Day 2: Canoe Campground at Island Lake State Recreation Area to Canoe Campground at Hudson Mills Metropark
22.75 Miles, 1 portage, about 8 hours paddle time
I woke up just before 6 AM on Day 2 and was greeted by the sights and sounds of nature around me. The river was quiet and still except for the sounds of the occasional fish leaping from the water to snag a bug for breakfast.
In true early bird form, I made a cup of coffee then headed down to the canoe dock to filter a bit of water for the start of our day. I was not particularly happy about having to filter river water given recent concerns regarding PFAS pollution, but as we were still fairly upriver and had not seen any obvious foam on the water thus far, I decided that our need to stay hydrated outweighed the risk of filtering water for our morning travels. In hindsight, I would have packed extra fresh water for the first leg of our trip, or would have filled up at the campsite at Kensington Metropark the day before.
After a quick breakfast and packing up camp, we were on our way for the next leg of our journey. The remainder of Island Lake State Recreation area was a surprisingly technical paddle, with plenty of windblown trees and obstacles. We had to pull our canoe over and under a few trees to make our way through this stretch, which slowed our progress but was no big deal. Along this section of river we spotted osprey, several bald eagles, and a variety of fish in the clear waters.
Between Island Lake Recreation Area and Huron Meadows Metropark, we paddled between stretches of privately-owned land. The properties that lined the river ranged from luxury, high-end homes to more humble abodes. This was the first time we saw homes with lawns that ran right up to the river - a feature that serves as a detriment to the river’s health. While much of the river’s banks are protected by a buffer zone between the water and private property, this was one of many sections where human impact made its way right up to the Huron.
Further impact on the river was spotted as we passed under US-23, where we observed stormwater runoff pipes from the highway leading directly to the river itself. While unavoidable, we always wondered about the impact of the Huron crossing beneath just about every major highway in Southeast Michigan.
Much to our delight, the next section of river through Huron Meadows Metropark let us through undisturbed, open floodplains. These floodplains act as a sort of filter for the river as the low wetlands. This is better explained through a bit of information I found through the Prairie Rivers Network:
“Rivers carry an array of pollutants like sediment and chemicals, particularly after storms. Floodplains provide space for flood waters to spread and slow, thereby allowing pollutant laden water to filter through the soil. This keeps river water cleaner for fish and wildlife, for drinking water, and for recreation.”
Retrieved from: https://prairierivers.org/priorities/wetlands-floodplains/
This stretch of river varied greatly as we paddled it, from shallow and weedy spots to deep, muck-bottomed pools. After enjoying this large network of floodplains and marshes, we came upon our planned lunch site at Cedar Ridge Launch. On a previous trip, I had used this location as a take-out point after a two-day, one night trip, and upon revisiting, I remembered what a long haul it was to get our boats up to the parking lot! There is no defined ramp or path for boat put-in and take-outs, but if one is willing to haul their boat a fair distance, it’s a suitable spot to start or end a trip.
The picnic spot was lovely. It was shaded by tall trees and full of picnic benches that could accommodate a large crowd. After having concerns about filtering water from the river earlier in the morning, we were excited to find a water-filling station at the bathrooms. We immediately dumped our two 1-gallon jugs full of river water, only do discover that said water station was turned off. Darn COVID! With a bit of ingenuity, we figured out how to transfer water from the sinks to our water jugs, and after enjoying a riverside lunch, we were on our way again.
As we finished our trip through Huron Meadows, we saw fewer and fewer paddlers and anglers on the river. The river entered privately-owned land once again, and we saw sights ranging from a pontoon boat graveyard full of dead, decaying watercraft floating on the river, to a treacherous rope swing that Heather desperately wanted to try out. As we asked one local about the rope swing, she muttered unhappily that it must have been made by “those rich kids from the fancy new subdivision”. The river slowed and widened as we continued on towards our next stretch of open water: The “Chain of Lakes”.
The Chain of Lakes is a series of lakes near Pickney that are surrounded by both year-round homes and Summer cottages. Our journey would take us through Strawberry Lake, Gallagher Lake, Whitewood Lake, and Base Line Lake and the many channels in between. All of these lakes had homes somewhere along their shores, and we took in the assortment of lakefront decorations, manicured gardens, and political signs that dotted the yards around each body of water. In true fashion with the rest of our trip, we faced headwinds through the lakes as we began to use our map skills (with some help from Google maps) to find the best route across each lake to the next channel. We paddled across choppy, open water well into the late afternoon, and as the day wore on, more and more boats began appearing on the lake. Finding the channels between each lake became easier and easier as we followed the early-evening parade of pontoon boats filled with residents enjoying their floating happy hours. At one point, we considered how much easier this trip would be had we utilized the Chain of Lakes Boat Tours and a ski rope, but we persisted and eventually found our way to Flook Dam.
The Flook Dam portage was an easy one, which we were grateful for after a long day of paddling. The portage involved a quick up-and-over the impoundment, and several signs there made it clear that we were not to linger around the dam any longer than needed. The stretch downriver of the dam was shallow, clear, and full of riffles. At first, we passed older, private properties on our left. Many had lawns that led right up to the river, but others were set back within wilder, more natural buffers between the homes and the shore. Much to our delight, we soon entered Hudson Mills Metropark and quickly came upon our second campsite of the trip.
The Hudson Mills Canoe Campground was hands-down my favorite camping spot of the entire trip. A gravel beach and low hill up to the site greeted us, and we were delighted to find a beautiful site full of mature oak trees, great river views, a large fire circle, water pump, and pit toilet. I found the perfect spot, complete with river view, for my hammock. Knowing the weather would be fair that night, I skipped hanging up a tarp and decided to sleep under the stars.
After setting up camp, Heather and I feasted on some chili mac, miso soup, and Halva bars, which Heather introduced me to and are RIDICULOUSLY good. That evening, we sat by the shores of the Huron, watching as the sun set behind the trees across the river from us. As we played music and sang out to the cool evening air, I felt incredibly grateful for such a great place to rest my head for the night and for the stretch of river that I knew would be coming the next day.
Highlights
Island Lake & Huron Meadows Metroparks have beautiful, wild landscapes full of plants and animals
Cedar Ridge area in Huron Meadows Metropark is a great lunch spot!
The Chain of Lakes allowed for entertaining people watching
The canoe campground at Hudson Mills was my favorite campsite on the trip, hands-down. Also the cheapest at $10/night, which is an absolute steal for such a great site!
Concerns
Lots of downed trees throughout Island Lake State Recreation area. We didn’t have a problem dragging our canoe over and under logs, but this could be come hazardous in higher or faster water
Increased development along this stretch of the river - lots of human impact from lawns to abandoned boats
The Chain of Lakes could be very busy on a Summer/holiday weekend - we paddled across it on a late Tuesday afternoon and it was already pretty busy!
Thoughts for the Future
Island Lake Recreation Area and Huron Meadows are great paddles and I will definitely do them again!
It’s too bad there’s not an access point to the river before the Hudson Mills canoe camp. One could paddle upriver from the Rapids View Launch at Hudson Mills, but the site is not in a convenient spot for a 1-night trip. If one really wanted to paddle into the site (and I may just do this as I loved the site so much), they could launch at the DNR launch near Baseline Lake, portage the Flook Dam, and paddle another half hour downriver to Hudson Mills
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