Water Sampling at Diamond Lake 2009

This year, as it did last year, the South Dakota Canoe Association took part in monitoring an area waterway through the collection of water samples and making observations under the direction of Dakota Water Watch. A fleet of seven kayaks and three canoes gathered at the public access area for Diamond Lake for an orientation to the mission. In teams, the boats set out to designated spots on the lake to collect samples, determine water depth, clarity of the water, weather conditions, and make other observations of the lake. The data will be analyzed by Dakota Water Watch to provide baseline information that should facilitate the ongoing monitoring of water conditions on the lake.


Each team was equipped with a depth-sounding device to determine both depth and clarity of the water. Each team also collected samples of water at assigned positions on the lake.

This lake is fed by a creek at the northern end and ends in a dam at the south end. The dam is wide enough to handle vehicle traffic including farm equipment. Diamond Lake is a popular spot in the area for fishing, and there were fishermen on the dam as well as in boats.

As always in an event of this nature, solitude is replaced with camaraderie, and there was a sense of fellowship among the paddlers as they moved about the lake.

When I set out from Sioux Falls this morning, the winds were calm and the temperature was in the high 50s. On the lake, the wind came up a little and was blowing about 10 miles an hour – just enough to produce some small waves. Such a large crowd on the water must have discouraged the pelicans. The island at the south end of the lake where they tend to hang out was deserted.

This was a pleasant morning, a good time to laugh it up with paddling pals. It was also a good public service project that keeps the SDCA engaged in doing good works.

Upcoming Service Project: This Wednesday, July 22, in the late afternoon, the SDCA will be engaged in a river “clean-up” project along the Big Sioux River in Sioux Falls. Details of this project can be found on the SDCA web site: http://sdcka.blogspot.com. For those who can get away for an hour or so, this is a good opportunity to contribute toward this public service event.

Diamond Lake - June 2009

I loaded up my kayak a couple days ago with the intent of an early morning cruise on Diamond Lake, but when I got up yesterday there was a thunderstorm in progress. Rather than unload the boat, I decided to make another attempt today.

I got up early and headed to Bagel Boy, a coffee and bagel spot just a few blocks from my house. After my habitual hour-long read, I headed out to 10th Street, passed through downtown Sioux Falls, and continued west on Highway 42 and then north on Highway 19 through Humboldt until I reached 244th Street where I turned west again to Diamond Lake. This body of water is as far from my house as you can go in Minnehaha County. I live in the southeastern part of the county, and the lake is in the northwestern corner. Actually, the turn off to the lake is along Highway 19 between the Minnehaha County and the Lake County signs. During the drive west and then north, I did not overtake another vehicle. There was, however, a steady stream of east bound cars heading in to Sioux Falls, apparently drivers on their way to work. I drove along listing to a Joan Baez CD of Bob Dylan tunes while all the working stiffs were on their way to the salt mines. A nice treat for retired guys!

As I arrived at the lake, I was almost shocked to find that there were two boat trailers parked in the ramp area. I almost never find anyone on any of the bodies of water that I paddle within this area. Generally, I feel if any other person or boat is in view on the water that it is crowded. Two boats meant that the lake was “packed!” The area of the lake, however, is three times that of Lake Alvin, so it is possible to avoid close contact with any fishermen.


It was a beautiful morning for a cruise. The winds were light, the sky partly sunny, and the temperature around 70. Upon arrival, I paddled south along the eastern shore toward the dam about 1½ miles down lake. The first thing I noticed was hundreds of carp trashing around in the shallows along the entire shoreline. Apparently, they are spawning, and they wallow around in the shallow water and weeds along the shore. They find themselves in water too shallow to swim and thrash about, often finding themselves nearly beached. The sound of these spawning carp overshadowed the song birds that usually present such a pleasant audible backdrop to a lake paddle.


There were three flocks of pelicans on the lake this morning. Two of the groups were located near a marshy island in the southwestern part of the lake. In both cases, there seemed to be a sentinel pelican hanging back to draw my attention while the others swam away. The sentinel seemed to keep pace with me in my kayak – always just ahead, not flying off, and constantly swimming. I also came across a few other waterfowl and a beaver.

