‘Prettiest Lake In Minnesota’ Is Where Water Skiing Was Born

Reader's Digest came out with a list of the prettiest lake in every state. Minnesota's prettiest lake is also an important piece of history. It's where water skiing got its start.

Reader's Digest Prettiest Lake In Every State

A Reader's Digest journalist ( who was born in the midwest), Katy Joyce handpicked the prettiest lakes in every U.S. State. It's a part of their destination and travel section. So, which lake of the 10,000+ in Minnesota did they pick?

Lake Pepin, Minnesota, Is The Prettiest Lake In The State

Reader's Digest picked Lake Pepin, which is actually the widest part of the Mississippi River. It's on the Minnesota and Wisconsin border, so we have to share our prettiest lake with those Wisconsonites.

Read More: Minnesota's Deepest Lake Isn't Actually A Lake

The highlights of the lake they mention are the verdant bluffs on the water's edge, charming river towns, rolling hills, and water recreation. The lake is filled with people enjoying windsurfing, fishing, sailing, swimming, and anything else you can do on water.

Waterskiing Invented On Lake Pepin

I was looking up some information on the lake from the Minnesota DNR when I noticed they said it was where water skiing was invented in 1922. It's funny, you think something like waterskiing has been around forever, but you would need a power boat for it to be invented.

That's what happened in 1922 when Lake City resident Ralph Samuelson made a pair of homemade skis, got behind a boat plane, and water-skied for the very first time. Lake City (on Lake Pepin) has a Water Ski Days festival every year to celebrate the milestone.