Grass Lake: A Spring Cruise on a Quiet Morning

This morning began clear, calm, with a temperature of 47 degrees. The day followed a series of cold, windy, and rainy days that characterized the past week or more here in Sioux Falls. It was impossible to resist the opportunity for an early morning cruise on Grass Lake. I set out from Sioux Falls about 8:00 a.m. and arrived at the lake about 8:40 or so. Grass Lake is west of Sioux Falls, along Highway 42 (12th Street), past the turn-off to Wall Lake, to 459th Avenue. There is a big microwave antenna on the south side of Highway 42 just at the turn north on 459th Ave. Grass Lake is located less than three miles north, past 263rd Street, on the left (west) side of the road. There is a small sign designating the public access area just a hundred yards or so down a dirt road. There is a rough launching ramp for trailers, and it seems to have been improved some since my last trip there. Ample parking is available in this grassy access point, although there is no toilet facility (other than the woods, of course).

The lake was deserted, as usual, when I arrived. The waters were calm, the skies clear, and just a slight chill in the air. My fingers were a little stiff on the paddles at first, but that all faded as the paddling began and the sun became a bit warmer. The shoreline along the lake is in transition from winter brown to summer green. The progression of change varies among the types of bushes and trees, but there is an overall “greening up” all around the lake.


There was a constant chatter of bird life as I cruised past the islands and along the shore. Geese were the loudest, but ducks and coots outnumbered the geese today. As I passed the island off the north shore, a group of a dozen or so geese flew off with loud “honking.” One stayed on the shore, however, stretched its neck high and gave me a stern look, perhaps a warning to stay off the island. The pelicans that normally inhabit the western end of the lake were absent; instead, the gulls had taken over that station for now.


There were lots of yellow-headed blackbirds out today, perching on reeds or in trees. Grass Lake extends west until it ends in a marshy area nearly in the yard of a farm. This is where I first saw the yellow-headed blackbirds, but then I came across another spot along the southern shore where there seemed to be dozens of them in a couple of trees. These birds have a harsh voice, and there seemed no end of them once I became conscious of their presence.


I did not see any mammals today on the cruise, although I did see a fox scampering along a field on the return south on 459th Avenue. As the sun began to warm the water, a few turtles came out to bask and soak up some rays.

It was good to see that the windmill on the southwestern shore made it through the winter okay; from its condition, it must have graced this shoreline for decades. I always enjoy looking at the silhouette of that structure from various angles and in different lighting conditions.

Grass Lake is about 1.5 miles long, so a cruise along the shoreline and up into the few bays and by the islands may be 4.5 miles or so. This is about a 90-minute cruise with plenty of time to search for “critters” along the shore, to check out the abundant bird life, and to appreciate the changing landscape. Around 10: 45, I was off the lake and home by 11:25. By then, the temperature had risen to 55 degrees, and I felt like a heat wave had fallen upon the land!

This is one of my favorite lakes in the area, and I have written several posts about it over the past three years. You can check out narratives of earlier cruises on Grass Lake by activating the button on the right side of the home page.

Split Rock Creek and Up Devil's Gulch

The weather forecast is gloomy for the next few days here in South Dakota. Today has been predicted as the last nice day for the next week or so, with snow again possible this weekend. So, this morning, nearly on the spur of the moment, I decided to take advantage of the still decent weather and go out with my kayak for a short cruise. The skies were partly sunny this morning, the temperature was about 50, and the winds were moderate. I set out about 8:30 to drive to the Garretson City Park and head upstream on Split Rock Creek through the palisades.



The dam at the city park is a demarcation point. Downstream, Split Rock Creek descends through rapids and moves through Split Rock State Park. Kayakers in the area use this portion of the waterway for white water thrills early in the spring as the snow melts. Above the dam, the creek continues for a couple of miles to a set of rapids which effectively ends the extended backed up water and limits further passage with a canoe or kayak.



