The former Hillmoor Golf Course property could be another destination for kayaking and canoeing.
Representatives from the Geneva Lake Conservancy, Inc. are proposing to establish a kayak/ canoe trail and launch along the White River near the former Hillmoor Golf Course property, 333 E. Main St. in Lake Geneva.
Karen Yancey, executive director for the Geneva Lake Conservancy, presented plans for the proposed trail during the May 24 Hillmoor Ad Hoc Committee meeting.
The trail could run along the White River from an area near Eastview Elementary School to the White River County Park near Sheridan Springs Road.
Yancey said since the Geneva Lake Conservancy helps maintain some of the natural areas of the park and the City of Lake Geneva now owns the former Hillmoor Golf Course property it would be possible to establish a kayak/canoe trail in that area.
"Now that we have White River County Park and Hillnoor has been purchased, we can move forward to create a White River water trail that would be a new recreational activity for kayakers and canoers," Yancey said.
Donald Root of Lake Geneva said he recently kayaked from an area near Eastview Elementary School to Sheridan Springs Road and feels it would be a quality trail for people to kayak.
"It was a beautiful time we had. The river was winding quite a bit," Root said. "There's a lot of nature there, but none of it seemed dangerous."
Root said he did encounter some obstacles during his trip including two wired fences that ran across the river that he had to portage around with his kayak.
"I'm thinking there's a small farm there. Maybe they had animals and they were trying to keep animals on the farm or something," Root said. "It also looked like there's an electric fence along the side of the river to keep the animals from going in the river. I don't know if that's allowable but somebody did it."
Yancey said she has talked with a representative from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and was informed that the fences should have not been installed across the river.
She said the representative from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources told her she would talk to the property owners about removing the fences.
"I talked to the DNR person about this, and she was surprised to learn about it," Yancey said. "She said they shouldn't be there and she's going to talk to the landowners to have them removed."
Root said there is a bridge with three tunnels near Highway 12 that kayakers would have to travel under, but he does not feel that would be an issue.
"Once you get through these tunnels, they're really clear and the water is deep enough and there's no issues in the tunnel," Root said. "It's kind of scary. You don't know what's going on there, but it's very easy to get through. No problems there."
According to Root, there have been some culvert pipes that have been installed near the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, which people cannot kayak around.
"So you have to portage through the brush and stuff and get on the golf course to get on the other side," Root said. "I've heard stories about different guys trying to do this years ago and them getting yelled at when they went on the golf course, but what else are you going to do when you can't go through a culvert pipe and they block the river on you."
Yancey said the Department of Natural Resources should be able to get an easement or larger culvert pipes installed to allow for more convenient access in that area.
"Somebody with the DNR should be able to get an easement so the portage is clear and legal over there or they might be able to put in a bigger culvert," she said.
Yancey said a kayak launch could be installed near the wastewater treatment plant and the utility commission building near Main Street. She said the next steps would be to conduct additional kayak tours of the area and develop a map which depicts barriers along the proposed kayak trail.
The proposed kayak trail would have to be approved by the Lake Geneva City Council.
City officials purchased the former Hillmoor Golf Course property for about $6 million from White River Holdings LLC last year.
The Hillmoor Ad Hoc Committee has been formed to recommend potential uses for the property to the city council. Municipal Judge Henry Sibbing, who is a member of the Hillmoor Ad Hoc Committee, said the Geneva Lake Conservancy would have to determine the legal issues for installing the proposed kayak trail regarding whether people could legally launch their kayaks and canoes near private property along the White River.
"I think we're getting a little premature saying we will have a launch at Eastview without knowing what the legal issues are going forward," Sibbing said. "I think we need to get that ironed out."
Yancey said landowners probably could prohibit someone from launching their kayak near their property, but that is an issue the conservancy would have to address.
She said the conservancy also would have to determine who would all be responsible for maintaining the trail.
"If a tree falls down who is supposed to remove that and what would be needed to keep the river trail clean?," Yancey said. "The best thing is there's very few direct costs for creating this kayak launch."
After some discussion, the Hillmoor Ad Hoc Committee members unanimously approved for the conservancy to continue researching the possibility of installing a kayak/canoe trail near the former Hillmoor Golf Course property.
