Family & Home
No lifeguards at La Crosse beaches this year
‘Swim at your own risk’ will be the message on La Crosse public beaches this summer, as the city park board has decided to try a swimming season without lifeguards at the beach.
New full-time park director Jay Odegaard says more people tend to visit the La Crosse beaches during hours when guards are not on duty.
Also, it has become hard to find guards to put in the hours needed at Pettibone and the Black River beach.
Odegaard says hundreds of people will head to the city’s beaches soon, once the temperatures start hitting the 70s, even though the beaches don’t open officially until June.
The park board approved Odegaard as park director Thursday, following an extensive search after the retirement of former director Steve Carlyon.