Salamonie River can be found both above and below the Salamonie Reservoir just south of Huntington, Indiana. It's is not a park; it's a wilderness area favored by hunters and fishermen. There are no rest rooms, no trash cans, no drinking fountains. Although there's a little bit of litter here in terms of the stray beer can and discarded bait bucket, this place is largely unspoiled and ideal for a peaceful paddle and the camera-wielding sportsperson.
Upstream of this natural ramp (to the right), there's not much to look at since the river banks are about five feet up on the west side and about forty feet straight up on the east side. Downstream is where you'd see the best diversity and have the greatest chance for photographs.
The first thing you might notice here is the Purple Martins. There's a sign on Route 124 just two miles from the picture above that indicates you're in the Purple Martin Capital of Indiana. I was dazzled all day long by their stunt-flying capabilities. They can hover, soar, turn on a dime, skim the water and fly into a tree hole at full speed without getting hurt. These birds are everywhere along the river and by far the the best flyers I've ever seen. Oh, yeah; big plus: they eat bugs.
The Canada Geese are around, too, and I expect they are migrating since they weren't here last Summer. These geese are more shy than those that live in city parks so you won't be able to get very close. The good news is you can be pretty sure you'll get a shot right at take-off as you glide toward them.
Some day I'll make it to the Route 9 bridge. That's where the reservoir officially starts and the river ends (you'll need a Lake Pass to legally enter) but this day I only made it to the other bridge nearby. It's the Route 124 bridge; I've driven it a half dozen times (on the way to the launch site) and look over the side fondly at the fabulous view. Well, I made it. There's nothing interesting ahead in the water and humongus fallen trees prevent paddling progress after 1/4-mile or so, but if you take a rest by one of the bridge supports, you can listen to some pigeons cooing woefully and watch the purple martins show off by flying into their non-natural concrete nests directly under the bridge.
At the end of the day I found the other two paddlers out on the river were packing up to leave. Notice the horizontal branch directly over the boat ramp. It's a between-meal rest stop for redheaded woodpeckers that hang out in the woods. The trees are filled with songbirds and woodpeckers that create quite the chorus to accompany your journey on the water.
I finished the day over a large Chicken with Broccoli. This place is across the street from the Amerihost in Huntington and since it was a full moon, I decided to try my hand at an evening architectural shot. At precisely one half hour after sundown, the sky will be dark blue on a clear day and a long exposure will bring out the color quite nicely. In another few minutes the sky will turn totally black regardless of what exposure you use. By the way, I very highly recommend the Chicken with Broccoli as well as the Amerihost. If you really do it right during the day, you're going to want a hot tub in your room in the evening.
The next morning was hazy and hot and once again I saw just two people out on the river. There's a point where the river opens up and becomes more lake-like. It officially becomes the reservoir at the Route 9 bridge and you'd need a lake pass for anywhere on the reservoir even if you're in a self-propelled boat. Down here, southeast of the reservoir, it's all considered the river. The water where these guys are fishing is only about a foot deep. I photographed them from a place that was about four inches deep while searching for an elusive woodpecker I could hear. There are plenty of shallows in the river area and you can easily become beached on either sand or concrete. Before there was a reservoir there was just a river. They built the dam back in the '60's and the reservoir was born. I have to wonder if there were old roads under some of this area because I got stuck on concrete in the shallows right here. I felt it. No mistake. Hard, flat concrete. You also have to watch out for logs and stumps. Most are visible but some lie lurking just below the surface. It keeps it interesting when you're worried about falling over with camera gear onboard.
The fishermen are in a tiny cove; just to the left of them the water opens up quite a bit even though it's not technically the reservoir. By July (maybe August), the trees ahead will be filled with white egrets, great blue herons and comorrants. They weren't here by the end of May. No matter; I had something else to discover this time.
I'm hunting for mammals with my camera but the birds are so much more plentiful that I just can't avoid photographing them. This next one is an Eastern Kingbird that came around to see what I was doing. To glide silently through the water in a kayak (or canoe, I suppose) is such a benefit for the wildlife photographer because we can get closer to photo subjects than ever possible while crunching through sticks and leaves in wooded areas.
A pileated woodpecker was flying around and pecking into trunks and stumps that afternoon and that was apparently what I was meant to discover on this day. Sometimes he or she could see me and other times I'd sneak up in the boat and just photograph away without being detected. Okay, okay, so maybe it knew I was there all along but just didn't mind me at all. And that's the magic of a kayak. You'll not get to these trees or this woopecker on foot. No way, no how.
Salamonie River is about 2 1/2 hours from Toledo so that's a bit too much driving for a day trip, for me anyway. I'd recommend an overnight stay if you live in our area. There's plenty of civilization about 15 miles north of this boat launch in Huntington and you can find pretty much anything you might need there. I'll be back here this Summer once the comorrants and white egrets arrive. For all I know the Purple Martins and the Pileated Woodpecker will have moved on by then but that's okay. Seasonal changes at this site help make it magical.
Location: If leaving from Toledo, be sure to take Route 24 West. You'll be tempted to take the turnpike over to Route 69 South but that adds about 40 minutes to the trip. Regardless of how you do it, get over to Huntington, Indiana, in Huntington County. You'll be southwest of Fort Wayne by about 30 miles.
Take Route 9 South out of Huntington for 12 miles or so until you reach the blinking light at Route 124. Turn left (east) on 124.
2.6 miles ahead on your left is a driveway at Wildlife Area #6. Turn left (north) into the driveway. After less than a mile, you'll have the option to go straight or turn left. Straight on takes you to the rangers house (Good Heavens! Barking dogs that bite your tires!) so turn left instead. Drive slowly or you'll lose your transmission on this bumpy gravel road. When the road ends and the water begins, stop. You're there.
Download a map of the Salamonie Reservoir Area and you'll see at least a dozen boat ramps. Two of them are above the dam but I wasn't able to find them. Several of them are on the reservoir itself and not so useful if you have a self-propelled boat (safety-wise, that is), two of them are along the gravel road at Wildlife Area #6. This particular ramp and paddling area is the best I've been able to find for smaller water craft. Editor's Note: still looking, but this is the best I know.
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