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Preferred Facilities and Services at Free Public Water Access Sites
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Source: University of Minnesota
Authors: Pitt, David G.; Schatz, Curtis; Lime, David W.;
and McAvoy, Leo H.
ID: CD-FO-3925
Year: 1990
No. 9
Preferred Facilities and Services at Free Public Water
Access Sites
Minnesota Extension Service University of Minnesota
Introduction
Pleasure boating is big business in Minnesota. In 1989
there were 286,000 pleasure boat owners and nearly 700,000
boats registered in the state. How do these boat owners
gain access to the state's many lakes and rivers? Do they
make use of Minnesota's 2,200 free public water access
sites? What kinds off activities and services would they
like to have available at these sites in order to make
their boating experiences more enjoyable?
To obtain answers to these and other questions related to
the quality of boating in Minnesota, a statewide survey of
registered Minnesota boat owners was conducted in 1988 by
the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources (DNR), funded by the DNR. The
research summarized in this report is based on a survey of
2,490 boat owners, projected to the entire population of
Minnesota registered boat owners.
Use of Water Access Sites
Almost three out of four Minnesota boat owners used a free
public water access site at least once in 1987. On an
average, public access site users launch their boat six
times a year at three different public access sites.
Approximately half of Minnesota boat owners gained access
to the water they used most frequently for boating in 1987
from a free public water access (Figure 1). Twenty percent
of all boaters gained access through private marinas.
Eighteen percent of all outings within 49 miles of home
involved water access from a permanent residence. Seasonal
residences provided access for 19% of all outings
occurring 50 or more miles from home.
___________________________________________
Figure 1. Percentage of Minnesota boat owners using
various type of water access facilities on their most
frequent boating outing
Within 49 miles of home: 50 miles or more from home:
Free public access: 50% 46%
Private marina: 20% 20%
Permanent residence: 18% 1%
Seasonal residence: 6% 19%
Friend's residence: 4% 4%
Campground: 2% 5%
Resort: 1% 6%
___________________________________________
Regional variation. Variation exists in the type of water
access a boat owner is likely to use depending on where
the owner lives.
Metro. Compared to the pattern of free public water access
use for all Minnesota boat owners (Figure 1), owners in
the Twin Cities metro region are more likely to use a
private marina for access on outings within 49 miles of
home (25% of metro owners vs. 20% of state owners) and
more likely to use a seasonal residence for access on
outings beyond 50 miles from home (23% metro, 19% state).
North. Whereas 20% of all Minnesota boat 20 owners gain
water access for their most frequent outing within 49
miles of home through private marinas, only 13% of owners
in the north region use marinas for the same purpose.
Compared to the average for the state, the outings of
north region boat owners occurring beyond 50 miles from
home are less likely to involve water access from a
seasonal residence (12% north, 19% state) and more likely
to involve access from a private marina (24% north, 20%
state) or a public water access (50% north, 46% state).
Figure 2.(Vis. 2)Selected characteristics of Minnesota
boat owners based on frequency of free public water access
use
Figure 3.(Vis. 3)Percentage of boat owners In favor of
services and facilities at free public water access sites
South. Outings within 49 miles of home for boat owners in
the south region are more likely than similar outings for
owners throughout the state to involve public water access
(59% south, 50% state) and less likely to involve access
from a permanent residence (8% south, 18% state). Of all
boat owners in the state, south region owners are most
likely to use resorts as a means of water access for
outings occurring more than 50 miles from home (10% south,
6% state).
Frequent users. A large percentage of public water access
use involves a relatively small segment of boat owners who
visit the sites frequently. Over 87% of all public water
access launchings in 1987 involved people who launched a
boat from a public access seven or more times (Vis. 2). Of
the state's boat owners, 35% launched their boats at a
public access seven or more times in 1987. Over half of
all public water access launchings in 1987 were
attributable to the 10% of the state's boat owners who
launched at a free public access more than 25 times.
