Kayaking Across Ohio: Clendening Lake: Wisteria, Wisteria, and More Wisteria

6 June 2015

Lake #37 Clendening Lake, Harrison County

Clendening Lake is known as the largest undeveloped lake in Ohio. It has a lot in common with Piedmont Lake: dam built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930s for flood control, managed by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy, 10 horsepower limit, heavily wooded and scenic, similar in size (Clendening is 1,732 acres with 37 miles of shoreline and Piedmont is 2,273 acres with 35 miles of shoreline), and a curvy, skinny lake. After the wonderful experience I had kayaking Piedmont the day before, I had high expectations for Clendening. Perhaps, they were too high. I found Clendening Lake to be very pretty but a bit boring. I didn’t see any wildlife at Clendening except for a single Great Blue Heron at the dam area. I also didn’t see cool rock formations or strange molting going on in the coves. To be fair to Clendening it did have an immense amount of beautiful flowers, something that Piedmont did not have. I plan to go back and give Clendening another try, this time not right after I have paddled its big sister.

Heavily Wooded Clendening Lake

I decided to visit the Clendening Lake dam before heading to the boat launch area for my paddle. The dam is at Tippecanoe off State Route 800. The spillway for the dam is cut through the mountain so you see the spillway before you reach the dam area. I stopped to take a look and was greeted with the horrible smell of rotten eggs and a sign posted warning of the danger of poisonous gas. This did not seem like a very auspicious beginning for the day. I learned later that runoff from the region’s coal mines contain high concentrations of sulfate. During the summer and fall, when high concentrations of sulfate from the streams mix with water from the lake bottom, hydrogen sulfide gas is produced. The scary thing about this is that the Muskingum dams were not designed to control the quality of water released through these intake structures, where hydrogen sulfide concentrates, and then into streams. Modern dams have multilevel intake structures to permit more control over the quality of released water. At Clendening the hydrogen sulfide concentration exceeds 329 parts per million and public safety is a concern at levels exceeding 50 ppm. Exposure to even low levels of hydrogen sulfide gas can cause eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath and fluid in the lungs.

Clendening Lake Spillway

You Can Smell the Gas From the Road

Water From the Spillway Heading to Other Waterways

Clendening Lake’s dam area is the prettiest I have seen. I felt like I was standing some place in the woods of Maine. I loved the many towering pine trees. This is where I saw my only wildlife of the day, a Great Blue Heron. There are picnic tables, grills, restrooms with running water, a nice playground with a soft rubber surface, and trash cans. This is in sharp contrast to the Ohio State Parks I have visited this year, where most things are falling apart and the trash cans have been removed. The dam itself is not impressive at a length of 950 feet and a height of 64 feet but it is pretty.

Am I Still in Ohio

Some of Clendening Lake's Numerous Trees

I love All the Pines

Clendening Lake Dam and Water Outlet

Beautiful Dam Area at Clendening

You Can Walk on the Top of the Dam to the Trees in the Distance

Great Blue Heron, the Only Wildlife I Saw All Day

Very Nice Playground with Fancy Rubber Chips

I had one more stop to make before putting in for my paddle, the marina. To reach the Marina from Uhrichsville, take highway 800 11 miles south to the small town of Tippecanoe. Drive an additional 3.5 miles to Highway 799, turn east and drive approximately 1 mile to the marina. The marina is full service with a boat ramp, fuel, food, boat rentals, and restrooms with running water. Camping sites and 9 cabins are nearby for rental.

Clendening Lake Marina, What's With the Snow Shovel in June?

Clendening Lake Marina Boat Ramp

I was finally ready to paddle. Looking at the park map, I decided to put in at the far northwestern boat ramp located off County Road 6. In addition to the south shore boat ramp located at the marina, there is a third boat ramp located on the north shore off Township Road 311 where Highway 799 crosses the lake. As a rule, I try to avoid putting in at marina ramps because that is where the big boats go. I didn’t pick the third boat ramp because of the noise that comes with a major road. There were no facilities, and parking was limited and full. Since the boat ramp was located right next to the road, I just parked a little further down the road. I was surprised at the number of boat trailers. Yet, it was not busy out on the water. I don’t know where the boats were but they were not around me.

Parking at County Road 6 Boat Ramp

County Road 6 Boat Ramp

The gray clouds from yesterday at Piedmont Lake were waiting for me as I put in and headed south toward the dam. In addition to gray clouds, what I saw were lots of trees and flowers. What I didn’t see was any wildlife. There was purple wisteria growing everywhere. There were also beautiful white flowering vines and small white flowers that looked like wild roses. Unfortunately, the climbing wisteria did not show up well in my photographs but there were sections where the flowers were 40 feet up the trees. I decided to name this lake’s baby duck Wisteria in honor of the beauty of the flower.

"Ain't Nothing But Some Grey Skies"

Paddling South Toward Dam

Wisteria

And More Wisteria

Baby Duck Wisteria

After exploring south, I decided to head back north and explore the area northeast of the boat ramp. I thought I might see some wildlife in this area but no luck. My tummy was getting rumbly so I decided to end my paddle and go have lunch.

Paddling North

Paddling Northeast Past Boat Ramp

No Wildlife to be Found

Getting Close to the End of the Line

I had passed a restaurant that looked interesting on my way to the lake and decided to go check it out. Andi’s Point Drive In is located at 30600 Clendening Lake Road, Freeport (740-658-1110). You can’t miss it. The building is pink and located at the intersection of the two main roads in the area. I had a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a chocolate milkshake. The food was yummy and reasonably priced. I would recommend stopping here. Fortified with a full tummy I was ready to head out on my next adventure.