16 Miles of Nippersink Creek

I have been wanting to take this day trip for a while now and I attempted it a few weeks ago, but got stopped at the dam. That was my Wonder Lake trip. This time I planned it out and made the move. I paddled Nippersink Creek from Keystone landing (Just North of Wonder Lake) to Pistakee Lake. The trip was about 16 miles and took about 6 hours. It was all downstream, so paddling was not tough.

My little paddling buddy and I got dropped off at Keystone Landing and we started down stream. The section from Keystone to the bike bridge is all prairie with tall banks. There were a lot of flowers in bloom so that made this section very bright and summery. It was a wonderful start. There are some "small rapids" in this section too. This was our first time navigating quick water so that was exciting for us. It was a little unnerving seeing the size of some of the rocks that made the rapids. It was fun to read the water and guide the 16 foot canoe through the ripples.

Once you pass the bike bridge, you head into a wooded section of the trip. From Keystone to Pioneer Landing, you are in Glacial Park. You will see that there are very little trees blocking the river. It is well kept and an easy section to handle. Most of the rental trips head between these to points. This was the only area that I passed other paddlers.

Once passed Pioneer Landing, there is another shallow rapid section. I snagged the bottom in this section and had to stick a foot out to scoot through. I was now out of Glacial Park and there were more obstacles to overcome. The creek passes through a dairy farm and there are 2 fence lines that pass through the creek. I had heard about this and was a little concerned about the barbed wire. I did not know what to expect. Once we came to the first fence, I realized that they were not going to be an issue. I have also heard that you may be joined by cows in the creek in this section. We saw a lot of hoof marks, but no cows today.

A lot of this area is in and out of the trees. The creek runs pretty quick and there are so low parts. The water seemed to be at a normal level when we went. Getting closer to Lyle C Thomas Landing, you start seeing some houses on the creek. There are a few that are absolutely amazing.

After Lyle C., it is about 4 miles to the canoe base. In this stretch, we had to jump a few logs. This was the first time I had to do this also. I had seen it in some Youtube videos, so I was fairly calm in doing so, but I was still a little nervous. I got the bow of the canoe over the downed tree and then scooted it until I could transfer my weight to the other side of the canoe. Much like a teeter totter. There was one tree that we hopped that was in some quick moving water. The boat wanted to turn sideways on me, but we were able to stay upright and get over the log.

Once you get to the Canoe Base, it is clear sailing. There are no more tight turns, no more downed trees and no more tight passages. It is just calm, slow moving water. There are a lot of homes in the section from the Canoe Base to the lakes. You will know that you are getting closer to the lakes too because you will start seeing pontoon and motor boats docked behind people's homes. As you exit Nippersink Creek, you come into a no wake zone. I passed through the boat traffic and headed to Lighthouse Marina. It is straight across from the mouth of the Nippersink. It is a great spot to get out at. Once you are in the lakes, you can spend hours and hours out there if you want. After the 6 hour trip down the creek, I was ready to put the paddle down and soak in the memories that we had created that day.