Sailing in Idaho?

danavision17 · Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 10

Ill be taking a family vacation to Yellowstone then to Denver. Is there any place that I can sail in Idaho or anywhere inbetween the gorge and Denver I should try to stop and sail at?

Thanks
Dan

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Yellowstone Lake is cold and seldom windy, but its beautiful and its water. Buffalo Bill Reservoir in Cody, WY, downhill of the east gate of Yellowstone, often gets very strong evening thermals. I once bought an Angulo while passing through Cody, and before I could get out of town (it was calm), the reservoir switched on with a steady 3.5 blast near sunset.

Damn RIGHT I rigged and tried out the board.

And there are many other lakes between Y and Denver, Approach it the way a windsurfer takes any road trip: get out the state maps, mark all the lakes, and determine your route and timing by the forecasts (TV, cellphone, weather radio) and tree movements. Many of my trips have produced more sailing en route than at my destination.

The problem now is that the Gorge peaks in july, while non-thermal inland winds tend to die off by June.

Mike \m/

Windlover · Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Posts: 623

There are a few spots along the way through southern Idaho that you may have a chance to sail. As isobars said, be prepared to stop and sail at a moments notice. There are areas along the snake river that people sail between Boise and Idaho Falls if you take the route that follows the river. There is also American Falls reservoir near Pocatello and Blackfoot. It gets good winds at various times.

Ive also gotten some good sailing at Buffalo Bill Reservoir but mine was a morning session. Sailed 4.5 with two other sailors for about two hours and it shut down.

There are also a couple of small lakes near Denver that get some afternoon thermals or storm effect winds. The thunderstorms will build over the mountains and bring wind as they pass over Denver. Rarely do they drop rain or lightning until they are over the plains, but the winds are there. Boulder lake is one of them, just north of Boulder. Another one is north of Golden near Ft. Collins(?).

Hope you find some wind along the way and have a safe trip.

Chrisg · Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 7

Colorado sailing
rmwa.org has a list of keen places in the area. Being a newbie, I hang out at soda lakes, right near red rocks. Small lake, no motorboats, good times. Union Res. in longmont is where I grew up boat sailing and its nice. I dont have my own gear and its a pain to drive from longmont to denver to rent gear so I cant tell you exact conditions, although weekends there is normally a dozen people there.

trburl · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 196

American Falls Resevoir outside of Pocatello is your best bet for good sailing in the area. The swell gets good there as the fetch runs pretty long when the Res. is full after a big winter. Like Mike said, the chances of good wind are slim, but if it goes, AM Falls Res. has the best swell around.

sailingjoe · Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 1087

kellydennis · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 9

american falls ca n be windy check forecast
needs to be at least15-25 Lake hady out
side of Laramie, Wy or Big Sandy resev south of Pinedale , look for a cold front is your best bet

hydrogimp · Joined: 08 May 2008 Posts: 3

I live in Idaho Falls and typically sail either American Falls Reservoir, which has already been mentioned (last Sunday was a great 25 to 35 mph day) or Mud Lake, which is near the towns of Mud Lake and Terryton (it's really not muddy, it has a sandy bottom). The wind is typically better at Mud Lake, A.K.A. "Club Mud" than at American Falls Reservoir although it is probably not as conveniently located for someone driving to Yellowstone. For driving directions and other information see thewindmap.com. For real-time wind information for both American Falls and Club Mud (look for Terryton on the map) see http://www.noaa.inel.gov/WindV/ or http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/mwmap.php?list=1&wfo=pih&map=pih&sort=name#table

U2U2U2 · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:30 am Post subject:

the original post on this is JULY of 2006

think he probably got it figured out by now

cgoudie1 · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:31 am Post subject: Re: RE: Sailing in Idaho?

Another reasonable question. Here's a reasonable answer.
Bear lake does indeed get slighty windy pretty much every afternoon
without any major weather systems coming through. Unfortunately, it's
typically about 6MPH. Under a weather system, it can get really wild,
but it's not very predictable. Might be OK for a long board.

-Craig