LAKE ELSINORE: Cable ski park proposed for Lake Elsinore
Lake Elsinore’s inlet channel could become a wakeboarding mecca if the city goes along with a proposal to create a cable ski park there.
The City Council is scheduled to review the proposal Tuesday during its study session on agenda items starting at 4 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. in the Cultural Center, 183 N. Main Street.
Chuck Sacks, who owns the California Skier boat dealership on Collier Street, and Scott Towsley of California Cable Parks are marketing the cable ski park concept to the city.
Their idea is to erect several towers in the channel with cables running between them that would pull wakeboarders over the water. Although water skiers could also use the cables, Sacks believes they would primarily be used by wakeboard riders, who skim along a water surface on boards similar to those used in snowboarding.
“Wakeboarding is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country,” Sacks said. “Physically, they need a boat and a whole crew. With this (cable park), you can just show up and buy some cable time, and go out without the help of anyone else.”
During the rainy season, the lake inlet channel, which is west of the city’s minor league baseball stadium in southern Lake Elsinore, conveys water from the San Jacinto River into the main body of Lake Elsinore. Most of the time, the channel’s surface remains calmer than the rest of the lake because it lies below a levee on the south side and an elevated bank to the north.
Sacks said the channel is designated as an aquatic park and his company has operated a wakeboarding area and a slalom course there since 1997. The channel also has hosted jet boat races, most recently in March.
Although cable ski parks have been proposed in various locales, including Lake Santee in San Diego County, there are none operating in California, according to Sacks.
“There’s other places on the map for cable parks, but so far nothing has come to fruition,” he said.
Along with the cable structures, Sacks and Towsley want to establish operating headquarters in mobile buildings at the southeast corner of Lakepoint Park, which is adjacent to the channel. The proposal also calls for the installation of 60 dirt parking spaces at the park and a stairway that would give patrons access to the lakeshore from the park.
“I think it’s an excellent location,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to utilize portions of Lakepoint Park. I think it would really increase the flow of people into the park.”
City administrators want to learn if the council supports the idea before they proceed in working with the applicants through legal, environmental and permitting issues. Eventually, a final plan would have to come back to the council for approval, the city’s staff report states.