USACE Park Ranger Warns of Danger at Boat Ramp No. 17

The rules are clear.

Canyon Lake boat ramps operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are for launching and recovering watercraft only.

Not partying, swimming, barbecuing, setting up canopies or hanging out on the shoreline adjacent to the ramps.

But this is exactly what’s going on at Boat Ramp No. 17, also known as the Little Jacobs Creek ramp, located on the north side of Canyon Lake right off FM 306.

USACE Park Ranger Philip Anderson, who dropped three “slow, no-wake zone buoys” there on July 24, said recreationalists have turned the area around the ramp into a day-use park.

They’re also illegally parking on roadways, littering, blocking driveways and upsetting homeowners.

“It’s very much a nuisance for boat operators and adjacent homeowners, especially on weekends,” he said.

Boaters and swimmers don’t mix either, especially around boat ramps where boat operators have to maneuver in extremely tight areas, Anderson said.

USACE’s new buoys are far enough away from Ramp No. 17 to provide boaters with adequate warning to slow down as they approach, to provide a safe zone for boaters to load and unload their vessels from the water.

There’s a sign on dry land, too, advising recreationalists that the boat ramp is for loading and unloading only.

With Labor Day just weeks away, USACE hopes the public will slow it down on land, as well.

Click here to see a YouTube video about Boat Ramp 17, posted by Kelly Travel Adventures.