Just wondering my friend just pick up a trailer and we are wondering if we will get fined for not paying the launch fee even though we are not with our kayaks.  We normally park and load our stuff and use our carts and landing gear to enter the water from the shore instead of the launch.  Since this year we are switching over has anyone ever got a ticket mistaken by the guy's that normally check for people that don't pay the launch fee ever get fined?  

You have a launch fee? Wow, first I've ever heard of something like that. Our state maintains launch points on all major lakes, some minor ones too. I think probably boat registrations, fishing licenses and the like go towards that.

12 minutes ago, DanielG said:

You have a launch fee? Wow, first I've ever heard of something like that. Our state maintains launch points on all major lakes, some minor ones too. I think probably boat registrations, fishing licenses and the like go towards that.

Same here - as well as a percentage of Lottery Ticket sales is designated for the state DNR...part of the bill that got us the lottery.

Launch fee and Parking fee are the same thing around these parts.

Interesting question. I would check with what ever authority is charging the fee.  Most ramps at Mark Twain Lake, a Corps of Engineers Lake, charges ramp fees. that are waived if you have a Senior Pass.

If ur backing up launching and there is a fee you have to pay that is the whole point.dont matter if its a boat, kayak, pwc, bike, tube, board, etc etc

Up here, if you are parked in the lot, you pay the launch fee.

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Up here, if you are parked in the lot, you pay the launch fee.

 

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Same here on COE Lakes.

Found my answers guys I now know that in WI some launch are different from others.  Thanks

Most access points have separate parking for vehicles with trailers and vehicles without.  They don't want vehicles without trailers parking in the trailer spots and vice versa.  This is generally the case at both public and private launch sites from what I have seen.  At private ones, it has been my experience that if you have a trailer you will park in one of the spots designated for such and pay the fee.  I made the mistake of parking in one of them without a trailer one time (met someone who has their own boat) and the parking patrol warned me even though the rest of the entire lot area for vehicles with trailers was empty.

Varies greatly.  Not just state by state, but even county by county.

 

I think that most common here is:

-car-top launch fee, $5-15; typically not same ramp as trailered craft; quite often an area separate from main ramp(s)

-ramp fee, $10-25; typically any trailer - kayak, boat, jet ski

-some places have separate specific kayak and/or jet ski ramps/beaches/launches with separate, specified fees

 

Most have honor box to collect fees when not manned.  Instructions/rules should be clear...aren't always, though

Seems like it is easy enough to just ask the attendant before launching.

We pay just to enter the lake area and additional fee for the boat if you launch it or not.

Tom

On 3/11/2020 at 10:00 AM, J Francho said:

Up here, if you are parked in the lot, you pay the launch fee.

Yep . Same here 

We have free ramps here and we have pay ramps. If you're parking in a pay ramp lot, you have to pay regardless. It's more of a park fee than anything. You can get a year sticker for all the state parks for $15 when you renew your license plate tags though.

Pay to park, pay to launch, pay for inspection. Costs me $17 to launch my kayak. Yay Cali! Santa Clara county.