Paddle Report: Christiana Lake/Christiana Creek to Willowdale Park

This was the first time that I paddled this route. My wife dropped me off about 1:20pm and picked me up in Elkhart around 5pm. So it was about a 3 and 1/2 hour paddle. I put in at the channel between Eagle Lake and Christiana Lake in Edwardsburg, MI, and paddled east to the southeastern part of the lake where Christiana Creek starts its journey south. The weather was great and the Fall colors were spectacular. According to Google Maps it is about a 10 mile Paddle to the place were I planned to end my trip--Willowdale Park, In Elkhart, IN. The current picks up nicely as you enter the Creek and the Creek level was up because of the rain that we had received the last couple of days. You can easily spot the opening of the Creek--it is marked with two large stones that tower out of the water. The water was crystal clear and you could easily see the bottom the entire trip.

After a while on the Creek you will reach a Dam that you will have to portage around. I exited on the left side of the Dam and there was a nice place to pull out and put in. I had a spray skirt on the first part of the trip and took it off after the Dam. I should have left it on. I ran into some fast moving current and many obstacles that made it fun but I got sideways against some logs and took in a lot of water. There are some challenging obstacle courses along the way. I enjoy that kind of thing but would have liked to stay a little drier. The water level was only low enough to bottom out in a couple of places and the current was strong enough to carry you through it. 

The trip was mostly great and very scenic. There are several houses along the way but also some remote areas where saw tons of wildlife. I saw heron, duck, turtles, lots of fish, and 5 deer along the way. A huge buck and doe were spooked as I approached and jumped across the water in front of me. It was hard to get a lot of photos on this trip because you have to keep an eye on what you are doing. The current is fast enough to get you in trouble if you are not paying attention. A smaller kayak is better for this trip. You will need to make some fast turns and maneuver around obstacles. You might get a few dings and scrapes as well from rocks and shallow spots.

The only complaint came on the last stretch of the Creek before the Willowdale Park exit. The golf course (Christiana Creek Golf Course) has a bunch of golf cart bridges that are too low to go under so you will have to portage around each one. I think there are four total. Huge pain. Other than that, it was a great trip. I want to do it again and the next time take it all the way to the St. Joseph river. I have heard that there is about 1.5 miles of rapids between Willowdale Park and where the Creek dumps into the St. Joe River. Looking forward to checking that out!