Kayaking the Lakes of South Dakota
This site covers the lakes, rivers, and waterways of the great state of South Dakota. It is intended to communicate my experiences in exploring kayak sites within the Sioux Falls, SD, area. While Sioux Falls is far from the adventure of coastal regions, t
URL: http://southdakotakayak.blogspot.com/
(visit)
Latest Posts
Split Rock Creek Cruise - Fall 2008
- Oct 05, 2008
Under the leadership of SDCA president Gene Preston, a fleet of nine kayaks and one canoe set out from McHardy Park in Brandon yesterday afternoon for a cruise down Split Rock Creek to the Big Sioux River bridge over Highway 42 at the new arboretum development on the far eastern end of Sioux Falls. This is a SDCA sponsored cruise that has become traditional in the fall.The day was magnificent with temperatures in the 60s, sunny skies, light wind. As the day wore on, the w...
Cruise this Weekend
- Oct 02, 2008
I have just heard that Split Rock Creek is probably too low for a cruise and that Gene Preston will have an alternate Big Sioux River route planned instead. He is a careful planner and always has an alternative route for his fall cruise, and I guess this is one year where the alternative will be used. The gathering point will still be McHardy Park in Brandon, and he will direct us from there. Again, for questions regarding the cruise, you can go to the SDCA site, get his...
Spit Rock Cruise on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
- Oct 01, 2008
Gene Preston, president of the SDCA, will be leading his annual cruise on the Split Rock Creek from McHardy Park in Brandon to the Highway 42 bridge; the cruise departs at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 4. I have done this cruise for the past two years and look forward to participating again this year. More details are available on the South Dakota Canoe Association web site: http://sdcka.blogspot.com.
First Use of Spirit Sail
- Sep 22, 2008
First Sail The sail for my kayak that I ordered from Spirit Sail arrived while I was in California visiting old Peace Corps pals. This past weekend was the first chance for me to try out the sail in light winds. A day or two before, the wind was blowing 25 miles per hour, and I thought that it would be best to make a first effort at sailing the kayak with a real sail under milder conditions. So, on Saturday, the winds were light, probably too light. In the morning, I l...
Sailing the Kayak
- Sep 07, 2008
Last week I went out to Lake Alvin for a little umbrella sailing. The wind was just right, and I was able to sail in a moderate breeze from the public access point on the northwestern side up nearly to the fishing dock on the southeastern shore. The umbrella can be shifted to capture the wind along an arc of perhaps 60 degrees, 30 degrees on either side of the wind direction. I was alone on the lake and just cruised along, laughing in the light winds. I had to paddle b...
The James River: South from Mitchell
- Aug 25, 2008
James River – August 2008Under the leadership of Jarett Bies, a South Dakota Canoe Association (SDCA) fleet of 16 kayaks set out for a 12 mile cruise down the James River this Sunday morning. The “put-in” was at a public access point at the bridge on State Highway 38, just a couple miles east of Mitchell. An easy launching area along with ample parking is available for canoes or kayaks at this site. Jarett Bies organized a shuttle service, and a few cars were positione...
Lake Herman - Mid-August 2008
- Aug 13, 2008
In preparation for a kayak trip this morning, last night I loaded the boat on top of the Honda Civic and made sure that all my gear was ready for an early morning departure for one of the area waterways. I decided to return to Lake Herman, near Madison, SD, and about 58 miles north and west of my eastside Sioux Falls home. I left town at 7:00 a.m. and arrived at Lake Herman State Park about 8:00. The winds were calm, the temperature was in the 60s, and the lake was dese...
Mid-Summer on Lake Alvin
- Aug 07, 2008
In retirement, it seems to me that one of the major tasks is to keep fit. Each day I try to engage in a set of outside physical activities for two hours; in a given week, I will go kayaking once or twice, go on a circuit of the Sioux Falls bike trail (20 miles) once or twice, and take a long hike in one of the nearby nature areas, usually with our dog, Finnegan, the other days of the week. This was a day I had set aside for kayaking. While I most enjoy going to a new or ...
A Guest in Town
- Jul 27, 2008
A Guest in Town and an Introduction to KayakingThis past week we have hosted a group of people who were here in association with a reunion of my wife’s family and also a celebration of our son’s marriage last summer in Hawaii. Among the guests was our daughter in law’s father, an outdoors kind of guy in his 50s who lives in New Mexico, a serious hiker and former surfer. He was interested and even eager to try out a kayak for the first time. So, the question for me was w...
Clean-Up Cruise on the Big Sioux River
- Jul 18, 2008
The South Dakota Canoe Association tries to engage in public service projects each year. Last week, the group participated in a water quality monitoring project centered on Grass Lake. Yesterday, the group spent an evening in a clean-up project along the Big Sioux River between the 26th Street Bridge and the bicycle trail bridge in Sioux Falls. This short stretch of the river is one of the most used within the city by area canoes and kayaks, parallels the bike trail, an...
