Long Lake

I decided to hit Long Lake in Ingleside, IL. This was my first time paddling this lake. There were not many power boats out there, so that was nice. There was some wind gusts, but I am getting used to guiding the canoe into the wind.

As usual, I was so excited to get out on the water, I forgot something....MY CAMERA! I keep all my gear in my truck so I am ready to paddle at any moment. My camera is another story. I brought my GoPro, but after portaging to the lake from the parking lot, I discovered that I left it in the car. So, I was stuck with a shitty camera phone. So this is now a "you had to be there" trip! I snapped some pics of the sections that I though were pretty cool.

The lake is lined with houses of all types. I launched on the North Side of the lake off Rollins Rd. Lake County has a parking lot for Grant Woods that has a sidewalk to the lake. You do have to portage across a rd, but it isn't bad at all. There is a cement launch and a sandy beach area that is perfect for getting ready. At the far West Side of the lake there is a channel that bends around to a small marina (Swany's). Past that there is a small dam that can be portaged around and you can paddle to the Chain of Lakes from there.

At the South East corner of the lake, there are a bunch of little channels to explore. There is a low walking bridge that I was just able to make it under and that channel opens up into a cat tail section. Looking at the map, there is a channel that goes pretty deep through that section too. I will have to check it out next time.

There were a lot of fish jumping in this lake. About a month ago I saw a fish jump out of the water and actually watched the breach from the moment he came out of the water. That was the first time I had seen the whole jump. Now I see it all the time! There was a first this trip though. I had a fish jump out RIGHT along the side of the canoe. He hit the side when he was in the air. Now, I would hope that I am not the only one that would have been startled when a fish hits the boat in a calm, quite cove...lol.

This was a great lake to paddle and I will be out there again this season.