Water Sports

Bishop Cut

This is a nice straight run from Paradise Point Marina north, but unfortunately has one 5 mph zone at a farmer’s dock. Many skiers extend the Bishop Cut ski run to include White Slough.

Disappointment Slough

Islands run along the center of the slough and the long safe route is along the southeast side next to Rindge Tract. You have a clear run from the Deepwater Channel to Paradise Point — you can pass under the bridge there and continue for another few miles until it meets Fourteenmile Slough, which can be too heavily trafficked for safe water skiing.

Empire Cut

This is a wide, straight route along Lower Jones Tract that on lightly trafficked days can be extended to continue onto Latham Slough , and then on to either Old River or Middle River in a generally northerly direction.

Grant Line Canal and Fabian & Bell Canal.

Another nice straight-line ski route. Fabian & Bell is the preferred route, for Tracy Oasis Marina occupies part of the Grant Line Canal. (This is like a single canal with a berm down the middle.)

Holland Cut

Ski on the Holland Tract side of this waterway, which provides a long unimpeded route, which can see heavy traffic on summer weekends.

Mokelumne River, North Fork

Except for the last mile or two on the Giusti’s end, this slough is wide enough for pleasant skiing if you use caution on several sharp bends. High levees give good wind protection and there are no marinas or docks on the run to slow you down.

Mokelumne River, South Fork

Mokelumne River, South Fork, D-6. For our purposes, we break this fork into two sections. One runs from Tower Park to its juncture with the North Fork in a west-east direction and is quite wide for safe skiing. At times, it can be windy here with a bit of a chop. The other section of the fork runs from Tower Park upstream to Wimpy’s. Although it starts out sufficiently wide on the Tower Park end, it narrows and twists during its journey and is not suitable for safe water skiing starting a few miles before Wimpy’s. Use your own good judgment.

Railroad Cut

A straight-arrow run with two waterways separated by railroad tracks in the center. It runs between Old River and Middle River in the South Delta. Take the time to observe the traffic flow and follow the “unwritten rules” here. Dan H. has skied this waterway for years and says the rule here is to ski in both directions (two-way) on each of the two waterways. He says it is too dangerous to try to treat them as one-way on each side, because of heavy traffic at the bridges on each end. Dan H. says that the regulars there have devised a method of making their boats do an un-powered U-turn at the ends of the waterways without losing their skier or wakeboarder.

Sacramento River

The mighty Sacramento offers numerous fine water skiing areas in its long run. But from its lower juncture with Steamboat Slough downstream, it can be a bit broad, windy, and rough for comfortable skiing (windsurfers love it though). The Sacramento’s levees are high for good wind protection. There are some slow zones for marinas, and some private docks may require a slow-down. In most private dock situations, the river is wide enough so that you can go to the opposite side of the river and be more than 200 feet off the docks.

Snodgrass Slough

Located behind Locke adjacent to The Meadows. Waterway runs for several miles before deadending. It’s a wide waterway ideal for water-skiing, and thus there is some wake action for those anchored. Waterskiers will stay here for a week on their “mother boat” handy to water skiing. Tall boats need to arrange for an opening of the Twin Cities Bridge.

Steamboat Slough

This is a long, fairly wide slough with gentle bends, and high levees for wind protection. Boats anchor in the first two or three upstream miles, and there are few docks or slow zones to break your ski run (use caution at cable-ferry crossing). Snug Harbor is the only fuel stop on the slough.

Victoria Canal & North Canal

Victoria Canal & North Canal, G-6. These two dug waterways seem like one with a berm down the middle, offering a straight ski run and banks high enough to provide wind protection. Take the time to observe the traffic flow and follow the “unwritten one-way rules” here.

Whiskey Slough

This is a dead-end slough that ends at Whiskey Slough Harbor, and thus does not have the heavy traffic a through waterway might have. Although this slough has long been a good water-skier hangout (good black bass fishing as well), I have thought that with the heavier boating traffic of today, this might be a bit too dangerous for weekend skiing. But skier Dan H. touts it highly. “The dead-end area has a big turn-around area so you can keep going with a big sweeping turn,” says Dan. He says there is an unwritten rule among the regulars there that the slough is sometimes divided into two areas — with the wakeboards and kneeboarders in the more curving dead-end part of the slough and the water-skiers in the straighter area on the Empire Cut end. In any case, use caution, stay alert and be safe.

White Slough

This is a lightly-trafficked pretty waterway peppered with tule berms. It runs from Little Potato Slough to Bishop Cut for a nice long, unimpeded run. Parts of the slough also offer nice anchorages. Victoria Canal & North Canal, G-6. These two dug waterways seem like one with a berm down the middle, offering a straight ski run and banks high enough to provide wind protection. Take the time to observe the traffic flow and follow the “unwritten one-way rules” here.

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