CLOSE
Sign up to get news on contests, pro events, new products and special offers.
WATERSKI MagazineCommon sense might prevent you from believing that a 30,000-acre lake situated in the heart of steamy Dixie, right at the intersection of two major interstate highways, could provide a smooth-water mecca for water skiers and barefooters. You'd be wrong. The Ross Barnett Reservoir in Jackson, Mississippi, is just that.
It's on the north side, where the Pearl River begins widening into the reservoir, there skiers find a series of river bends between Coal Bluff and Low Head Dam. This is a natural skiing venue. Organized skiing is in infant stages, yet there are three slalom courses in the sloughs (complimentary use to visitors) and a jump ramp. The farther you get away from these areas, the more you'll need to keep an eye out for logs and other forms of submerged river shrapnel.
Wait until the skiing's finished before heading to Barnett's south end near the spillway. There you'll find a group of boat ramps, marinas and waterfront eateries, making it just the place to kick back after long runs on a hot weekend. – L.J. Wallace
