5 April 2015
Lake #17 Winton
Lake, Winton Woods, Hamilton County
Easter morning found me 20 minutes north of downtown
Cincinnati within the 2700-acre Winton Woods Park. Winton Woods is one of Cincinnati’s
biggest and most visited parks. It is located at 10245 Winton Road. The
156-acre Winton Lake is among its many features. The lake was created in 1952
by damming the West Fork of Mill Creek. Originally, the lake was only open to
the park system’s rental fleet of boats. It is now open to private kayak and
canoe paddlers as well. Like the rest of the lakes in southwestern Ohio that I
had visited over the weekend, Winton Lake was experiencing high water levels.
You could paddle up to benches in the lake and take a seat.
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| Winton Lake, a "Little" Flooded |
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| Winton Lake Harbor |
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| This Female Mallard Was Enjoying the High Water |
This is really a nice metropolitan park. I wish Columbus had
something similar. It costs $3 per day or $10 annually to park, but there is no
additional fee to use the lake. The park has several boats for rent to compete
with your space on the lake. Happily, the boathouse was not open when I was
there. The fleet of pedal boats lined up at the boathouse had the look of an
amusement park ride. The park also has rowboats, pontoon boats, kayaks, canoes,
motorboats, and stand-up paddleboards for rent. A large pontoon boat, called
the Harbor Point Winton Queen, takes visitors on tours of the lake (I can’t
even imagine how much fun that must be, yes I am being sarcastic).
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| Winton Woods Boathouse |
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| Rental Pedal Boats and Pontoon Boats Waiting for Warm Weather |
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| Motorboats for Rent at Winton Lake |
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| Canoes and Kayaks Ready for Action |
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| Harbor Point Winton Queen, Not Looking Too Queenly |
At Winton Harbor there are restrooms with running water but
they were under repair the day I was there; portable toilets were set up for
use in the parking lot. Two really nice playgrounds are located at Harbor
Point; one is a wet playground called Parky’s Ark (I was tempted to play on it
even without the water). There is a paved hiking/biking trail and you can rent
a bike during the season. In addition, there are basketball courts, a snack bar
with outdoor dining, and fishing from the pier.
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| Winton Woods Harbor Central Overlook |
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| Parky's Ark Wet Playground |
The Winton Woods Campground is open March 6th
through November 29th. I was surprised at how many people were
camping Easter weekend. The campground has 123 sites, including: 25 RV back-in
sites, 12 RV pull-through sites, 68 sites with 30-amp hookups, 10 basic cabins,
and 8 large deluxe cabins. The area is wooded and offers more privacy than many
campgrounds. Several campsites are located at the water’s edge. As a special
bonus to paddlers, the campground has its own kayak/canoe launch.
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| Winton Woods Campground in the Background |
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| My Paddling Buddy and Hubby in Front of the Campground |
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| Winton Woods Campground Boat Launch Area |
As I was there on Easter morning, there was plenty of
parking and room to turn around my trailer. In the summer, parking might be a
challenge. The launch ramp is located east of the harbor. There was a mother
and daughter kayak duo exiting the lake when I put in. While I kayaked, there were
no other boaters out on the lake. It was only 9:30 a.m. on Easter morning. For
all I know, it could be a zoo on any other day. From the boat launch, I paddled
east heading towards the campground. There is a pedestrian bridge to paddle
under before reaching the campsite. The support pillars made for a little
paddling diversion.
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| Winton Lake Canoe and Kayak Boat Ramp |
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| Winton Lake Boat Ramp Viewed From Harbor Point |
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| Harbor Point |
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| Heading East Away From Winton Harbor |
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| Walking Trail Bridge |
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| Paddling Under the Bridge |
I then checked out the little finger, south of the
campground. You never know what you might find in the little nooks and crannies
of lakes. What I found this day were lots and lots of turtles. Along the banks,
several turtles were out in rows on logs basking in the sun. It was only about
55 degrees out, but like the turtles I felt the warmth of the sun and its
promise that spring was finally here. These were the first turtles I have seen
this spring. I believe the turtles I saw were Midland Painted turtles;
although, I did not get close enough to see their red markings. In their honor,
I named the Easter “bunny” duck for today “Honu” which means sea turtle in
Hawaiian.
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| Six Little Turtles |
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| Five Little Turtles |
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| Four Little Turtles |
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| Three Little Turtles |
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| Two Little Turtles |
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| One Brave Little Turtle |
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| Winton Lake Baby Duck "Honu" |
Paddling northeast towards the dam, I passed an island. I
christened it Goose Island, because of the several Canadian Geese nesting
there. I found an Easter egg hanging on the edge of the island in some exposed
tree roots. In all my days of paddling, I have never found an egg before. It
seems quite a strange coincidence that I found my first and only egg on Easter
morning. As I paddled away, I felt sad for the goose that would never exist but then I remembered how annoying Canadian Geese can be and didn't feel so bad anymore.
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| Goose Island (I Don't Think It Has a Real Name) |
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| Nesting In Progress |
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| I Found an Easter Egg |
Many lakes that I have paddled have had no buoys or warnings
located near their dam spillways, even in situations where a paddler would be
at risk of serious injury or death if they continued on. Winton Lake has gone
to the opposite extreme. The dam area is roped off with what look like numerous
giant pool noodles. I don’t think a kayak could even make it through the small
spillway. This is an indication to me that the lake sees a lot of inexperienced
paddlers normally. After paddling to the east end of the lake, I turned around
and went to check out the area north of the campground.
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| Winton Lake Dam |
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| Beware: Giant Pool Noodles |
The campground itself looks nice and the boat ramp
serviceable, but the lake around the north shore is not attractive.
Construction work is being done, running a very large sewage pipe over the
lake. I did get to see my first wildflowers of the season growing along the
bank, so I was content. After this, it was time to start paddling back to the
put in location. I followed a Snow Goose and a Mallard duck, and we headed
west.
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| Sewage Pipe Construction North of Campground |
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| Marsh Marigolds Growing Along Winton Lake |
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| Heading West Towards the Foot Bridge |
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A Snow Goose and Mallard Duck Lead the Way
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May all your roads end in water,
Mama Duck Mona
