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WATERSKI MagazineOur first advice is to wipe out any ideas of plunking yourself into the middle of Lewis and Clark Lake and slicing water that's as ripe as a grape. This wedge on the Missouri River along the Nebraska-South Dakota border is prime weekend territory for everyone on both sides of the state line.
It's far from a lost cause for water skiers, though. You just have to slip into the parts less traveled, which happen to be the areas closest to the stunning bluffs that frame the lake.
“There's still a lot of barefooting at the top end of the lake and on the river below the dam,” says Gary Becker, who introduced barefooting to Lewis and Clark Lake 16 years ago.
East of the Gavins Point Dam the water narrows considerably on the Missouri River. Traffic is next to nil, and the water is more protected. Another alternative is State Lake, just north of Yankton, where the ski club might still be headquartered if it weren't for minor sparring over the club's jump ramp. It's now anchored on a private site in a rural area 10 miles northwest of Yankton, alongside the club's slalom course.
“We have a '97 [MasterCraft] ProStar 190 and only about eight active members,” says Lake Alexis Ski Club president and lake owner Jon Lane, “so if anyone wants to rent the lake the opportunity is good.” – R.S.
