Getting Wet Closer to Home
There are a number of lakes in the Southland that allow water skiers a chance to get wet without driving four or five hours to the Colorado River area. Most, however, are small so crowds are often a problem.
In Los Angeles County, Castaic, Puddingstone and Pyramid lakes allow water skiing in restricted areas at certain times.
In Riverside County, Lake Elsinore is open to skiing, but is usually laced with boat wakes by early morning on weekends. And Perris Lake is open for skiing with a 35 m.p.h. limit, but the line of cars and boats at the gate before opening can be discouraging.
San Bernardino County has three water-skiing lakes: Arrowhead (you must rent their boats), Big Bear (with permit in marked areas), and Silverwood. There are also Buena Vista Lake and Lake Isabella in Kern County and Lake Piru in Ventura County.
In San Diego County, there is Snug Harbor (an inlet of the ocean at Carlsbad) and Mission Bay.
And, of course, there’s always the ocean.
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