San Luis Reservoir

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Aloha
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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by Aloha » Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:23 am

Driven by this as well en route to LA and it looks ridiculously epic. Can you comment on depth (for foiling?)

Thanks!

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by Cali_Rider » Sun Oct 09, 2016 11:58 am

I don't think depth would be an issue for foiling. I would assume it would be fine based on the gradient of the shoreline. Would just need to walk out / body drag out a little before starting. I only had to walk in maybe 10ft and the water was almost at my waist.

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by dwaynej » Mon Oct 10, 2016 10:47 am

SRA is a state park so CA State Park rangers patrol the area.

There is the San Luis Reservior Basalt campground on the south east corner of the main reservoir with much easier access to the water. I have spoken to the rangers in the last year about kiting and they are fine with us. I believe the lower reservoir (east below the dam) is not accessible to us.

Rangers only concern is bringing foreign marine species (mussels?) into the reservoir and require all water craft to be inspected and that also includes us and our boards.

I would highly recommend accessing the reservoir via the south east entrance and letting your board undergo a brief inspection.

Note the use of boating warning lights on the reservoir - Amber is Caution and Red means closed to boating, although likely that would also mean epic conditions for us. Need to respect the rules else we could easily be banned.

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=558

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by Yoda » Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:32 pm

dwaynej wrote:I believe the lower reservoir (east below the dam) is not accessible to us.
Looks like you missed this post. It was posted lasted month...
godddard wrote:Kitesurfing is now allowed ar the O'Neil Forebay, it is allowed on the east end of the lake east of the power lines only, the prevailing winds are westerly , so kiting is not permitted in the no wake/ ski zone , west of the lines.

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by Yoda » Mon Oct 10, 2016 4:35 pm

dwaynej wrote:Rangers only concern is bringing foreign marine species (mussels?) into the reservoir and require all water craft to be inspected and that also includes us and our boards.

Note the use of boating warning lights on the reservoir - Amber is Caution and Red means closed to boating, although likely that would also mean epic conditions for us. Need to respect the rules else we could easily be banned.
I wanted to comment on this because I've been kiting at Folsom lake for over 10 years which is within the CA SRA system as well and I've never been inspected for evasive species on my boards or equipment. Seems very weird that they would do that. Here's why...

Mussel inspection is only applicable to motorized vessels that have areas on the vessel that can allow for standing water such as in the bilge, wet well, or other areas. Equipment such as surfboards, wakeboards (twintips), and skimboards are fully encapsulated and are void of areas that can allow water to accumulate and/or stand, so it doesn't make any sense to inspect these items.

I'm curious... Do you know if they inspect the windsurfers, paddleboarders, and canoe/kayakers too?

In the meantime, I contacted the Dept of Boating and Waterways who enforce the Mussel inspections within the SRAs to get better clarification and specifics on what type of vessels (and related equipment) require inspection. I'm waiting to here back from someone who may be in the know. Please stay tuned.

Regarding the lights - The warning light system is there to help avert any capsizing from motorized and non-motorized vessels. It's not applicable to windsurfers and kiteboarders. They should not be enforcing this!!! If they are, please report them.

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by dwaynej » Mon Oct 10, 2016 10:36 pm

Yoda wrote:...They should not be enforcing this!!! If they are, please report them.
Probably just inexperienced rangers. When I told them I had a kite board, they did want to inspect it. Thanks for the info on lights. I have been to SRA numerous times with the Yellow light on and it was pretty windy.

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by ReLaunchSports » Thu Oct 13, 2016 11:32 pm

Has anyone been to San Luis Reservoir in October?

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Re: San Luis Reservoir

Post by AlwaysCharging » Sun Aug 12, 2018 11:46 am

I realize this is an old post but just wanted to warn anyone who stumbles on this post like I did. I kited the spot in the pictures above a couple times a few weeks ago and it was really really fun. Came back to my truck and found it broken into. Luckily my alarm went off and the thieves were rushed and got squat. Ended up having the Sheriff come by to take a report and he said these types of break ins happen almost daily at that location and similar pullouts along the highway on the north east side of the lake. I also noticed a ton of broken glass in the lot while waiting for the Sheriff. If you do kite here I'd recommend leaving NOTHING of value in your vehicle. The sheriff said Basalt was mostly safe and you can drive right down to the lake there, although I don't think the wind fills in there as good. The visitor center is another option I've considered exploring assuming they will let you park there and walk down to the lake. Just stay clear of the dam. Unfortunately the experience made me bitter about the whole place so I'm not sure when I'll be back.

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