Log for June 28, 2003

Today I kayaked at three great spots in Indiana: Pokagon State Park, Chain O'Lakes State Park and Potato Creek State Park.

It was 75 degrees with blazing blue skies when I left Toledo, Ohio early in the morning. Drove to Pokagon (pronounced po-KAG-un) State Park off of I-69. Pokagon is a very nice state park with bicycle paths, horseback riding, boat rentals and camping. The first wildlife of the trip (excluding the pigeons of Washington Square Park) was seen here — a chipmunk!

Kayaking - Pokagon State Park

Entrance fee $5.00

Getting to the boat ramp is a bit difficult in this state park. Instead of following the signs to the beach or boat rental area, you must make the first left turn after the main gate. You will see a sign for the Potawatomi Inn and Restaurant directly in front of you. Do not pass the Inn or you have gone too far. After turning left, drive a few yards and you will see a sign that says "Authorized Personnel Only Beyond This Point." This is the entrance to the boat dock and launch area. A short, partially unpaved single-lane road provides the only access to the launch area. I spoke with a park worker who laughed about the sign and told me to go ahead and drive down the road. At the launch site there is parking for one or two vehicles by the boat dock, so you must unload everything then drive back to the main parking area to park.

You can launch from the boat dock, which is low, or you can use the sandy beach area to put in. I used the sandy beach. Lake James is a nice kayaking lake, though it must be shared with small motorboats and sailboats.

After kayaking I rode my bike along a very scenic paved bike trail. Pokagon State Park has very opulent changing facilities by state park standards.

Kayaking - Chain O'Lakes State Park

Entrance fee $5.00 parking, $4.00 for kayak

All of the state parks I have visited in Indiana have been well marked from the highway and secondary roads making them easy to locate.
After driving south on I-69, I exited at Route 6, the Highway of the Grand Army of the Republic. The Highway of the Grand Army of the Republic is a coast-to-coast highway that runs 3,652 miles through fourteen states. Major William L. Anderson, Jr. (U.S. Army), of Massachusetts conceived the idea of designating U.S. 6 as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway to honor the Union forces during the Civil War.

Sal Paradise, in Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road, planned to travel west on this highway when he found the "one long red line called Route 6 that led from the tip of Cape Cod clear to Ely, Nevada, and there dipped down to Los Angeles."

Route 6 in Indiana is a two-lane highway with very broad shoulders giving it the feel of the Canadian Transcontinental Highway. The highway goes straight west and runs through very scenic farm acreage. I found Route 6 a very enjoyable highway to drive. Off of Route 6, I turned south onto Route 9 and drove to Chain O'Lakes State Park just as the rain picked up.

After entering the Chain O'Lakes State park gate, there is a 2-mile road to the first sign for a boat ramp and the first lake, Sand Lake. The boat ramp at Sand Lake is a concrete, very steep slope with a sandy area next to it to use for launching. Drive past this boat ramp and follow the signs (a left, then a right) for the next boat ramp at Dock Lake. This is the best place to launch. There are bathrooms for changing and a boat ramp and pebbly beach for launching. Parking is right at the boat ramp and it was not crowded at all on the Saturday I visited.

When I drove up to Dock Lake there were two very friendly kayakers from Fort Wayne, Indiana who were having their lunch. One of the kayakers had built his own kayak from a kit and told me all about the links and passages at Chain O'Lakes. They said how nice it was to kayak on lakes with no houses or developments on the shores. I had to agree after having just kayaked in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, where every inch of shoreline was developed.

I put in and had the entire lake to myself. I was delighted to see nothing but trees, birds, water lilies and clean, clear water. I paddled down a narrow passageway and looked down through the clear water at a sandy bottom only a foot below me. I paddled towards Long Lake. This tranquil setting was about the best kayaking one could hope to imagine.

I returned to Dock Lake and took another passageway towards Bowen Lake where I met up with two fishermen and a family in a canoe. Bowen Lake is larger than Dock Lake but is quite an easy paddle to the connected Sand Lake. There are many landing spots for stretching your legs and enjoying the scenery.

Driving through northern Indiana you can see signs that say "Public Access Site." You can launch a kayak at any of these locations and they are numerous.

Kayaking - Potato Creek State Park

Entrance fee $5.00 parking, $5.00 for kayak

Worster Lake at Potato Creek State Park is a beautiful lake with abundant wildlife. After leaving the gate and driving to the east boat launch, I saw several great grey herons flying over the lake. The east boat launch area has a concrete ramp as well as a sandy area for launching a kayak. I decided not to put in here as there was a group of workers staging a huge fireworks display for the evening's festivities. I'm not sure if that is why the area was secluded but I decided to drive over to the west boat launch area. This area was also secluded except for three boys who were fishing. There was a grey heron perched upon a log in the water standing so still that I was able to get some very nice closeup photographs. The boys who were fishing said that he was standing there because he was waiting to eat the fish they caught. He apparently had just made an attempt to get the blue gill one of the boys caught as it was being taken off the line. While I watched the grey heron the boys caught another fish, a four-inch blue gill. Thinking that they would release the small fish I was surprised when they exclaimed how great it was because it was a 'good-sized' one. I guess in fishing all things are relative.

Kayaking in Worster Lake offered very nice quiet paddling. There were not a lot of load motorboats around and there were many ducks and birds to watch.

I will try to update this page whenever I can get access to a high-speed Internet connection.

Latest Photos from Indiana

Starting out in NY		Chain O'Lakes, IN		Entering narrow passageway		Grey Heron
Kayak and bike on roof		Grey Heron

Click on a photo above to view a larger image.