The high palisades on both sides of the creek are spectacular in the way they loom over the waterway. Trees grow improbably out of cracks in the high cliffs and on ledges. There is a wide variety of bird life on this waterway, including a very large colony of cliff swallows during much of the summer. The swallows have not returned yet, but I saw many ducks and geese and a turkey today. The waterfowl seem to be nesting now and present an interesting sight as a kayak approaches. Most of the time, the ducks swim or take off for a short distance. Groups of geese began honking at the sight of my kayak, but those nesting geese seemed almost docile at my approach.





Whenever I go up Split Rock Creek at this location, I almost always head up into Devil’s Gulch to check out that especially secluded little pond community. Departing from the launching point in the park, almost immediately the paddler comes to a four-arch bridge on the right side that leads into the camping part of the park. Passage through one of the arches is easy for a kayak. I usually just approach the arch, lean down, and push off the top of the tunnel until I am through.

On the other side, the water is deep and wide enough to permit passage for a half mile or so. Moving up this feeder stream, the paddler passes under a railroad bridge and into a new set of palisades on a somewhat smaller scale than those on the main body of Split Rock Creek.



This is a very quiet spot, and I suppose that it is not frequently visited. The palisades, the shoreline, the slowly moving water presents their own attraction. I like to get into the corner of a set of high rock cliffs and just sit there quietly to observe the life in this tranquil spot. I think of the passage of seasons and the flow of events within this secret set of connected pools. Two beaver kept me company up in the gulch today.



This is a fairly short cruise on Split Rock Creek. Today, I was on the water for about 75 minutes. But, I was alone and able to focus upon the landscape, the birds, and the sky. I like being alone in such surroundings. Garretson is about 22 miles from my eastside Sioux Falls home, so this was a 30 minute drive each way, and it fit one of my basic rules: more time on the water than on the drive. By the time I got home, the skies had become completely overcast and rain seemed likely.

Lake Alvin: An Early Spring Cruise

Lake Alvin: the ice is out!



This morning as I walked home from my routine of reading a novel and sipping a few cups of coffee at the local supermarket coffee shop, I was struck by the beauty of the day. It was about 46 degrees, the sun was bright, and there was no wind. I was unable to resist the impulse and rushed home to lash my kayak atop the Honda Civic and head out for a late morning cruise on Lake Alvin. My last vista of Lake Alvin was on April 2, and it was almost totally ice covered still. I was fairly sure that the last couple weeks of warmer weather would have caused the ice to melt.



Lake Alvin is 9.5 miles from my eastside Sioux Falls home, and it took me only 14 minutes from driveway to the dock within the State Recreation Area. The dock has been installed, and there were two or three open fishing boats on the water.

The surface of the water was mirror calm. By the time I launched the kayak, I had rolled up my sleeves and was soaking up some rays.



On this trip, I was particularly interested in checking out the nesting ducks. I headed from the RA dock down the lake to Nine Mile Creek. The RA dock is high up on the north shore, and the entrance to Nine Mile Creek is at the far southwestern end of the lake. Moving down the lake to the south, past the public access area, it is important to keep to the left bank in order to avoid shallow mud flats in the central part of this portion of the lake.





Nine Mile Creek begins with a fairly wide course and gradually narrows down after passing under the bridge. I was able to continue up the creek for about 20 minutes until I ran out of navigable water. This is an area filled with bird life, especially ducks. I saw a large cormorant, dozens of ducks, pheasants, a beaver, the first turtles of the season, and lots of jumping carp.





I found it interesting to see the beginning of growth for the grasses of the area. Lots of green shoots are working their way through the brown grasses from last year. It is such a hopeful sign, especially here in the northern plains. The winter has been so long, and we have all looked for signs of spring for weeks now. I loved being out on the surface of this lake that just a couple of weeks ago was still ice covered.



Kayaking on a lake requires a little more effort that cruising down a river. Even though I went out for a trip on the Big Sioux River last Saturday, about 90 minutes of paddling was enough for me today. Still, what a wonderful way to open the day: moving along the shore line checking out the vegetation, bird calls the only sound to break the silence, basking in the sun, shirt sleeves rolled up, the feeling of being in control of my own self-propelled craft, no work staring me in the face. What a great day!