when the river is high and you can’t launch there. I’ve also tried asking my city council rep, the mayor, and the head of the Parks department about why they can’t increase the size of the lot and/or raise the elevation of the lot. It sounds like the DNR has a big say in doing either of these and I don’t think these reps have the appetite to push for this.
As for the Anderson ramp, my understanding is employees are able to use this. Why do you think a private business should open up their lot for the public to use for 30.00 per year (or whatever price you think fits your budget)? As much as it would be great for cheaper or free launching, it would only make it more busy.
North Hudson has a free launch…and parking if you’re early enough.
Are you talking ferry landing? Anybody here actually successfully launched there? If memory serves this is sand only, no concrete ramp. My parents live a few minutes from that beach. I haven’t mustered the guys to try it out.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brian Klawitter wrote:</div>
North Hudson has a free launch…and parking if you’re early enough.Are you talking ferry landing? Anybody here actually successfully launched there? If memory serves this is sand only, no concrete ramp. My parents live a few minutes from that beach. I haven’t mustered the guys to try it out.
Yep. I’ve launched there several times (especially when Hudson is closed due to high water). My boat is only a 17.5 Pro V and I have no problem. The main problem is parking is up the hill and there is only about 6 or 8 spots to legally park in. Depending on the river level, you may have to back in a little further. It is sand/gravel ramp.
As for the Anderson ramp, my understanding is employees are able to use this. Why do you think a private business should open up their lot for the public to use for 30.00 per year (or whatever price you think fits your budget)? As much as it would be great for cheaper or free launching, it would only make it more busy.
I never suggested that, but there is an obvious demand for more public access to the water. The DNR already owns the launch, they could certainly work out a lease with Anderson for a chuck of that lot. Especially since it’s always empty.
It’s a win/win/win.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>pool2fool wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brian Klawitter wrote:</div>
North Hudson has a free launch…and parking if you’re early enough.Are you talking ferry landing? Anybody here actually successfully launched there? If memory serves this is sand only, no concrete ramp. My parents live a few minutes from that beach. I haven’t mustered the guys to try it out.
Yep. I’ve launched there several times (especially when Hudson is closed due to high water). My boat is only a 17.5 Pro V and I have no problem. The main problem is parking is up the hill and there is only about 6 or 8 spots to legally park in. Depending on the river level, you may have to back in a little further. It is sand/gravel ramp.
16ft tri-hull pulled by an old 2-door Explorer. Does have 4WD. Doable?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bzzsaw wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>pool2fool wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brian Klawitter wrote:</div>
North Hudson has a free launch…and parking if you’re early enough.Are you talking ferry landing? Anybody here actually successfully launched there? If memory serves this is sand only, no concrete ramp. My parents live a few minutes from that beach. I haven’t mustered the guys to try it out.
Yep. I’ve launched there several times (especially when Hudson is closed due to high water). My boat is only a 17.5 Pro V and I have no problem. The main problem is parking is up the hill and there is only about 6 or 8 spots to legally park in. Depending on the river level, you may have to back in a little further. It is sand/gravel ramp.
16ft tri-hull pulled by an old 2-door Explorer. Does have 4WD. Doable?
I’ve never seen anyone stuck there. It is fairly flat and you may need to back in a ways.
I’ve never seen anyone stuck there. It is fairly flat and you may need to back in a ways.
Thanks!
St. Croix River bridge project comes with a new boat launch for town
By Mary Divine | [email protected] | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: March 20, 2017 at 7:00 am | UPDATED: March 20, 2017 at 3:21 pm
When he wants to take his 19-foot fishing boat out on the St. Croix River, Oak Park Heights City Council member Mark Swenson has to travel north to Stillwater or south to Bayport.
But in a few years, Swenson will have an option right at home.
As part of the mitigation package to offset the effects of a new St. Croix River bridge, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will spend $1.2 million to create public water access in Oak Park Heights.
The money has already been transferred to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which plans to build a boat launch adjacent to the downstream side of the bridge. DNR officials presented the plan at a workshop last week at Oak Park Heights City Hall.
“This is going to be awesome,” Swenson said after the presentation. “We are a city on the river that has no access within our city limits. This is good land, and this is a good purpose for it.”
Swenson said three factors make the location ideal for a boat launch: deep water, minimal current and easy access to Minnesota 36 and Minnesota 95.
Plans call for the free boat launch, which will feature 35 boat-trailer parking slots, to be built in summer-fall 2019 and open for public use that fall or the following spring.
Overnight parking will be allowed, but extended stays will not, said Kent Skaar, senior project manager for acquisition and development for the DNR’s parks and trails division. There will be no overflow parking. “I would expect that by 7:30 in the morning on a July Saturday, it’s probably already going to be full,” he said.
Portable toilets will be provided, but there will be no trash cans. Boaters will be expected to “pack it in, pack it out,” Skaar said. “That’s proven to be quite effective overall. The minute you put up a trash can, someone tries to cram in a mattress or a refrigerator.”
The boat launch will include a special aquatic invasive species “clean in-clean out” decontamination area and a bin for aquatic plant and unwanted bait disposal.
Brandon Helm, an acquisition and development specialist for the DNR, said building in the bridge construction footprint makes sense because the area has already been disturbed. “We did not want to impact more of the floodplain,” he said.
The St. Croix River Valley has proven to be a difficult area to place a boat access, Skaar said. “The opportunities here have been relatively limited.”
The only facilities the DNR operates on the river are the St. Croix Boomsite Public Access and the launches at William O’Brien and Interstate state parks, Skaar said. The rest of the boat launches are local and/or private, he said.
This is great news!
Overnight parking will be allowed, but extended stays will not, said Kent Skaar, senior project manager for acquisition and development for the DNR’s parks and trails division.
I wonder how they will enforce that.
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