Preferred Facilities and Services Near Home
Statewide perceptions. In 1987, 77% of Minnesota boat
owners engaged in boating outings occurring within 49
miles of their home. Almost 40% of those outings occurred
within five miles of home, and over 75% were within 20
miles of home.
Over 70% of the state's boat owners believe that provision
of toilets at public water access sites and buoys to mark
depths and navigation hazards would enhance their boating
outings within 49 miles of home (Vis. 3). Between 60% and
70% of Minnesota's boat owners feel provision of
designated car and trailer parking, docks, drinking water,
and security lighting at public water access sites would
enhance outings close to home. At least half of the
state's boat owners also believe provision of maps and
other boating information and boater wayside rest areas
accessible only by water would enhance boating outings
within 49 miles of home.
Regional variation. Regional variation exists in the
percentage of boat owners who believe provision of a
particular facility or service would enhance outings
within 49 miles of home. The percentage of south region
owners believing that a facility or service would enhance
an outing close to home exceeds the statewide average by
7% on docks, bait and tackle shops, and public
campgrounds. Otherwise, regional variation is within 5% of
the statewide average.
Variation based on boat type. Boaters owning different
types of boats have varying perceptions of whether
provision of public water access facilities and services
would enhance their most frequent boating outing within 49
miles of home (Vis. T1). As compared with other boat
owners sailboat owners are less likely to believe that
providing fishing information or provision of nearby bait
and tackle shops will enhance their experiences. Canoe and
kayak owners are less likely than other owners to believe
that provision of navigational buoys, docks, security
lighting, and nearby lodging, bait and tackle shops, and
marinas will enhance their close-to-home outings; but they
are more likely to believe that provision of trails from a
public water access, maps and other boating information,
and public campsites accessible only from water will
enhance their outings. Compared to other boat owners,
owners of sail or power boats longer than 20 feet are more
likely to feel that their outings within 49 miles of home
will be enhanced by provision of navigational buoys,
marinas, protected harbors, and nearby lodging, but they
are less likely to believe that provision of designated
parking will enhance their close-to-home outings. Owners
of sailboats under 20 feet in length and owners of all
boats under 13 feet are less likely to view provision of
water-accessible wayside rest areas and marinas as
enhancing outings near home.
Variation based on frequency of use. The number of times
boat owners use public water access sites is also a factor
in how they view facilities and services at these sites
(Vis. T2). The perceptions of frequent users are
especially important since 70% of all public water access
launchings involve boaters who launch 15 or more times a
year and 50% of all launchings involve boaters with 25 or
more annual public access launches.
Among boat owners launching 15 to 24 times a year at a
public access within 49 miles of home, 85% support
provision of toilets, and 74% or more support provision of
buoys, designated parking, and docks.
________________________________________________
Table 1. (Vis. T1)Percentage of owners of various boat
types who favor facilities and services within 49 miles of
home
________________________________________________
At least 60% of the owners with 15 to 24 annual public
access launchings support on-site provision of maps and
other boating information, drinking water, security
lighting, and nearby provision of water-accessible boater
wayside rest areas; and at least one half of these owners
believe provision of fishing information and swimming
beaches at water access sites would enhance their outings.
Boat owners launching more than 25 times a year at a
public water access exhibit response patterns similar to
those launching 15 to 24 times. However, over half of the
most frequent public water access users also believe that
provision of nearby bait and tackle shops and public
campsites accessible only by water would enhance their
boating outings within 49 miles of home.
Preferred Facilities and Services Away from Home
Statewide perceptions. In 1987, 56% of Minnesota's boat
owners engaged in boating outings occurring 50 or more
miles from home. Among boat owners in the north region,
approximately three out of four of these longer distance
outings occurred within 150 miles of home. Metro region
boat owners were much more likely to travel distances of
up to 500 miles when pursuing boating outings away from
home.
