Sky Lake Boardwalk

[thedoubledeuce]

So my wife and I decided to finally go and see the huge cypress trees on Saturday. After the 90-minute drive we were greeted with this. Yes, I know that there was a storm that caused some of this damage to make the boardwalk unsafe but it was quite apparent that it has been neglected for years. Tons of boards were rotten long before the storm damage.

The state of Mississippi is such a freaking joke. Governed by uneducated simpletons with complete lack of foresight and thought.

 

[DawgsGoneWild]

Crazy ba$tards looking out for your wellbeing and all.

 

[patdog]

Crazy ba$tards looking out for your wellbeing and all.

Well, that's one way to. Another would be to properly maintain the boardwalk in the first place.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

We went there in April 2023 and it seemed to be in good shape and well maintained. Yeah there was some wet boards here and there but that is to be expected in a swamp. It certainly wasn't something that appeared to be neglected.

A storm had also just taken out a few of the big trees too, at that time. I think that's likely the real culprit.

ETA: Upon a little research, it appears this was closed before Dec 2025, which predates the ice storm. Not sure what happened between the time I visited and then, but it appears All Trails is the only place that has it labeled closed. So maybe the state has more culpability here than I thought.

ETA again: Well, MWF does have it posted, so hard to complain: https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/wmas/sky-lake-wma

 

[aTotal360]

What a dump.

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

It’ll never be finished in time.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

That sign looks very official.

 

[Awwhellnaw]

 

[MSU Fan.sixpack]

At least they put up a well-designed sign

So my wife and I decided to finally go and see the huge cypress trees on Saturday. After the 90-minute drive we were greeted with this. Yes, I know that there was a storm that caused some of this damage to make the boardwalk unsafe but it was quite apparent that it has been neglected for years. Tons of boards were rotten long before the storm damage.

The state of Mississippi is such a freaking joke. Governed by uneducated simpletons with complete lack of foresight and though

 

[thedoubledeuce]

ETA again: Well, MWF does have it posted, so hard to complain: https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/wmas/sky-lake-wma

True, at least they acknowledge the issue-

Attention​

Due to significant structural issues caused by water and time, the Sky Lake Boardwalk is closed effective immediately and until further notice. This closure pertains only to the boardwalk. The rest of the Sky Lake Information and Education area remains open per normal access regulations. The existing boardwalk weathered locally extreme conditions for fifteen years. The goal is to renovate the boardwalk for continued, responsible public access to the sensitive old-growth swamp forest within Sky Lake for many more years. The boardwalk may be closed for a prolonged period until renovations are complete. The MDWFP apologizes for any inconvenience this closure may cause and appreciates your patience moving forward. If you have questions regarding the Sky Lake Boardwalk, please email those to [email protected]. Thank you.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Plan B ?

 

[maroontide06]

View attachment 1360548
Plan B ?

I thought these were supposed to be filled with ice and beer. Maybe I was mistaken.

 

[stateu1]

D

View attachment 1360501

Damn! I was looking for that and couldn't find it!

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

The boardwalk can only support so many visitors that tip the scales north of 400 lbs. When they complete repairs you want to be one of the first groups to tread on the unburdened planks.

 

[Dawg Raid]

Sounds like You’d be the person to sue over a splinter

 

[Shmuley]

That walkway ought to be made out of cypress. Would hold up better ....

 

[dudehead]

So my wife and I decided to finally go and see the huge cypress trees on Saturday. After the 90-minute drive we were greeted with this. Yes, I know that there was a storm that caused some of this damage to make the boardwalk unsafe but it was quite apparent that it has been neglected for years. Tons of boards were rotten long before the storm damage.

The state of Mississippi is such a freaking joke. Governed by uneducated simpletons with complete lack of foresight and thought.

View attachment 1360349

I have heard the mantra "government is bad, bad, bad" since the early 1980s and I'll be damned if we haven't spoken it into existence.

