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| Entering into North Shore Drive from 421st Street |
After several years of kayaking and canoeing area waterways,
it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new bodies of water within the
Sioux Falls area. My general rule
of thumb has been to never spend more time in the car traveling to and from a
“put-in” than I do actually on the water.
But, in the search for new paddling opportunities, it has become
necessary sometimes to travel further afar to a new lake, river, or creek.
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| Looking west down Lake Hanson from Highway |
This morning, Dave Finck picked me up with his van, trailer,
and one of his Kevlar Wenonah canoes for a ride west along I-90 toward
Mitchell. We turned off at
Alexandria for a visit to Lake Hanson.
This little gem of a lake is just two miles south of Alexandria. There is a newly resurfaced highway
(421st Street) leading out of Alexandria two miles to North Shore
Drive and a large sign announcing Lake Hanson on the right.
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| Launching site next to swimming beach |
The lake is oriented east and west, and there is a developed
area on the north side with lake homes, a beach, and a launching ramp. Pierre
Creek flows into the lake from the east and exits at a spillway on the western
end. Lake Hanson is listed by the
South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks at 55 surface acres, which is about half the
size of Lake Alvin. The average
depth is 8 feet, and the maximum depth is 17 feet. The lake extends about a
mile from east to west and ranges from about 250 yards to 100 yards in
width. The lake was built by the
Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1934 and named by a local lake committee
in honor of Hanson County (http://gfp.sd.gov/fishing-boating/tacklebox/lake-surveys/southeast-lakes/docs/Hanson%202012.pdf)
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| Looking west along south shore of Lake Hanson |
We put in alongside the swimming beach in the Lake Hanson
Recreation area on the north side of the lake. There is another launching site further west along North
Shore Drive.
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| Nearing east end of Lake Hanson |
From the put-in, we began a cruise along the shoreline,
first to the dam and spillway and then along the south side for a mile or so to
the culvert feeding Pierre Creek into the lake. The south side is undeveloped and an easy cruise through
deep water until reaching the eastern end.
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| Dave Finck in an "over the shoulder" photo from the bow |
The day was really wonderful with little or no wind, sunny
skies, and a temperature in the 60s.
We were alone on the water with just the turtles and birds.
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| Heading west along the developed north shore of Lake Hanson |
I think that this is a beautiful little lake, and living
along the north shore would be a wonderful life. The undeveloped sections of the lake provide good
opportunity for bird watching and just enjoying life on the water. We spend about an hour on the cruise
this morning.
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| Along the south shore of Lake Hanson |
As I looked at Pierre Creek entering into the lake from the
east and then the spillway exit to the west, I was again amazed that such a
minor creek can be impounded to create such a lake. These lakes that have been
developed from flowing streams seem to retain their shape and depth even during
times of drought. Other lakes in
the area that are natural but really more slough-like tend to dry up during
periods of extended drought.
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| The spillway at the western end of Lake Hanson |
The distance to Lake Hanson from Sioux Falls makes return
visits for me unlikely. People who live in the Mitchell and Alexandria area,
though, have a treasure for easy paddling and a pleasant cruise.
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| Pierre Creek feeding into Lake Hanson on east end |
The set of photos of the cruise on Lake Hanson can be found
at my Flicker site at the following URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayheath/sets/72157633450046861/detail/
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