More than two out of three Minnesota boat owners believe
that their boating outings occurring more than 50 miles
from home would be enhanced by providing toilets and
navigational and water hazard buoys at public water access
sites (Vis. 3). Over 60% of the state's boat owners
believe that provision of maps and other boating
information, designated car and trailer parking, and docks
would enhance their away-from home outings. At least half
of the state's boat owners also support provision of
fishing information, drinking water, security lighting,
water-accessible boater wayside rest areas, and protected
harbors. Between 45% and 50% of Minnesota boat owners also
believe their outings would be enhanced by provision near
public water access sites of water-accessible public
campsites, marinas, and bait and tackle shops.
__________________________________________
Table 2.(Vis. T2) Percentage of owners with varying
frequencies of boat launching who favor facilities and
services at accessites within 49 miles of home
_________________________________________
Regional variation. Regional variation in the percentage
of boat owners who believe various facilities and services
would enhance their outings greater than 50 miles from
home is minimal. In the metro region, the percentage of
owners who believe provision of security lighting at
public water access sites would enhance outings greater
than 50 miles from home is 22% lower than the statewide
average. Provision of docks is supported by 7% more boat
owners in the south region than by owners statewide. In
the north region, the percentage of boaters favoring
provision of public campgrounds exceeds the statewide
average by 7%. Otherwise, regional variation is within 5%
of the statewide average.
Variation based on boat type. Variation among owners of
different boat types on whether certain public water
access facilities and services would enhance their
away-from-home outings (Vis. T3) is similar to the
variations found when asked about outings close to home.
Sailboat owners seem less interested than other boat
owners in fishing information and bait and tackle shops.
Canoe and kayak owners are less convinced than other boat
owners that providing navigational buoys, docks, security
lighting, bait and tackle shops, marinas, protected
harbors, and nearby lodging will enhance their
experiences, but they are more interested than other
owners in trails at an access and water-accessible camp
sites. Owners of boats over 20 feet in length are more
inclined than other boaters to feel that providing
navigational buoys, marinas, protected harbors, and nearby
lodging will enhance outings occurring over 50 miles from
home.
Variation based on frequency of use. Differences in the
percentage of boat owners who believe facilities and
services will enhance outings greater than 50 miles from
home increases dramatically among boaters with varying
frequencies of public water access use (Vis. T4). As noted
earlier, boaters with 15 or more public water access
launches account for 70% of all 1987 public access
launchings.
Approximately three fourths of the boat owners with 15 or
more public access launchings in 1987 believe that their
outings greater than 50 miles from home would be enhanced
by provision of toilets, buoys, designated car and trailer
parking, and docks. Two thirds of the most frequent public
access users believe that provision of maps and other
boating information, fishing information, drinking water,
and security lighting would enhance their outings over 50
miles from home. Half of the most frequent users also
support provision of public telephones, water-accessible
boater wayside rest areas, protected harbors, marinas,
bait and tackle shops, and water-accessible public
campsites.
_________________________________________________
Table 3. (Vis. T3) Percentage of owners of various boat
types who favor facilities and services at access sites 50
miles or more from home
________________________________________________
Facilities and Services that Detract from Boating
The percentage of Minnesota boat owners who believe that
provision of various facilities and services at free
public water access sites will detract from their boating
outings is minimal (Vis. 4).
Less than 10% believe that provision of maps and other
boating information, fishing information, toilets, water
and navigational hazard buoys, designated car and trailer
parking, drinking water, or trails from a free public
water access will adversely affect any of their boating
outings.
Between 10% and 15% of Minnesota boat owners believe that
provision of docks, security lighting, swimming beaches,
picnic areas, boater wayside rest areas accessible only by
water, protected harbors, marina, bait and tackle shops,
or public campsites accessible only by water at or near
public water access sites will detract from their boating
outings.
