Today I managed to break away from my desk and actually get out into the air. I picked an excellent day to get out. The temperature was fine, and we had a fantastic blue sky to contrast with all the greenery.
Near the Springfield Nature Center bird watching Hide on the James River
This year we’ve not had a lot of opportunities to get out, as we’ve been distracted by the realities of life – like earning a living. I’d prefer to be out and about more, but it doesn’t put cat food in their food bowl. Today’s run-out was prompted by a long standing offer to let someone try out a kayak. It was really great to get out on the lake. I had a very relaxing time, and at under two miles, an easy paddle.
We put in at Lake Springfield as I wasn’t expecting to be going far, and I wanted to be away from all the traffic noise from Hwy65 which is very close to the put-in near to the Veterans’ Cemetery. I’ve added a map with the main put-ins marked on it at the end of this post. Unfortunately because of a strong easterly wind, the traffic noise was quite discernible even at the lake. Oh well. Generally lake Springfield is a good place to put in, with a choice of paddling on the wide open waters of the lake, or very quickly moving on to the more closed-in James River. There are some nice but low bluffs near-by, and a large shallow area opposite the put-in. Checking Google earth we reckon it ought to be possible to get a kayak right through to the James River near to the Nature center. You can see the area on the Google Earth screen capture below.
GPS Track – just a tad under two miles
Location of the Kayak, Canoe, and Small Boat put-ins on Lake Springfield and the Upper James River at Springfield
Lake Springfield
View Lake Springfield / Upper James River Canoe and Kayak put-ins in a larger map
Upper James River Access Points
View Lake Springfield / Upper James River Canoe and Kayak put-ins in a larger map
Southwood Access Point
View Lake Springfield / Upper James River Canoe and Kayak put-ins in a larger map
Crighton Access Point
View Lake Springfield / Upper James River Canoe and Kayak put-ins in a larger map