Going to Diamond Lake is at the outer limits of my routine: never spend more time on the drive than on the water. It took me about 45 minutes to get to Diamond Lake, and I spent an hour and 40 minutes on the water. When I returned to the dock, there was an older gent driving up in his old station wagon filled with fishing gear. In my efforts to initiate pleasant conversation, I mentioned the spawning carp. He told me that he had just returned from the dam at the south end of the lake and found two “game wardens” there. He said that he had told them that instead of bothering fishermen, they ought to be out seining the carp, digging a big hole, and burying them. I told the guy that I had seen flocks of pelicans on the water, and he said that they had brought the carp into the lake with eggs attached to their feet from other waters. Then, I mentioned seeing a cormorant on the lake, and he said that they were eating up the fish and that they were being protected by bureaucrats in Washington who don’t know anything about the needs of these lakes and fisherman. I asked him if he had seen other kayaks on the lake, and he told me that he had not and that he didn’t see how they don’t just capsize. Finally, I offered my observation about what a nice day it turned out to be, and he told me that the fishing would be good if only the weather would straighten out. This uplifting morning chat reminded me of how attractive I find solitude when out on the waterways.

So, this is my second time on Diamond Lake, and I recommend it. There is enough variety in landscape so that wind conditions are affected, there is a variety of waterfowl on the lake, the launching area includes a toilet and good parking, and access is pretty easy. The lake is about 1½ miles long and up to a mile wide, although generally the width is closer to ¼ mile. The lake is irregular in shape with several bays extending from the main body. Also, the lake is large enough to accommodate fishermen and paddlers and to offer a pretty good area of separation.

Diamond Lake

A week or so ago, I received a report from Ryan Schellpfeffer, one of our area paddlers, of a cruise on Diamond Lake. This was a new body of water for me so, in addition to his notes of the cruise, I accessed the South Dakota Statewide Fisheries Survey site to learn more about the lake. This lake is nearly three times as large as Lake Alvin and is located in the northwestern corner of Minnehaha County. To get there from Sioux Falls, a direct route would be to go west on Highway 42 (West 12th Street) to Highway 19 and turn north. Proceed on Highway 19 through Humboldt (there is a little jog through town) and continue north for about 14 miles to 244th Street, just on the Minnehaha/Lake counties line. Turn left (west) on 244th Street, a gravel road, and continue for about 1.5 miles. Just at the bottom of a rise, after going a little over a mile, there is a sign reading “Road Closed.” The road continues, however, for maybe 100 yards from the top of the rise and ends at a state provided access point. This access point has a good graveled parking area, a dock, and a vault toilet. As is the case nearly always, there are no directing signs to the lake nor an identification sign at the site.

The sky was overcast as I arrived about 9:00 a.m., the temperature was in the low 50s, and the winds were light out of the east. At first I thought that my hands were going to be cold on the paddle, but that passed as I began moving. By the time I finished my circuit of the entire shoreline, the overcast had broken and there was intermittent sun. The winds had freshened, however, to what I would call moderate. There was a nice lee along the southern and western shores, but as I crossed over to the north side and continued east, the wind was creating enough wave action to require attentive paddling. The lake is pretty wide at the western end, and I was conscious of how difficult it would be to have to swim for it in that cold water with waves at about 8 inches or so. The bottom was visible at about 4 feet along most of the lake. The state reports that the maximum depth in Diamond Lake is 12 feet, and the mean depth is 6 feet.

The dock is on the northeast side of the lake. To the right, north, the lake ends in a marshy area. To the left, south, the shore is owned by the SD GFP and is used as a wildlife production area. The east side of the lake has trees and brush cover all along the shore for perhaps a mile. A map of the lake seems sort of like a jumping dog to me. It extends west and south for over a mile. This is the most scenic part of the lake. The western and northern shore is more open with high banks but not many trees.

On the northwestern part of the lake, there is a small island covered with willow brush and shelving from a high bank of about four feet on the eastern side down to the water’s edge on the western side. There was a flock of pelicans hanging out along the western side of the island, and I was able to watch them take off upon my approach.


There were lots of ducks nesting in reeds along the shoreline in most parts of the lake. I saw a few great blue heron and a number of geese as well. Redwing and yellowhead blackbirds were plentiful, along with smaller swallow type birds. On two occasions, I saw muskrat swimming nearby from their lodges in the shallows.

Diamond Lake is another of those seldom visited bodies of water around Sioux Falls. It is an interesting lake to visit. I mostly enjoyed seeing a lake in Minnehaha County that I did not know existed, even though I thought I had become an authority on area waters. Any lake with a resident flock of pelicans is interesting. It is pretty wide, and I would think that it might be a little tricky with a stiff wind, particularly if it were coming out of the north. On this day, the lake was deserted: just the breeze, the birds, the landscape, and me. The lake is 46 miles from my eastside Sioux Falls home, and that means that a person will spend nearly as much time on the roundtrip drive as on the lake.

Still, it is a real privilege to be sharing a deserted lake on a weekday morning with such graceful pelicans. This is one of the benefits of being retired and living according to a personalized agenda.