Lake Vermillion, the West End

Lake Vermillion – A Cruise up the West End to Battle Creek: Late July 2007

This has been an especially dry month in the Sioux Falls area, and I wanted to check out the conditions up in the feeder creeks that flow into Lake Vermillion on the west side. The west side is generally all that portion of the lake west of the main recreation area dock and beyond the County Road 3A Bridge. This is an area of the lake that receives very little motor boat traffic and is often quite calm, at least as compared with the windy conditions that can arise quickly on the main body of the lake.



I took off from my east side Sioux Falls home about 7:30 a.m. and traveled west on Highway 42, listening to Bob Dylan tunes on my car CD player, arriving about 8:30 to a very hot and still launching point within the main part of the park. The temperature was already in the 80s when I left the dock and had climbed to around 90 when I returned. There was virtually no wind at that time, and the bird calls and sounds of insects were very clear. The lake had a mirror surface. As often on these mid-week trips, there were no boats or people visible, and I did not see anyone on this cruise; the lake was deserted.





I headed out into the lake, went west under the bridge, and began exploring the inlets that flow from the northwest into the lake. There was a great deal of particle algae growth in the main part of the lake, although I could see down to about three feet through the swirling algae. As I moved west under the bridge, the water began clearing up a good deal. I suppose that the water flowing into the lake pushes the algae out into the main body.



As you head west on this portion of the lake, there are a number of passages that lead up into the marshy shores. I took the most northerly passage first and was able to travel up about half a mile before grinding to a halt on a gravel bar in a very narrow portion of the feeder creek. I believe that this first passage is Battle Creek. On this portion of the cruise, I saw a beaver swimming near my kayak and a large number of birds flying, in the bushes, and standing around on the gravel or mud bars along the shore. Surprisingly, the birds often seemed lest flighty that I expected. I was able to come within just a few feet of some of them before they took wing.





The more southerly passage begins near a home that has been built on the south bank. The kayaker just passes this house and its dock on the left and continues heading west. This inlet passage is wider than the northern one and winds a little deeper into the marshes until it too came to an end after about half a mile.



On both of these passages, there was plenty of depth to an increasingly narrow channel. I was able to continue up both of these passages until the width of the channel was only three or four feet, and I was able to use my rudder on nearly the entire cruise.



I saw lots of jumping fish, many smaller birds, and the beaver mentioned above. The vegetation was interesting, especially the marshy growth along both shores. I was not troubled by bugs, I never had to get out of the kayak to shove off shallow bars, and the total isolation from other boats or people provided the conditions for a contemplative cruise. From shoving off at the dock to returning, the cruise took me 90 minutes.



This portion of the lake would be an excellent choice on the weekend when lots of power boats are out on the main body of Lake Vermillion. Also, this western end is much more sheltered from the wind, so breezy conditions would be less noticeable than on the main body. It is also more isolated so that the kayaker can be assured of some solitude while cruising up into the feeder inlets.

So, Lake Vermillion provides three general routes. This one up the west end is the easiest and best for some circumstances. The cruise north on the main body can be taken along either side, and the conditions are a little different on this trip up north through the lake and into the Vermillion River depending on the route chosen. Earlier postings describe the northerly cruises on both side of the lake.