Paddling Hoover Reservoir - Twin Bridges Boat Ramp

September 2010
Hoover Reservoir
12 miles northeast of downtown Columbus, Ohio.

On a sunny but very windy September day, paddling Hoover Reservoir was fun but also challenging with the waves created by the wind.  I admit I don't always wear my life jacket (gasp!) but after about 5 minutes of paddling at an angle to the choppy current, I wiggled into my jacket. 

My 14-foot kayak, a Wilderness Systems Capehorn, handled the waves very well.  I wish I had the spray skirt on though, but I had it tucked behind my seat.  I wasn't brave enough to challenge my boat's good secondary stability to wrangle the skirt over me and over the cockpit.  This boat has low initial stability ("tippiness"), but has good secondary stability.  To learn more about initial and secondary stability and other interesting features of these mostly hand-powered boats, check out http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/kayak.html.  Be careful though, as you might be tempted to make a purchase.

Now that you've bought your 'yak (and are now way cool), read on....

Leaving the boat ramp, I paddled out around a small island before it opened up into the main body of water.  Heading north (or right) looked to be the best bet for viewing wildlife.  After some serious paddling and exchanging a few words of encouragement from passing kayakers, reaching the Twin Bridges seemed like a good initial milestone.

After successfully past the bridge, a collection of sailboats tied up caught my attention.  A cove up ahead to the east side (right side) proved promising for not only bird watching but also some other unexpected thrills like deer skipping across the grasslands and a dune buggy navigating the shoreline. 

Additionally, the sail boats were beautiful skating across the water, showing off their colorful masts. 

After beaching for lunch and exploration, the paddling continued...and continued...and continued accidentally right past the cove leading to the boat ramp.  It is amazing how deceiving the landscape is against the water sometimes.  After confirming with a fisherman at the Buckeye Boat Club that the Twin Bridges Boat Ramp, was back the other way (a good 30 minutes of paddling back the other way), I looked forward to seeing my little red truck again.  Just across from the boat ramp, three female Mallards posed for the last pictures of the trip....perhaps making the extra paddling worth it!

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I launched from the Twin Bridges Boat Ramp, which I had read was the most northern public access point on the east side of the reservoir. However, after surfing the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department once I got home, I learned there is Baldridge Boat Launch, which is north of the intersection of Sunbury Road and Red Bank Road. Twin Bridges Boat Ramp is just south of this same intersection.

Hoover Reservoir is a 8-mile-long impoundment of the Big Walnut River, and is the main water supply for Columbus. Hoover is listed as a 3,272 acre lake but does have a 10 horsepower limit making kayaking (and sail boating) ideal.