Watersports on Lake Elmo and the Importance of Keeping Your Fur Dry

The pond in my habitat at ZooMontana is great for waterside lounging, enjoying a few snacks and relaxing after a long day of welcoming my visitors. But sometimes, I’m up for a bit of an adventure and my modest little pool doesn’t really accommodate much more than what your typical sloth would desire. So I asked my friends at Visit Billings where I could find some fun on the water and they suggested I check out something called “watersports” at Lake Elmo State Park.

Lake Elmo is a 64-acre reservoir (which I learned is a fancy word for a lake that humans use as a water supply). In addition to the lake, there’s a bunch of stuff there like picnic areas, a nature trail and something called a “dog park” where I saw humans playing with strange looking sloths. I also recognized a group of friends I’d met on my beer trail adventure and asked them to tell me about this thing called “watersports.”

As they explained things that I could enjoy at Lake Elmo like stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing, I couldn’t help but thinking, “How in the heck do you keep your fur dry?” I had no idea that watersports actually meant you had to get into the water!

I don’t know about you, but when my fur gets wet, it takes forrreeevvvveeeerrrrr to dry. And then I look all frizzy and disheveled until I can groom myself back into the magnificence you’re used to seeing. So for me, watersports is a hard “no.”

But since I was already there, I decided to relax for a bit on the fishing pier while my friends played in the lake. This one time Tim fell off his paddleboard and almost knocked Beth off too. LOL. And then we thought Jimmy was going to get stuck out there because the wind slowed down and his sail stopped working, but he swam back to shore toting his little boat with him. Crazy humans.

Speaking of that fishing at Lake Elmo, did you know that someone recently caught a largemouth bass that is a new Montana state record? The fish was 9.575 pounds, and the biggest I’ve ever seen. Maybe I will try this fishing thing out another time. Sounds like fun!

All in all, Lake Elmo State Park is a very cool place to hang out and enjoy the scenery, and I learned a lot about watersports. I guess if you don’t mind getting your fur wet and looking a mess, it’s a great way to adventure in Billings.