 

[thedoubledeuce]

Sounds like You’d be the person to sue over a splinter

Nah. It's just so frustrating to visit state parks with really nice facilities in our neighboring states and then come back and see things like this. No wonder so many young people want to leave the state. Me included. (except for the young part)

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Nah. It's just so frustrating to visit state parks with really nice facilities in our neighboring states and then come back and see things like this. No wonder so many young people want to leave the state. Me included. (except for the young part)

I was very disappointed in the MS state parks after living in other places. Tishomingo was decent, but the rest could use some serious work. But at the end of the day, majority of MS residents really just don't care all that much. Even the federally maintained areas seem like they aren't getting much help, like the Trace.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

We vote for the leaders of the state of Mississippi and by God if you don't like it you can move to CaliCommie or Commiechusetts!

I'm sure the cushy little parks there are just what you tree-hugging, envriro-libtards are looking for.

 

[thedoubledeuce]

We vote for the leaders of the state of Mississippi and by God if you don't like it you can move to CaliCommie or Commiechusetts!

I'm sure the cushy little parks there are just what you tree-hugging, envriro-libtards are looking for.

Alabama and Tennessee have really nice parks and are quite possibly more conservative than Mississippi.

 

[Dawg Raid]

Nah. It's just so frustrating to visit state parks with really nice facilities in our neighboring states and then come back and see things like this. No wonder so many young people want to leave the state. Me included. (except for the young part)

The parks have finally been getting money pushed into them from Jackson. More than 50% of the people camping in these parks are from out of state.

You should check out Paul B, Roosevelt, Percy Quinn, Buccaneer, Clarkco

 

[Msdeltareb]

Alabama and Tennessee have really nice parks and are quite possibly more conservative than Mississippi.

Agreed, it seems like Tennessee has a great state park every 3-5 exits along I40. It's a pretty impressive system.

 

[Villagedawg]

The state of Mississippi is such a freaking joke. Governed by uneducated simpletons with complete lack of foresight and thought.

I've never heard of Sky Lake or its boardwalk, but this part I can confirm.

 

[DerHntr]

I was very disappointed in the MS state parks after living in other places. Tishomingo was decent, but the rest could use some serious work. But at the end of the day, majority of MS residents really just don't care all that much. Even the federally maintained areas seem like they aren't getting much help, like the Trace.

Vicksburg Military Park is finally getting funds to improve it. For the last 5 or so years, they didn’t cut the grass very often and allowed several roads to collapse.

 

[thedoubledeuce]

Vicksburg Military Park is finally getting funds to improve it. For the last 5 or so years, they didn’t cut the grass very often and allowed several roads to collapse.

We started at Sky Lake and finished the day at V'burg. Yes, I was very glad to see that work was being done and that the grass was cut better than a few years ago.

 

[She Mate Me]

Going over there is one of my bucket list items. Truly unique little slice of Mississippi showing what large swaths of the state probably used to look like before colonization. It is a small section of old Mississippi River channel that is now a Tupelo-Cypress Swamp. There are numerous trees that are 100’s of years old and a few estimated at up to 1,000 years old.

Since the boardwalk was only built about 15 years ago, I get the impression they may have seriously underestimated how high the water could get and how long it could stay high. Here is a video showing basically the whole walk. Around the 12:00 mark is the end of the walk showing a landing completely under swamp water and a very large, very old Cypress. The walkway is clearly very nice and probably cost a lot of money, as will the repairs.

 

[She Mate Me]

Here's more info on this relatively recent project. BTW, I think this is a WMA (Wildlife Management Area) administered by MDWFP (Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks). Appears a lot of public, private money and management went into this…

Sky Lake

Sky Lake contains ancient bald cypress trees, some more than 1,000 years old. Visitors can view the forest from the 1,700-foot long boardwalk or the 2.6-mile paddling trail.

wildlifemiss.org

 

[RocketDawg]

I'm not familiar with the place so I looked it up. It has a 4.7 (presumably out of 5) rating. I'm guessing that number hasn't been updated in a while.

 

[DawgNsuds]

the issue is that the MDWFP gets the majority of it's funding through license and usage fee's and not state funding

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Going over there is one of my bucket list items. Truly unique little slice of Mississippi showing what large swaths of the state probably used to look like before colonization. It is a small section of old Mississippi River channel that is now a Tupelo-Cypress Swamp. There are numerous trees that are 100’s of years old and a few estimated at up to 1,000 years old.

