Sailing Out of Bde Maka Ska, the Chain's Wind-Catching Heart

The largest lake in the Chain of Lakes, Bde Maka Ska has the open water that the bridge-broken Lake of the Isles lacks, and its northeast shore has long held the Minneapolis Sailing Center and the public boat launch. The Bde Maka Ska-Lake Harriet Master Plan, approved by the Park Board in 2016, recommended relocating both to ease congestion at that corner, which sits next to the recently rebuilt Bde Maka Ska pavilion.

The predesign work has since changed course. A feasibility study found that moving the launch and sailing center to the lake's northwest corner would be too expensive because of poor soils, so the board is now exploring renovating the existing building and piloting changes at the current site, according to the project page. The board is working with the Minneapolis Sailing Center under a memorandum of understanding, and the project remains in predesign, with no funding committed for detailed design or construction. Daniel Elias is the project manager.

The board gathered public feedback at a September 2024 open house and through an online survey. Whatever the outcome, the lake's role as the chain's sailing hub is not in question; the work concerns where the launch sits and what shape the building takes.