Even after several years of exploring and kayaking area
lakes and waterways, I am always pleased to find a new site, particularly one
within Minnehaha County. This
morning, Dave Finck and I set out to visit Scott Lake, a small secluded body of
water located just one mile north and two miles west of Hartford, SD. The lake
is sometimes, especially with local people, called Scotts Slough, although the
official name as used by the South Dakota Games, Fish, and Parks and on maps is
Scott Lake.
This lake, like many others in the area, has no signs
pointing the way and no identifying sign at the site. It is clearly marked,
however, in the South Dakota Atlas and Gazetteer and there are Internet
resources with maps to help in location.
Basically, the lake is located along 258th Street, just west
of 462nd Avenue. I suggest that
anyone wishing to visit Scott Lake make sure that a detailed map or GPS is used
to guide the way.
Scott Lake is listed by the SD GFP as covering 107 surface
acres (about the same area as Lake Alvin) and described as follows: “Scott Lake is not listed as
meandered public water in the State of South Dakota Listing of Meandered Lakes.
Most of the lake lies within a Game Production Area (GPA) owned and managed by
the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks (GFP), however, the land
under the very west end of the lake is privately owned.”
A concrete
launching ramp, parking area, and a wooden fishing pier extending out into the
lake are provided by the SD GFP on the south side of the lake, along a road
that was marked “closed.” Unlike
my weekday trips to area lakes, there were several people and a few cars at the
site; a motorboat was out on the water with one fisherman aboard, there were a
few shoreline fishermen, and there were also a couple of guys fishing from the pier. In relative terms, the lake was crowded!
We were
using one of Dave Finck’s aluminum canoes today and set out on a
counterclockwise perimeter cruise around the lake from the launching pad. There
are two islands in the lake, and we first passed by the one on the southeastern
shore, easily moving through a set of reeds between the island and the shore.
Woodlands
cover the southern and eastern shoreline, and the north and western shore is
largely crop land or pasture for grazing. Today, there was a stiff wind coming
out of the west; so after moving past the first island, we paddled into the
wind as we made our way along the northern shore.
There were
a number of birds sighted, but they were spooked by the canoe and flew off
before I could get a photograph. A
group of gulls was dancing along the water looking for and finding food, and
there were other perching birds that looked interesting but were too elusive
for me to study closely.
We
continued west along the shore and approached an island in the western end of
the lake. Since it looked easy to
land with a canoe, we did go ashore and did a complete walk-around of the
island.
From the
island, we continued along the perimeter to the western end and returned past
the fishing pier to the launching ramp.
The lake
today was a bit windy, perhaps 20 mph from the west. The guys fishing on the pier were wearing jackets; some of
the trees have begun changing their colors as fall advances over the landscape.
It was sunny, though, and altogether a beautiful fall day to be out on a new
lake, new for me at any rate.
Scott Lake
apparently is a favored fishing site for area people. We talked to the guys on the fishing pier, and they said
that kayaks from the area are sometimes on the water, although I have never
heard anyone mention kayaking this lake. Dave Finck remembers visiting the lake
many years ago, before there was a launching pad or fishing pier.
The lake is
really fairly close to Sioux Falls, especially to the west side of the
city. For people in the Hartford
area, it is well within the neighborhood.
I think that it is good site to add to the regular circuit for area
paddlers. It is certainly a good fishing spot.
For those interested in the full set of photographs of the cruise on Scott Lake, please access my Flickr account at the following URL:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayheath/sets/72157631615448241/
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