12 April 2015
Lake #22: Cowan Lake, Cowan Lake State Park, Clinton County
700-acre Cowan Lake is located within 1,075-acre Cowan Lake
State Park, 7 miles southwest of Wilmington and 35 miles southeast of Dayton. Cowan
Lake is known for its scenic inlets filled with American Lotus; unfortunately,
it was too early in the season for me to see the Lotus. The 10-horsepower limit
lake is popular with sailboats. There were no sailboats out when I was there
but there were plenty of fishermen, many fishing from kayaks.
 |
| One of the Many Kayak Fishermen |
The lake has a 1,000 foot public beach located on the south
shore and another beach located within the camp ground. The park offers 237
electric camping sites and 17 non-electric. In addition, the park offers 27 cottages.
 |
| Camp Sites 51 Thru 54 Back Up to Woods and I would Pick One of These If I Were Camping Here |
 |
| Many of the Cottages Overlook the Lake, Cottage 18 Was My Favorite |
The lake has four launch ramps, three located on the south
shore and one on the north shore at the campground. There is also a walk-in
launch area at the far west of the parking lot at the Marina.
 |
| Marina Boat Ramp |
 |
| Marina Cowan Lake |
 |
| Looking Back at Full Parking Lot at the Marina |
I put in at the Marina boat ramp and headed west towards the dam. Cowan Lake gets its name from Cowan Creek which was dammed in 1950 to form the lake.
 |
| Looking West From Boat Launch at Marina |
 |
| Cowan Dam in the Distance |
 |
| Heading West Towards Dam and Spillway |
 |
| Cowan Lake Spillway |
 |
| Cowan Lake Water Outlet |
After checking out the dam, I turned and headed northeast to check out the north shore fingers of the lake. The first finger was full of fishermen so I headed to the second finger.
 |
| Heading Northeast From the Dam |
 |
| Heading Northeast Towards the Fingers |
 |
| The Day Was Warmer So I Went Wild and Didn't Wear My Skirt |
 |
| The Choppy Water Made Me Second Guess My No Skirt Choice |
The second finger still had people fishing but not as many as the first finger. There were Mallard ducks and I was able to get one good photo. I decided to name the lake's baby duck Mallard in its honor.
 |
| Mallard Duck |
 |
| Mama Duck With Baby Duck |
 |
| Baby Duck Mallard Waiting For His Relatives |
 |
| Paddling the Second Finger From the Dam |
After exploring the finger, I headed east towards the campground. Half-way there I realized that I really needed to use the restroom. I was hopeful that there would be one open at the campground, so I paddled faster.
 |
| I Love the Pine Trees |
 |
| Heading East Towards Campground |
 |
| Campground Ramp in the Distance |
 |
| Campground Ramp |
The campground had an open restroom with flush toilets, "Oh, happy day." After my restroom break, I took a leisurely paddle back to the Marina.
 |
| Heading West Back to Marina |
Cowan Lake was not a bad paddle. It was just a bit boring the day I kayaked it. On any other day, I might have a very different experience. I am open to a return to Cowan Lake, but I am not in any hurry.
May all your roads end in water,
Mama Duck Mona
You account have gone down the cove where you stopped for the restroom. It goes way back to a second private campground.
ReplyDeleteAlso, those aren't pine trees but are Eastern Red Cedar. In summer, coves fill with huge water lilly