As temperatures – and, let’s face it, rainfall – increase and water levels rise, many celebrate spring with a paddle. For some, canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding are second nature, like riding a bike. For others, it’s a new challenge.
For all, local outfitters offer kayak and canoe rentals starting around $20 to $40 per hour, depending on where you go, as well as guided tours on the water, with instruction on paddling and safety. If you’re up for the DIY experience but don’t want to make a major investment yet, you can also find discounted kayaks.
“Facebook Marketplace is a great resource for secondhand boats and paddles,” says Melinda Spooner, founder and CEO of SheTravels Adventure Company, which hosts outdoor vacations for women of color. She recommends getting a new personal flotation device, or life jacket.
Whatever your experience level, here’s what you need to know – and where to go around Indy.
Begin your journey at Eagle Creek reservoir – and keep heading west
Jeff Coates, a longtime Eagle Creek Park paddle guide and photographer, suggests cruising along the shore to spot more wildlife. That includes waterfowl drawn to the more than 1,400 acres of water, surrounded by 3,900 acres of forest, that make up the park, such as great blue herons, green herons and great egrets – which are stark white – as well as deer and other mammalian and reptilian residents.
Make your way to the quieter, wilder west of the park, where roads are scarce, like in the northwest where Fishback Creek–which snakes through Eagle’s Crest Nature Preserve, part of Eagle Creek Park–empties into the reservoir.
You can rent a kayak, canoe or paddleboard through Eagle Creek Outfitters, starting at $20 hourly or $30 for two hours, for a single-person kayak. You can go your own way or join a group on a guided tour of the reservoir, which includes safety guidelines and paddling instructions. The three-hour sunset tour, which begins at the marina, starts at $32.
Spooner said Eagle Creek is her “go-to spot for kayaking” in the Indy area. She also likes to explore the northern part of the park.
“There are some ‘hidden’ passageways with some good bird watching up there,” Spooner said.
Feel like an insider on Eagle Creek – north of the reservoir
While most people know about the reservoir, the rest of the actual creek gets far less attention from paddlers. The payoff for being overlooked is a secluded, wild-for-an-urban-area, green tunnel in some sections that can make you feel like you have it to yourself.
Take advantage of the solitude by putting in near Lion’s Park in Zionsville, where you can float five miles to an access point just north of Lafayette Road or continue all the way to the reservoir. (Plan ahead by dropping a second car at your terminus or arrange a ride back to where you started.)
Especially in the early morning, you can see wildlife – from high-stepping blue herons fishing in the shallows to white-tailed deer grazing the banks to belted kingfishers (blue, with their feathered fauxhawks, and white collars) dive bombing the creek.
Just make sure to check water levels in advance. At 2 feet, Eagle Creek was navigable in April. When it’s lower in dry months it can be impossible to paddle through, while 7 feet and above is flood stage, which can turn the humble waterway into a dangerous torrent.
White River – Noblesville, the northside and downtown
With the White River, you have a number of options.
“If I want a relaxing paddle day with friends, we go up to Noblesville and put in with White River Canoe Company,” Spooner said. “There are a few different put-in points they can drop you off at, and it’s easy to bring snacks and drinks and make a day of it. I love that they’re family friendly and most of the river is very shallow.”
DIY paddling? You can slide your canoe or kayak into the water at White River Campground in Cicero, or Potter’s Bridge Park or Forest Park in Noblesville.
If you don’t feel like planning all the logistics, you can go through an outfitter. In Noblesville, a float will take you through woods and parkland, where you might—in addition to lots of turtles—spot a kingfisher swooping down over the water.
You can also put-in at points on Indy’s northside, including Broad Ripple Park. Coates likes to do that and drift through Holliday Park, a hilly wooded destination he likes for hiking and photography.
Want more?
Head downtown to see the skyline where the White River bends in an arc–and grows—wide.
“It’s pretty neat to paddle around the curve,” Coates says. He just cautions: “There’s a dam just south of the downtown area that you absolutely do not want to cross over.”
He recommends putting in around Riverside Park, where there is a boat ramp, in Indianapolis. (Just be aware that there’s a separate rock ramp just down river, denoted by signage, where you’ll need to portage your kayak or canoe. Walk around the structure, and then put back in the river.)
Fall Creek: A northeast hideaway near it all
Putting in around the 79th Street bridge, you’ll find woodsy respite where you might expect development with only mellow “rapids” (think Indiana ripples) to interrupt this lazy river (er, creek) experience. Immediately after coming underneath I-465, take out at Skiles Test Park, a popular hiking spot.
A lake near you
Still searching for that place to ease into paddling? Try the most placid lake near you, but check first on restrictions to make sure you’re allowed to put a kayak on the water. (Signs are usually posted.)
One family-friendly example is the 70-acre Geist Waterfront Park in Fishers, which the city’s parks department notes is the only public parcel on the 1,900-acre reservoir. It’s open to the public from dawn to dusk, has a sandy beach and non-motorized boat launch.
Free to Fishers residents, there’s a $25 charge for nonresidents to park during peak hours from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. But if you get into the parking lot before 1 p.m. on weekends, anytime on weekdays or in the off-season, it’s free.
Kayak and stand-up paddle board rentals (starting at $23 per hour for single kayaks) are available through Wheel Fun Rentals.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Michael Schroeder is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at [email protected].
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