This trip report is for canoers and kayakers that want to see where they're going before they go. Please visit Kohne Camera & Photo while on your way. We're a full service imaging lab and camera dealer operated entirely by photo enthusiasts ready to attend every photographic need you have.
Now, a paddling report from the Salamonie River in Huntington County, Indiana:
Salamonie River appears on either side of the Salamonie Lake Project (Salamonie Reservoir), which is perhaps 50 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Two of the three people I met in the area mentioned in conversation that they were largely unhappy about the way someone manufactured a reservoir here, Apparently, there was some gorgeous river action going on here before the reservoir was created. Me, I don't know any better, so I have to report it the way I saw it without any history to draw upon. I'll say that this is the most wild, most magical and fabulous place I've paddled flat water in the midwest thus far. If you like other paddling in northern Indiana, this is a must-see place.
The Salamonie Lake Project takes up 12,000 acres of government land with one billion parking lots identified with DNR signs. This particular launch site is just shy of 2.6 miles east of the intersection of Indiana Routes 9 and 124, about 15-20 miles south of Huntington, Indiana (see crude map at bottom of page).
[The driveway, or entrance, is off Route 124, east of Mt. Etna, east of Route 9, opposite CR 400W and is marked with a DNR sign, visible only when travelling west to east. There are two DNR driveways near each other on the north side of the road along this stretch; one goes to nowhere (for hunters) and one goes to the ramp. Measure from the turn-off from Route 9. The one you want is just shy of 2.6 miles from Route 9, on your left, if travelling west to east.]
A bumpy gravel road will take you off 124 to a sideways "T" intersection. Continue to a private residence or turn left to the ramp. This picture is taken from the intersection where you turn left toward the ramp. It's one mile from 124 to the ramp.
There will be no power boats here and no jet skiers. They're all on the reservoir.
Note: even if you have a self-powered boat, you'll need a lake permit to launch in the reservoir. The permit for canoes and kayaks is $5.00 per year and available at the entrance gates to all Indiana State park and government-operated recreation areas when those entrances are manned. The reservoir is a sports lake, so you might not want to launch into it anyway. No permit is required for the river areas.
The parking area here is dirt and gravel. It'll easily hold 5 or 6 vehicles if everybody is careful, but a power boat and trailer will never make it. This is a car-top boat launch site and it's one of just a few. Actually, there's no ramp at all. It's a clearing with some dirt and gravel. This one is about as primitive as it gets. By the way, watch for ruts on your way to the water. You could easily lose a wheel cover or axle on this road as it nears the launch.
The green dot at the bottom of the ramp picture above is the washer from a roofing nail.
You never know what you might find at a primitive boat ramp out in the country. Strangely enough, you'll not find any roofs here. There's a birdhouse visible upstream and a tool shed downstream, but that's the only civilization you'll see here as far as I know.
The locals are uncommonly friendly here. You might meet some fishing from the shore here. Also, I noticed the Great Blue Herons are more numerous, timid, and much more vocal than anywhere else I've been. White Egrets are everywhere. The edges of the water look impossible to land by, but you can get out anywhere you want since the shores are made of sand and dirt (not muck); plus, the edges are quite shallow. Sounds are constant and sometimes loud; all natural, all the time. Crickets, woodpeckers, fish sucking air, absolutely unidentified bird-like noises, the dripping from your paddles, and the near-constant GRONK-ing of Herons in the distance.
Upstream from here (to the right):
Steep banks. Shallow at edges. Sand and mud bottom. No current. 2 miles up (didn't make it that far) are riffles and very shallow areas. I saw it from the dirt road entry off 124. There's an unmarked turn-off that takes you to a similar launch area on the other side of the horseshoe (also on map).
There was a bird upstream that held so still I thought it was a practical joke.
(Not a bad idea---put a detailed wood carving of a bird somewhere out on the water to fool photographers!)
It was a night heron. It kept perfectly still for almost forever, but when I got really close, he/she flew away. Normally they're nocturnal. Storm clouds made it pretty dark that day.
Downstream from here (to the left):
Also no current. Hug left shore for a 9-foot depth. The right shore goes through some 1-foot areas. The Salamonie Reservoir is beyond (a one-hour paddle or probably less if you don't dawdle). Dawdle if you get the chance. Watch and marvel. I hugged the right shore and went into the shallows. Hugging the right shore will dump you into a wonderland of shore birds.
I'd go back to the Salamonie. There's way more to explore.
Pictures from this outing were taken within the red rectangle on the map below.
A complete (and detailed) map can be downloaded from the DNR site for Salamonie.
