Comal County road crews are working to extend Canyon Lake boat ramps #2, #7 and #8 and plan to clear material on the land side of #1 to install ‘butter sticks’ or large stone blocks that will keep boulders and other material from falling onto the ramp.
Doug Leecock, who serves as a spokesperson for the Canyon Lake Boat Ramps Community Alliance (CLBRCA) and is running for Pct. 1 commissioner in the March 5 primary election, said County Judge Sherman Krause announced the upgrades at the group’s Tuesday meeting.
Boat ramps will be extended by approximately 50 feet each.
Work already is underway on boat ramp #2. Within the next 30 to 45 days construction will begin on #7 and #8. Once that’s completed crews will begin clearing the area around #1, which will remain a single-launch boat ramp.
Leecock said Krause did not reveal the cost of these projects.
The judge has yet to formalize a 2022 draft plan he developed for boat ramps with the help of CLBRCA. The group identified ramp congestion, ramp safety, parking, access for boaters, rules and enforcement, infrastructure, maintenance and trash cleanup and restrooms as key issues that need to be addressed.
Leecock said low lake levels appear to be the impetus for the county’s shift from making these upgrades to extending the length of ramps in shallower areas of the lake.
“It’s great to see the county is taking the opportunity to extend ramps to provide a more usable surface for the people that use the lake,” he said. “We are looking forward to addressing the concerns that we have for parking and access and safety in the near future.”
What’s not clear is how much value those extensions will prove to boaters.
“Extending those ramps doesn’t necessarily equate to being able to get your ski boat into that area for a longer period,” he said. “You might still have a topographic issue that comes into play with the lake when you navigate to some of these shallow ramp areas. You might be able to use the ramp to get into the water for a longer period during a drought, however the depth of the water on the way to the ramp remains unchanged.”
