Lily Lake

This was my first time out on Lily Lake in Lakemoor, IL. There is a pretty small window to paddle this lake because it does live up to it's name and is filled with lily pads in the summer. Even this early in the season you can see the root systems out there.

This is a fairly small lake and I figured it would be a good place to kill some time and take it slow. I got out there about an hour before sunset and caught some pretty calm water.

There is a point that out pretty far at the south end of the lake. The wind picked up when I got to this area and coming around the point was a little challenging. Once around the point the water and wind calmed down again.

The south east corner of the lake is where the real gem is at. There are two channels that come off the lake and take you into a cattail dream. The water was super smooth for me in this area. I was visited by a couple muskrats, some geese, and a heron. I was also joined by another person enjoying the view, just from a different angle.

The first channel that I explored ended in a cove that I almost felt bad paddling in. The water was so smooth I didn't want to ripple it. It was so quite and peaceful in this cove that I felt like I was the only person in the world.

The water was high enough that I could sneak across into the other channel.

This channel seemed to just keep going until it came to a small culvert under a bridge. I don't think I have seen houses this close to water before. There was one house that was less than 5 feet from the creek. There has to be some risk in having the water that close to the house, but then I also imagined being able to be from the couch to the canoe in about 30 seconds. I think that would be pretty sweet!

I will definitely be out on Lily Lake again. It is only about 5 minutes from my shop and that back section is a dream to paddle. If you are in the area, it is well worth the put in.