Casey Kwant

Casey Kwant

Paddle the Flat River

07/21/16

My girlfriend and I paddled the flat in early July and it was absolutely beautiful. However, we planned a route that simplified the car-kayak conundrum. We put in at a launch that is near where the flat runs into the grand river. The launch is on very slow moving water an is right next the Lowell public library. There was plenty of room for parking as well. We only needed to take one vehicle because we paddled upriver for the first half which, as the name of the river suggests, was not especially challenging. This was a great idea for us because we only have one car that could transport our boats. We packed a lunch and water for the day and we decided to just paddle upstream until we got tired and then looked for a place to rest and eat. One rest place to turn around is about five miles upstream where there is a park you can beach the boats and hangout and eat. Following this we had a nice and easy downstream paddle back to the launch and this made for a good end to the route because the upstream section, however easy, took it out of both of us. On a side note, the launch by the library has a very user friendly kayak and canoe launch system that makes getting in and out of the water extremely easy and enjoyable for even the most inexperienced paddlers.

4.0

Casey Kwant

Camp in the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness

07/19/16

It was a ton of fun for being a really short easy hike! However, definitely do not expect a challenging hike other than the fact that your walking through really sand terrain most of the time. Avoid it during the Holliday weekends because it can be hard to find a campsite where you have some solitude.

4.0