Boaters visiting Belle Fourche Reservoir this year will be able to utilize a new boat ramp designed to allow more individuals to use the Gadens Point Recreation Area.

According to a March 24 Bureau of Reclamation news release, its Provo, Utah-based construction crew has completed work on a new boat ramp, which was revamped using funds from a Federal Lands Transportation grant. The news release noted that, in addition to the double-lane ramp, the project included a 35-space parking lot, vault restroom as well as the stabilization of about 500 feet of shoreline that was eroding. Joe Hall, Dakotas area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, noted the bureau completed a resource management plan for the reservoir two years ago.  

“During this process, the public identified the need for an additional boat ramp outside of Rocky Point Recreation Area,” Hall said in the news release.

Hall noted the renovated boat ramp will ease some of the congestion that had been an issue at the Rock Point ramp and will allow boaters to get their watercraft off the water more quickly, should dangerous weather arise. 

The ramp will be open to the public this year, according to the news release, and the owners of motorized watercraft must use ramps. The bureau also noted watercraft have to be checked by an AIS inspection crew for invasive species before they can be launched into any waters in the state. There are no fees required to use the new boat ramp.

According to the Bureau of Reclamation website, the reservoir was created with the construction of the Belle Fourche Dam in 1911, situated on Owl Creek in Butte County, S.D. In addition to the reservoir, the website noted the construction of the dam also resulted in the creation of the Belle Fourche National Wildlife Refuge and the Rocky Point Recreation area. The dam, according to the website, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.