Some Mosquito Lake areas remain off limits

STAFF REPORT

BAZETTA — Mosquito Lake State Park is a recreational area, but there is an adjacent area along state Route 305 owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that is off limits to sled riders and snowboarders, the Corps says.

Joe Arnett, park ranger at the Mosquito Lake dam, said the Corps has had to remind individuals lately that wintertime activities such as sled riding are not allowed on a hill formed by the outflow of the dam — the area where the water leaves the lake and enters Mosquito Creek, also known as the “face of the dam.”

The steep hill on that south side of the dam contains signs warning sled riders to stay off, but people have been ignoring them, Arnett said.

The area is dangerous to sled riders and snowboarders, Arnett said, because there are rocks, trees and pipes sticking out of the ground.

Riding on the hill also causes erosion along the hill, which is an important part of the lake’s earthen dam, he added.