Vehicle Beach Access Restricted - SSB

[andrewcarey44]

As of yesterday, Utah State Lands Fire & Forestry, who owns South Sandy Beach (SSB), has put up signs along the gravel county road restricting vehicle access on the beach. This restriction will be enforced by the DNR as well as the Utah county sheriffs office & you will be cited if you drive/park on the beach. If you plan on kiting SSB you should park along the county road and walk down to the water. The way I see this restriction is great progress with the development and improvement of the beach (although it is a bit of a hassle at the time). A group of us are working with this state agency to acquire a group permit that would grant all kiters vehicle access to the beach. As we work on this permit please respect the signs and do not drive or park on the beach. We have a great reputation with the sheriffs office, state lands fire & forestry & the DNR and they want us to recreate at SSB. I spoke with the lands coordinator Tyler Murdock of the DNR back in May following the fatality of the dirt biker on the county road. He talked about the State's plan with SSB and it starts with restricting open fires and shutting down vehicle beach access. The ultimate plan is to develop the area with parking and facilities. He said however that access wouldn't be denied until adequate parking was provided off of the county road. This is a piece that remains frustrating as it is a long walk to the water and the cars parked on the road will provide an easy target for thieves. We are continuing to work with the state and will update as we receive more information on the permit as well as development of the beach. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions!

For now be very careful with your belongings if you plan on parking on the county road or kite at Lindon that has a massive beach. I will provide info as it comes in.

Andrew Carey
801-541-9339

[Todd Jacques]

Good job andrew. Lets keep this thread going for communication please. Some of us like me are not on Facebook. Let me know what you need.

[bordy]

South Sandy beach News..
As of this Morning at Friday the 23 10am we have applied for a "launch" permit to operate our vehicles on SSB and Park them by the the old "coldersac" north of the grass where they are visible against theft and break in, while still close enough to have gear accessible.


You can access this lot by using the trail that does not have a sign, where the motorcycle rider hit the tree.
This is the only trail that is not signed and was recommended as our access point by the only DNR officer who patrols the lake and installed the signs, Jason Curry, he has had a death in the family and will not be around during this transition period so if you are asked to move by a Utah county sheriff please kindly let them know we have applied for A group permit through Jamie Barnes and she is rushing the process and should have responses next week. If they still insist you move please do so. If they are going to issue you a citation Call me I have Jamie's cell phone number for such a case. The officer we spoke with last night was understanding of our situation and said they would start issuing citations in the future but were only issuing warnings for now.

We applied for the launch permit under the facts that we have large amounts of gear to move to the "launch site" and making several trips to and from the current parking spaces would lead to less usage by kiters/sailors.

Now here is the quick back story, turns out it has always been illegal to operate motor vehicles on the beach but never enforced ( perhaps the income from beach DUIs on ATVs was worth it).

But do to a large Party/bonfire by the local collage receiving thousands of facebook "will attend" responses, the DNR decided to shut the party down via signs and rule enforcement.
This "panic" move has of coarse left us high and dry, the DNR is working diligently with us and loves us as users of SSB. We are the crowd they are trying to promote, while exiting the riff-raff.
It was refreshing to be reminded of the outstanding relationship we have formed with the DNR over the last decade, they consider us staple members of the recreation community at Utah lake, great job by everyone to establish our community to the DNR this is going far during our SSB permit process!

We have not lost access to SSB, and requardless of the out come of the permit will still have access only not the time saving convenience and gear security we would prefer to continue sailing there and should have the permit process finished before this season is over allowing us to going into next season with clear cut parking and usage rules!
Please contact me with any questions you feel are not forum friendly. or ask away right here!
Big props to Asi Yoked, and Andrew Carey for their leg work with this issue!

[andrewcarey44]

Here is an image illustrating the area where we can drive and park as currently agreed upon with the State.