At least 25% of Minnesota boat owners feel that the
provision of public campgrounds, private campgrounds, and
lodging, dining or shopping services near free public
water access sites will detract from their boating
outings. Less than one third of the state's boat owners
feel that the provision of these three types of facilities
and services will enhance their boating experiences
(Vis. 3). These findings suggest that boaters are
ambivalent about the provision of public or private
campgrounds and lodging, dining, or shopping services at
or near free public access sites.
Conclusions
The findings in this study suggest that provision of
public water access in Minnesota would be enhanced by a
continued focus on more than simply getting boats onto the
water surface. Boater experiences will also be enhanced
by: attending to basic health needs, safety requirements,
and security considerations; providing boating and fishing
information; locating public access facilities convenient
to bait and tackle shops and marinas or providing bait,
tackle and marina services; and providing wayside areas,
protected anchorages and water-accessible campsites where
boaters may rest and pursue other activities associated
with their boating outings.
Planning and design for future free public water access
sites should provide a basic package of services and
facilities that includes navigational buoys, docks, and
boater wayside rest areas on the water surface.
Land-based facilities and services should include a
swimming beach, toilets and drinking water, security
lighting, and boating and fishing information in addition
to a launch ramp and designated car and trailer parking
areas.
Ideally, future access sites would be located near
commercial or publicly provided bait and tackle services.
In designing and planning free public water access sites
on water bodies that are destinations for weekend or
vacation trips, provision should be made for overnight
boat anchorage facilities and water-accessible campsites.
Locating public access sites near existing marinas,
building new marinas at the time of access site
development, or construction of protected anchorages are
ways in which overnight anchorage facilities might be
provided.
Results of the survey suggest that in planning for future
free public water access sites, care should be exercised
in providing public campgrounds, private campgrounds, or
facilities for lodging, dining or shopping services in
order to avoid creating conflicts.
Many of the free public access site facilities and
services desired by Minnesota boaters could be provided by
local or state governments. Toilets, parking, navigational
buoys, boater wayside rest areas, protected anchorages,
and fishing and boating information are all examples of
facilities and services that might be publicly provided.
Other facilities and services, such as marinas and bait
and tackle shops, could be provided at public expense or
they could be provided by commercial vendors serving the
recreational boating industry.
____________________________________________________
Table 4. (Vis. T4)Percentage of owners with varying
frequencies of boat launching who favor facilities and
services at access sites 50 miles or more from home
____________________________________________________
While there are many ways in which the free public water
access site facility and service needs of Minnesota
boaters can be provided, all require careful coordination
between the public and private sectors and among various
levels of government.
Since over half of Minnesota boat owners use their boats
at least once a year on water bodies that are more than 50
miles from home, recreational boating can be viewed as a
form of tourism. Boaters traveling among Minnesota's
various recreation regions spend money on food, gas, and
fishing and boating-related services, and they thereby
contribute to tourism-related economies. Thus, planning,
design, and management of boating facilities and services
should be coordinated with regional tourism development
efforts.
Development of basic public water access facilities and
services in locations strategically coordinated with other
tourism facilities could be a way of enhancing the
attractiveness of a water body to boaters and visitors
from other regions of Minnesota. In coordinating the
provision of free public water access facilities with
other tourism facilities, it will be important to exercise
care in locating overnight facilities and services to
avoid creating conflicts with the facilities and services
that enhance boating outings.
____________________________________________________
Figure 4.(Vis. 4)Percentage of boat owners who feel
services and facilities at most frequently used free
public water access site would detract from boating
experience
__________________________________________________
Summary
Three out of four Minnesota boat owners launch their boats
at a public water access at least once a year. Half of the
state's boat owners use public access on their most
frequent boating outings. While the percentage of boaters
using public water access is high, seven out of 10 public
access launchings are attributable to the 21% of the
state's boat owners who launch from a public access site
15 or more times a year.
Boat owners in general, but especially those launching
frequently at a public water access, believe their boating
outings would be enhanced by provision at public access
sites of a range of facilities and services in addition to
a basic boat launch ramp.