Since the boardwalk was only built about 15 years ago, I get the impression they may have seriously underestimated how high the water could get and how long it could stay high. Here is a video showing basically the whole walk. Around the 12:00 mark is the end of the walk showing a landing completely under swamp water and a very large, very old Cypress. The walkway is clearly very nice and probably cost a lot of money, as will the repairs.

That last landing was meant to go down to the bottom when the water is low. 90% of it is above that. It’s just an unforgiving Environment.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I'm not familiar with the place so I looked it up. It has a 4.7 (presumably out of 5) rating. I'm guessing that number hasn't been updated in a while.

What are you talking about? It’s a great place. When you have a wood deck over a swamp, shlt happens. You can still canoe and kayak around it.

 

[She Mate Me]

the issue is that the MDWFP gets the majority of it's funding through license and usage fee's and not state funding

I have a feeling this is a very lightly visited spot. Very important that we have saved it, but I doubt it gets enough activity for the repairs to rise to the level of high priority.

 

[Right_Field_Heckler]

MDWFP places remarkably little emphasis on the "parks" portion of its mission. The overwhelming majority of its funding is directed toward wildlife and fisheries, with comparatively little invested in the state park system.

 

[She Mate Me]

MDWFP places remarkably little emphasis on the "parks" portion of its mission. The overwhelming majority of its funding is directed toward wildlife and fisheries, with comparatively little invested in the state park system.

Probably because hunting and fishing is responsible for a big % of their revenue.

I read a few pretty recent reviews indicating the boardwalk at Sky Lake was well maintained. Seems like the issues have been pretty recent (within the past couple of years).

 

[Right_Field_Heckler]

Probably because hunting and fishing is responsible for a big % of their revenue.

I read a few pretty recent reviews indicating the boardwalk at Sky Lake was well maintained. Seems like the issues have been pretty recent (within the past couple of years).

No doubt. I wasn't suggesting that funding should be equal—only that the disparity is relevant to the discussion and should be acknowledged.

Unfortunately, most of the state parks managed by the MDWFP are in poor condition. There are a few exceptions, but they're the outliers rather than the norm.

They really should establish a separate agency dedicated exclusively to managing the state parks. It would allow the parks to receive the focused attention and resources they need, rather than competing with the department's other priorities.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Probably because hunting and fishing is responsible for a big % of their revenue.

Hit the nail on the head there.

MS isn’t too worried about tourism.

 

[Right_Field_Heckler]

That's undoubtedly the biggest issue. The state doesn't seem to place much value on investing in well-maintained public parks, which is unfortunate.

 

[HotMop]

I thought these were supposed to be filled with ice and beer. Maybe I was mistaken.

I've only seen them full of crawfish.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

They really should establish a separate agency dedicated exclusively to managing the state parks. It would allow the parks to receive the focused attention and resources they need, rather than competing with the department's other priorities.

This is the correct answer. If you want a park system like Tennessee or Bama you need a Department of Parks whose sole responsibility is to maintain the parks. Mississippi state parks are funded through a mix of state appropriations, federal grants, special trust‑fund programs, and revenue generated by the parks themselves. The system is more complex than most people realize, and recent legislative actions have significantly changed the funding landscape. Currently there are 25 state parks totalling 24,000 acres. For FY27, MDWFP requested about $21 million in general funds, including $7.4 million for state‑park salaries. The parks welcomed 1.25 million visitors last year at a fee of $0 -$4.00 per guest. Not much revenue for 25 parks and thousands of protected acres.

The boardwalk is 1,700 feet long and built in 2011. To replace it would probably cost $1,000,000 - $2,000,000. Even a refurbishment will probably cost $250,000 - $500,000. The "simpletons" are probably working with too little money and too many projects.

Here are the souces of funds for the parks:

Funding Source	Type	Purpose	Scale
General Fund	State	Salaries, operations	~$21M request (FY27)
Capital Expense	State	Major repairs, renovations	~$18.8M request
MOSTF	State trust fund	Conservation, recreation projects	$50.2M awarded since 2022
ARPA/Tourism	Federal/state	Infrastructure upgrades	~$36.3M
LWCF	Federal	Outdoor recreation development	$25k–$250k grants
Park Revenue	Self‑generated	Lodging, concessions	Growing via renovations