Hi Tom,
Here's the lowdown:
Boulder Rez: Fuhgeddaboudit btwn Memorial Day and Labor Day, i.e. the summer. They want $30/board/day. Ridiculous. BUT, here's a little secret... shhhhhhhh... don't tell anyone... AFTER Labor Day, there's no one at the front gate AND no one cares or checks if you go in and windsurf. It can be great when the west winds blow as it does in the Fall. Take the first left about 50 yds past the entrance and you're practically in the parking lot. Sometimes you'll encounter kite sailors who will tell you that you have to move because you're in their set up area. I just laugh and shake my head like I'm in on the joke they're telling me. Ooooo BOY... snort... that's a good one!
Btwn MD and LD, i.e. summer, the best spot is undoubtedly Standley Lake. I used to fly hang gliders and there is a wind corridor that was a bitch to get across when you were either flying from Golden to Boulder or vice versa. It points right at Standley. That's the good news. The bad news is that they are nearly as expensive as Boulder so not many people windsurf there.
The next best place is Union Rez, which is out Hwy 119 (aka Diagonal) about 2 miles past Longmont. Turn left at County Rd 1 (big intersection, stop light, very large low white bldg on the NE corner). Union Rez will cost you $8 per car. That's it. You park on the South side of the lake.
When the wind is out of the NW quadrant, i.e. West counter-clockwise to North, it rocks. One big problem: If the wind gets over 20mph, the swells start to crank up. At 30mph, they will be about 5 ft apart and 3-4ft. Best strategy: get to the upwind shore fast. If you're around 150lbs plus/minus 20lbs, rig a 7.5m sail. If you weigh more than that, you might need an 8.5m sail. 90% of the time I'm (225lbs) on an 8.5m sail with a 165l board and my wife is on a 7.5m sail and a 149l board.
Here's the secret to sailing Union Rez. As soon as it start whitecapping and it has any kind of westerly component, head to the NW corner of the lake. We call it "El Coche Cove". If you've ever been sailing in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, you'll understand perfectly what this means: very smooth wind and very flat water. If the sail you rig is too big, just wait about 20-30 minutes. The wind will change and it will be the right sail again. Sometimes I just have to get off my board way up in the NW corner and wait until the wind subsides a bit.
If the wind is west with a south component, the turbulence from the cottonwood trees is tremendous. You have to sail to the middle of the lake (at least) to get away from it.
2 things to note: 1) Do not sail near the shore from the boat ramps around to the west. That's where everyone fishes and it's a good way to get people really mad at you. There's a point on the west shore that juts out the East - it's marked by a single tree. North of that tree you can sail as close as you want to the shore. BUT, 2) do NOT get out of the water in that area because it's s protected bird nesting area. As long as you're in the water, you're probably fine. It's probably best to stay as far away from shore as you can to avoid disturbing the birds nesting there. Same with the North side of the lake.
East side is no problem - that's where the Longmont Sailing Club has their pier, parking lot, and storage sheds. That reminds me - the few times I've been sailing around them, they pretended like they don't know the sailing right of way rules when it comes to windsurfers. It's kind of funny how that's never a problem when they're sailing around each other. Anyway, stay away from them unless you really know you're sailing right-of-way rules. I have found that they suddenly remembered them when they realized I'm wasn't going to yield and that I had the right-of-way.
The wind in Colorado changes very rapidly. You have to get used to it.
When you get good enough, you might want to try sailing Lake Hattie, Wy. It's a little over 2 hours drive from Boulder and one of the windiest places in the US. It's a small lake so the worst that can happen is you fall off your board, can't get the sail out of the water because the wind is cranked up, and you blow into the shore. Usually, the walk is short or you take a short nap (you know cuz' you can sleep when the wind is roaring), the wind changes, and everything is fine.
One additional note about Hattie: It's usually no fun camping there in a tent. The wind at night can make tent camping a lot like trying to sleep with a 200lb tuna flopping around all night. I can't count the number of nights I've had to tie my tent to the car, large rocks, and/or long screw-in stakes and then woken up with most of the tent tie-down loops completely ripped out. I think you'd need a really strong, like Everest quality, 4-season tent and large snifter of brandy at a minimum to guarantee a good night's sleep there.
Good luck.
Paradoxically, Denver metro has something like the 3rd largest windsurfing community in the US. Yeah, ain't that weird?
PS There's a group of windsurfers at Union every Sat pm - rain or shine. Just walk over and say "Dude." ;-) BTW, that group doesn't use the word "lying". We call it "demonstrations of imagination" and it's considered a high art form. Just hang around a bit and you'll see.
Barry
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Tootle,
Bar
Every form of refuge has its price. -Eagles