Anyone else get a little frustrated with the SCR landing situation.
I called around to the private marina’s today and they are charging anywhere from $15-$30 for a weekend day pass. I think thats outrageous.
And the the public access have limited parking and are all so far apart from each other.
The only good public landing on the river that I know of is the St. Croix Bluffs landing. Lakefront in Hudson is decent if you get there early enough. I have no use to go much further north than that, however.
Can always launch in Hastings or Prescott and boat up. There is no fish in the Croix anyways, internet ruined it.
I called around to the private marina’s today and they are charging anywhere from $15-$30 for a weekend day pass. I think thats outrageous.
Well,,,,,,,,,,,,, “open lot parking” in the metro area will run around $6.00 per car per day. You have a tow vehicle PLUS a trailer (twice the space) that would compare to $12.00 per day for just parking. Now you add in a ramp fee of $3.00 and you are up to $15.00 for a day.
$15-$30 for two days seems about right compared to “lot parking” in the metro area.
Hunting Dave, that’s per day
$15 for one day or $30 for two days is pretty reasonable if you ask me. $30 for one day is definitely on the high end unless you compare it to “event” parking rates, then the rates double or triple.
Folks want to use a ramp for free. Stop in at the bait counter and buy $6.00 worth of minnows and think they are doing the business a favor. Concrete for ramps and space to park is not “free” for those providing those services.
Hunting Dave,do you build parking ramps?
$15 a day for a public waterway is a joke.the only reason they get that is because people are foolish enough to pay that..
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As of yesterday, Hudson lakefront park I heard was closed. Fun, fun for the weekend.
Launching has always been challenging on busy weekends here. The only way to combat that is to get there early. The Croix is typically not a daybreak bite water so you end up with time to kill. With Hudson landing closed that bites.
All you can do is pick what section of river you want to fish and land as close as possible taking into account all the no-wakes along the way. With Hudson out I would recommend Windmill. I have launched a few openers there and you can easily go north or south. It is very nice and worth the money on opening weekend.
Hunting Dave,do you build parking ramps?
$15 a day for a public waterway is a joke.the only reason they get that is because people are foolish enough to pay that..
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It may be a public waterway but the land adjacent where the concrete is poured for the ramp is private land (in the case of a resort operator). If you don’t like the rate use another access. Most all the Mississippi PUBLIC landings where I launch on the Wisconsin side charge a fee and don’t have the conveniences of a resort launch site.
“Free” launch ramps both public and private are becoming a thing of the past.
BTW The only parking or launch ramps I have built are the ones my local sportsman’s club paid for and no they were not cheap to put in.
Whats the farthest North ramp that’s open now, pay or public doesnt matter. Boom site marina? First time on the Croix hopefully tomorrow.
I refuse to pay for a launch on the croix. I typically get creative. For example, launch at a free site, (boomsite, one by anderson, or north hudson) and have my buddy park the trailer at some friends house nearby the river. Then pick them up along the river wherever they are. I have friends that live near downtown hudson, stillwater, and bayport. It sounds like a hassle but usually adds about 10 minutes to my fishing trip. Not 100% sure of the legality of it, but I’ve never run into any problems.
Pay ramp on the croix? Sounds like you might be using the wrong ramps. Plenty of free ramps up river on the croix. Might have to bring your own tuna boat because you wont see any up there.
Just completed my minnow run, and FYI the docks are NOT in for Hudson, and there are barricades that say closed due to high water … nice
They even strategically placed two huge dumpsters behind the barricades. Never seen that one before
I read this post every year and it makes me appreciate my marina slip. I’m an old retired fart with nothing but time on my hands. I’m in the water 24/7 from about 15 April to 15 October. It costs a bunch of money but I fish 4 to 5 days a week and all I do is park, load the boat and go. Marina is really nice with a lot of conveniences for the family and we treat it like our own cabin property but without the hassle of maintaining it. Clean bathrooms with showers, large picnic area with a nice picnic shelter, convenient parking. Sheltered cove with easy access slips. Its five minutes from my house so I go in the morning sometimes and almost every night. They take my boat out and store it over the winter and put it back in in the spring each year. It is a nice way to slow down your world and when it is convenient you will use it. I’ve been doing it since 2007 – love it.
And the the public access have limited parking and are all so far apart from each other.
This is the biggest total bull schmidt thing about the Croix. How local yolkos have done the no parking treatment to the roads for 2 miles either side of the landings. What a crock! A bunch of locals get together and say they don’t like people parking on “their roads” and ta-da, now nobody can use the access. Sounds Christmas Lake owners association.
So you have a bunch of “public accesses” that the taxpayer is paying for, but cannot actually use because townships, cities, and counties have been allowed to eliminate all the parking except for a microscopic number of on site spaces. I think at boomsite there’s what, 15 spaces? What a frigging joke. There are mud puddles around the metro area that have more boat parking than this prime launch on the St. Croix.
The state needs to step in and take away the road and grant funding from any local unit of government that bans parking around a public access unless that local government pays for an independent safety assessment that proves 100% there is a major safety risk that necessitates the restriction.
We need a major law change in this area. It gets worse every year not just at the Croix but all over MN. “Public” access has become meaningless in even the most rural areas because the public is being banned from parking and therefore cannot use the accesses we paid for.
Grouse
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Hey guys, been reading this site a couple years.. Great info.
I thought I would chime in on the launch ramp issue. I’ve been on the st croix for just over 40 years now.
Back in the mid 80s the DNR got concerned over how many boats were on the river. They started to limit access. If you are old enough to remember when Stillwater Yacht Club was Mullers you will remember there was a launch ramp right where the gas dock is today. They used to launch 100 boats there every weekend. You parked right there in the dirt lot which is now the circle in front of pappys.
Most of the marinas had similar access points. So the DNR decided to limit these access points and in turn limit parking.
The boomsite public launch was an answer to the public that wanted access. By design it limits how many people can launch. The DNR was also the one that limited all the parking for a mile or so in all directions. It wasn’t the residents.
There’s a report out there from the 80s that talks about volume and protecting the waterways. If I find it I will post a link.
Btw, I was out Saturday and got pretty much nothing. I usually lake fish, I never seem to get much more than a couple crappies off the dock when I fish on the river. Clearly I’m no good at it .
Interesting info. Thanks.
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