Our 20th Sortie, we gotta make it count!
Thursday August 21th Sunday August 24th
Thank you to everyone who has contributed in making this the best event of the year. You're all invited to come back.
Share with your friends, this year will be another fantastic event.
The Twin Cities Jet Pilots invite you to the 20th Annual “Sortie” at the beautiful Hok-Si-La Park. We have a large plot of the best campgrounds reserved on a bluff overlooking beautiful Lake Pepin. Beginner to factory pro, young to old, standup or sit-down rider….everyone is invited!
We will be having HUGE raffle for donated items from our great sponsors on Saturday night. Lots of great gear to be raffled off thanks to our generous industry sponsors!
We're going to do even better this year with food for Saturday, plus some special stuff for attendees.
Location:
The large wooded area on the river side of 61. You can’t miss it - there will be a brown highway sign that says “Hok Si La State Park” - it is just a mile north of ‘downtown’ Lake City on 61. Here is a map of the area including non Ethanol and race gas stations, food, etc…
Google Maps
There are also a few hotels in town you can crash at, but you have to be out of the park by 10PM if you are not camping. There is also RV parks within a mile if you have to use your RV.
Arrival:
The park has reserved the entire park and all of the campsites for us all week long for anyone that wants to make it an extended free ride!
This also means you can arrive anytime, no restrictions on when you can arrive!
When you arrive go into the park office. The office manager will collect your payment for camping and give you a vehicle pass. You will get a wristband for camping from the office manager.
She will then let you through the gate and you can drive back to our camping area. You can unload all your gear and then drive back out to the parking area. We will have a lot of people coming in at the same time so unload and then go park - don’t leave your vehicle there while you are pitching your tent.
Parking:
We have an area designated for us to park in. It is a grassy alley off of the main parking lot. There is plenty of room for all of us to park with trailers, but if you have a really big/long trailer, disconnect it and park side by side with your trailer. You will need a vehicle pass to park overnight - so if you are coming for the day and park there, you need to have your car out by 10pm.
It is about a 1/3 mile from the camping area, so if you have a cheap bike to share please bring it!
Launching Skis:
We discovered we could launch right from our campsite via a trail down to our beach. We used a few beach carts and a lot of man power. If you don’t have a cart or don’t have the space to bring one….don’t worry there will be plenty to share thanks to Jet-lift giving so many away over the years!
There is also a 3 lane launch about a 1/2mi away for bigger boats.
We have found over the years that most people cart their skis down the hill, and then at the end of the weekend, we bring them over to the launch.
We will most likely have a wheeler and cart; don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.
Most people leave their skis on the beach all weekend; we have had no issues with theft. Just make sure to pull them up in case of a big storm.
Riding conditions:
The area is a very wide part of the Mississippi River so there is little to no flow. There are also all sorts of tributaries and areas to explore….so if touring is your thing you can go all weekend and explore!
Beaching Skis:
The only drawback to this campsite is that the beach is rocky. They are smooth river rocks, so unless you have a brand new ski you can probably plan on just gently dragging your ski up on shore and it will be fine. Otherwise, you may want to plan on bringing some bunks, a folding stand, or an anchor (cork screw ones will work). Boats will be able to pull up just fine.
Amenities:
The park is pretty modern and has some running water spigots nearby, a couple nice outhouse close by, and just a little further walk has fully modern bathrooms with electricity and hot showers (coin op, so bring quarters).
The fire rings have grates for cooking, and there are usually a few grills brought to share.
DON’T BRING WOOD! Wood is provided from the campground for free and will be delivered right to your campsite.
There is a small playground for the kids and a GREAT sandy beach for swimming around the corner from the jet ski area.
Unfortunately the park does NOT allow RVs in the park. There is an RV park just down the road, and skis can be left on the beach for easier logistics. You cannot sleep in the parking lot in any vehicle.
If you just can’t handle camping, there are also a few affordable hotels in town you can crash at.
SEE YOU THERE!!!!
Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Lake City, Sports events in Lake City.