Highest on the list of additional facilities and services
that frequent public access users would like to see
provided are toilets, navigational buoys, designated car
and trailer parking, docks, and security lighting.
Provision of drinking water, maps and other boating
information, fishing information, nearby bait and tackle
shops, and nearby boater wayside rest areas and public
campsites that are accessible only from the water is also
endorsed by at least half of the most frequent public
water access users.
On outings over 50 miles from home, at least half of the
most frequent access users feel their boating experience
would be further enhanced by provision of nearby marinas
and protected harbors.
Authors:
David G. Pitt, Professor, Department of Landscape
Architecture
Curtis Schatz, Research Assistant, Division of
Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies
David W. Lime, Adjunct Professor and Research
Associate, Department of Forest Resources and
Tourism Center
Leo H. McAvoy, Associate Professor, Division of
Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies
Technical Assistance: Minnesota Center for Survey
Research, University of Minnesota (administration and
processing of survey questionnaires)
Editor: Louise Jones
Tourism Center, 48 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave.,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108; John Sem,
Director
1988 Survey of Minnesota Boat Owners-Study Design and
Method
Access to Minnesota's lakes and streams is provided
through many private and commercial facilities as well as
through innumerable public canoe launches, beaches, and
open stretches of shoreline. More than 2,200 free public
water access sites are managed by federal, state, county,
and local governments. Minnesota's Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) manages nearly 1,200 of these sites.
Although a primary DNR activity is acquiring access to
water bodies statewide, recent discussions have focused on
managing these resources to better serve the boating
public. What should the future direction be for managing
the state's water resources to offer safe and rewarding
boating opportunities?
In 1987, the authors, the University of Minnesota, and
five units of the DNR (Boat and Water Safety, Fisheries,
Planning, Trails and Waterways, and Waters) entered into a
partnership to conduct a statewide survey of registered
boat owners to determine how boaters use their pleasure
boats on Minnesota waters and what they think about
problems and issues related to boating. The study
investigated these concerns for the state's waters as a
whole and with specific reference to two of our largest
water resources-the North Shore of Lake Superior and the
Mississippi River downstream from the Twin Cities.
In March and April, 1988, a mail-back questionnaire was
sent to a representative sample of 3,200 registered boat
owners drawn from the pool of 286,000 pleasure boat owners
in the state licensed through the DNR. The survey sample
was selected to enable comparisons to be made among the
three regions of the state displayed in Figure 5, and
among six major types of licensed pleasure boats: canoes
and kayaks, other boats under 14 feet in length, sailboats
14 to 20 feet, sailboats more than 20 feet, other boats 14
to 20 feet, and other boats more than 20 feet in length.
Other comparisons, such as those between boat owners who
own or do not own riparian property, are also possible.
_________________________________________
Figure 5. (Vis. 5)Study Regions
________________________________________
The questionnaire was comprised of 45 questions and took
about 15 minutes to complete. The initial mailing and two
follow-up reminders resulted in 2,490 owners returning the
survey. About 100 surveys were eliminated from the
original sample of 3,200, resulting in an overall adjusted
response rate ' rate of 80 percent. This excellent
response reflects Minnesota boat owners' strong interest
in expressing their views, as well as the importance they
place on the state's free public water accesses to achieve
quality boating experiences.
Survey respondents may not be representative of the
typical boat owner. The survey questionnaire requested the
individual in the household "who goes boating most
frequently" to respond to the survey. Therefore, the
typical survey respondent may be somewhat older and a more
experienced boater than the state's typical boat owner or
boater.
Details about the study design and methods, the raw data,
and the data summary tables are available from the authors
and from the DNR's Office of Planning, 500 Lafayette Rd.,
St. Paul, MN 551554010 (612-296-0565).
This study was funded by the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources.
Copyright 1990 by Minnesota Extension Service, University
of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
MINNESOTA EXTENSION SERVICE
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
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