I know some of the guys I used to race offroad with run boats on Decker Lake on sundays. Not sure if there are any restrictions on planes or not. I dont think you would have any issues. The noise certainly wouldnt be any worse than listening to the SCCA cars run at the E-Center all summer long. With the walking paths near the lake, you might even attract a few spectators and promote the hobby. Just watch for seagulls and geese. Oh, and make sure you have an inflatable raft should you have to retreive the plane. The mud is quite stagnant and deep to wade through.

I work right next to Decker Lake. There are no rules or restrictions that I'm aware of. The biggest drag about that lake is all the ducks and geese really suck. They can be kind of aggressive.

What size plane are we talking about here?

The winds are always North or South but thanks to some really bad engineering the lake is mostly East/West in orientation. I'd stand on the east side, in the middle, and hope for enough water to get up.

When you say the wildlife is aggressive, do you mean I should watch my back, or that my plane may get pecked a few times?

The plane I'm building is a 40 size SPAD (60" wingspan).

I've been sick lately so haven't completed it yet, but I'm hoping to get one or two flights in before the fun fly.

According to my Google Earth ruler, your flying area over Decker Lake is approximately 2000 feet long East/West, and between 1800 and 180 feet wide North/South. You have the freeway on the west, and a major highway to the north. I think you'd be perfectly fine flying a .40-sized aircraft there during the day, but do be sure to leave the baffle in your muffler and try to get the bird as quiet as possible for flying in such a relatively-urban setting.

I think it could be very fun! Let me know when you want to fly there, and I'll see if I can arrange to take a few hours out of my day to come check it out with you. I may just be flying a foamy wing, but at least I'll be company.

Birds: yup watch your back! I just kick em.

Google Earth: watch the elevation. The lake is surrounded by a berm. The west side is unflyable because it's a wetland (full of cattails, only inches deep of water). The East side is much smaller and the berm means you need to plan your approach for landing.

I'm cautious - 40 might be too big. 25 should be no problem.

If you decide to try it I'm right there (1/2 block away) and I can come over.