Not a good place for swimming/water play

The algae bloom throughout this lake gets very bad in the months of July and even into August. The park will post an alert on their website but it will disappear after they treat the water. In Late July this year (2023) the public swimming beaches were closed due to algae bloom. This information was provided on their Facebook page and then was removed when it reopened. People asked about the bloom and the levels detected along with the chemicals used to treat it. They referred to dogs that became ill from playing in the water off the trails near the dam. The response they were given was that levels for humans are much higher than for dogs and they stressed the importance of dogs not playing fetch in the water anywhere on the lake. This is because dogs in previous years have done so and become very ill within minutes because they would inadvertently "drink" the water. Some even perished. The fact that they don't post signs at the shoreline warning people of this is negligent and awful. Dogs are not allowed on the beaches, however, the past several times I've been there, dogs have been everywhere at Baypoint. At one point, three of them were about to have an altercation and there is literally no security in sight. Over the past few years this park has become a free-for-all when it comes to the rules.

This aside, there are numerous Trails where dogs are allowed, but they don't necessarily advertise them very well. The mountain biking trails are nice but when they get busy some of them are very narrow and it's difficult to move your dog out of the way. The Fitness trail is great and is supposed to be foot only but lately mountain bikers have been zipping through there, too. If you're looking for an off-leash area, there is a designated dog park for that.

Aug. 23, 2023