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including the addition of a second surf spot While the p~takes plenty of frustrating bureaucratic negotiation, Harvey encourages paddlers hoping to bring . a park to their community not to get too bogged down in the political process. nit's important to remember the real reason any of us get involved in the first (t. :'.'.'\throwing ends on your lunch break!' Info: (719) 539-0700, " .: . , .~vertrustorg. ~"'*-".;. Gore Creek, Vail, Colorado Running through the heart of ski country. this town, once only known for its powder, is now the proud home for one of the West's newest play parks. Hand-crafted by Gary Lacy and Vail Public Works Department, Gore Creek opened its waters to paddlers in 200 I, giving kayakers 200 yards of twists and turns in the middle of Vail Village. The course was broken in by a star-studded field of pro kayakers at the nationally televised Teva Mountain Games, an event it will again host this year on Memorial Day weekend. Construction of the facility took just one month to complete with costs totaling approximately $175,000, with the Vail Town Council footing the bill. The park provides a healthy Class II-IV creek fix before dumping into the raging Dowd Chutes section of the Eagle. At high water the park consists of three components: a green wave, a breaking , wave and a hydraulic. Info: (970) 476-1000. -Trade Patterson Red Cedar River, Williamston, Michigan Though not known as a whitewater haven, central Michigan nonetheless has a fine whitewater park 20 miles east of Lansing on the Red Cedar River. The I OO-yard-Iong course replaced a dam built in 1840 and destroyed by a 1975 flood. When Michigan's DNR rejected the town ofWilliamston's bid to rebuild the dam, a plan was spearheaded by city council member Ed Noonan to create a whitewater park /'-". "ould allow fish passage and restore levels in the upstream impoundment )mmodate flatwater activities. The landscaped, constricted riverbed I~ ,~res low flows and was built using a DNR Natural Resources Trust Fund grant of $342,700 and $425,000 realized from the sale of bonds by the Williamston Downtown Development Authority. Completed in time for the 000240 1999 paddling season, the cou&ps about 10 feet over its length and contains three constricted drops. The site also features an adjacent boardwalk and is near a city park with ample parking and public restrooms. Info: www.depwh02.mw.medioone.netJecorlson54/w;/liamston.html. Lock 32, Erie Canal, Pittsford, New York Opened in the spring of 2000, the Lock 32 facility is unique in the world of whitewater parks, having originally been a part of the Erie Canal. When visionary Rick Williams first spotted the overgrown and trash-filled by-pass channel for Lock 32, only he could imagine the 7OG-foot-long whitewater course that. now splashes through the former swamp. But thanks to four years of work, 1.500 tons of transported rock and an estimated cost of $1 00,000 (all but $8.000 of which was donated in materials or labor) there is now a clean and exciting whitewater course from May through October. attracting 2.500 paddlers last year. Consisting of I I features, with an overall drop of 20 feet, the Class 11+ course has plenty to offer both slalom racers and rodeo tricksters alike. Williams hatched the idea only after whitewater park designer John Anderson visited the region and proposed what Williams called "a multi-million dollar type of deal.' Knowing that such a project was unlikely. Williams hit upon the lock 32 site and armed with a $25 dollar canal permit. began his project The features were constructed with innovative use of telephone poles sheathed in rubber. The poles can be raised and lowered by hand by moving the rocks that support and cover them, meaning the course can always be easily adjusted and lock and roll: the new Lock 32 course in Pittsford, N.Y.