Canoe, kayak and SUP rentals return to St. Pat's park after pandemic hiatus

At long last — well, since COVID-19 swept across the land four years ago — canoe, kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals will return to St. Patrick’s County Park and a stretch of the St. Joseph River from South Bend to Niles.

Starting this Memorial Day weekend, familiar trips and schedules come back to this watery Eden. The hiatus had begun in 2020 when there were real concerns about shuttling paddlers together in a park van between their finish and launch sites. It evolved into regular rentals on the river’s Baugo Bay in Osceola, a convenient and efficient option that never needed a shuttle — you just paddle out and back within the bay area.

The paddling public, though, missed the classic, linear trips out of St. Pat’s, the chance to cover miles of the St. Joe, to feel its current push their boat forward, to see the day’s surprising sights (there’s always something). So, as pandemic precautions waned, paddlers pleaded for rentals to return to St. Pat’s every season.

St. Joseph County Parks leadership apparently heard them. But the parks needed enough seasonal staff to make it possible.

Michael Slattery, who started last August as the parks’ leisure services manager, said his directors “felt strongly” about the move back to St. Pat’s. So, voila.

As something new, the park will offer “early bird” paddles on the second Saturday of each month this summer — so, June 8, July 13 and Aug. 10. You’ll need to hop in the shuttle van by 7:30 a.m. for a trip from Keller Park to St. Pat’s. These must be reserved in advance. The deadline is May 29 for the June 8 paddle. Cost is $20-$25.

Think of the soft early-morning light, more bird life and escape from the hottest parts of the day.

This coincides with early-bird hours that park management is trying on those second Saturdays, when St. Pat’s opens at 7 a.m. Slattery says 25 people came in the first three hours of May’s trial run — lots of hikers and dog walkers. Gate fees don’t begin until 10 a.m.

Also, kayak rentals will resurface on periodic evenings at Ferrettie-Baugo Creek County Park in Osceola. They’re scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 5, July 17 and Aug. 7.

The staff will have to transport kayaks to the park for those events. And on a regular basis, Slattery adds, “We don’t have the staff to do (rentals at) both (park) sites.”

Still, he says staff will track the numbers and listen for your feedback on whether or how often to continue with the Ferrettie-Baugo paddles. Staff have considered a self-serve kayak kiosk there like the one at South Bend’s Pinhook Park, but, so far, Slattery says, they don’t feel encouraged to try it just yet.

You could argue that St. Joe River begs for more canoe and kayak rentals on other stretches. It is wilderness that just so happens to pass through urban populations. The river and its tributaries have boasted more than 85 species of fish in recent years, a healthy count, indeed. Crows, warblers and other fowl use the river to navigate as great blue heron, osprey and eagles now live near it.

Margaret Easton, who runs the popular Facebook group Paddle Michiana, aptly describes the portion where rentals return.

“Once you get started, you’d have no notion that you’re just minutes from one of the biggest cities in Indiana,” she says. “It’s a great escape.”

∎ Paddling rentals at St. Pat’s: Rentals at St. Patrick’s County Park, 50651 Laurel Road, South Bend, will run from May 24 to Oct. 6. Also, there will be Saturday-only paddles on Oct. 12, 19 and 26 from Keller Park to St. Pat’s. The standard short trips are four to six miles, either from Keller Park to St. Pat’s or from St. Pat’s to the Niles dam. The long trip of 10 miles is from Keller Park to the Niles dam. The park may cancel trips because of inclement weather or if the river is too high — specifically, if the flow is more than 6,000 cubic feet per second as measured at the Niles dam. You can check out boats from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays and on holidays. Long trip rentals must be checked out by 2 p.m. Group rentals are available Wednesdays through Sundays.

Not ready for the river? You can use the boats to practice paddling skills on a St. Pat’s pond for $7 per hour.

Costs for the short trips are $25 for single kayaks and $30 for double kayaks or canoes. For the long trips, costs are $35 for single kayaks and $40 for double kayaks or canoes. Stand-up paddleboards cost $25 and are only available Saturdays and Sundays on the short trips. All rentals include life vests and shuttles.

If you have your own boat, you can book the shuttle for $12.

For questions and reservations, call 574-654-3155. For more details on rentals, visit a parks link here in this column online.

More paddling please

∎ Other paddling outfitters on the St. Joe River: Coyne Kayaks in the Bristol area; call 574-536-8889. RAW Outdoors Canoe & Kayak Rentals in Goshen, which does rentals anywhere on the St. Joe, along with Elkhart River and other rivers; call 574-322-0573.

∎ Rafting on the East Race Waterway in South Bend runs on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. June 1 to Sept. 1 through the city’s Venues, Parks & Arts department.

∎ The East Race Whitewater Festival comes back for racing and a pool floatie run from June 7-9.

∎ Checklist: Got everything you need to take your kayak or canoe on the water? How about a whistle, a mugshot of your boat and a safety plan? Review a pretty thorough checklist I wrote in 2021, thanks to help from Coast Guard volunteers and other experts, which I’ve linked to here in this column online.

Paddling for wildlife

What wild critter did you see on a paddling trip that made your head spin with delight? If it’s an eagle, an otter or one of 10 other animals on a list, the Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources is asking us paddlers to file a quick report.

The DNR seeks volunteers for this bit of citizen science from June 1 to July 31 on Indiana waterways. The information you report to the Indiana Paddlecraft Wildlife Index will help the DNR’s wildlife managers to monitor changes in key species over time and perhaps to learn about new places where they’re living.

You simply fill out a postcard to record the number of the following species seen on a given trip: bald eagle, Blanding’s turtle, beaver, great blue heron, great egret, kingfisher, mink, muskrat, osprey, painted turtle, red eared slider and river otter.

Sign up at on.IN.gov/Paddlecraftindex.

Sweet wanders

∎ Potawatomi hike: Hoosier Hikers will host 5K and 10K Volksmarch hikes that you can start anytime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. May 25 near the nature center at Potawatomi Wildlife Park near Bourbon. The park is at 16998 Indiana 331, a half mile south of Indiana 10. It costs $4 to register. Donations for the park will be collected in memory of long-time hiker Susan Cameron and park managers Sharon and Michael Stephan. For questions, contact Bob Buzolich at 574-339-9140 or sonofbuzz@prodigy.net. 

∎ Holiday pancakes in a sanctuary: The South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society will serve pancakes from 7:30 to 10 a.m. May 27 (Memorial Day) at its wildlife sanctuary, 59395 Clover Road, Mishawaka, south of George Wilson Park. Bring your own eating utensils if you can. Donations accepted.

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kayak canoe rentals return St. Patrick's County Park on St. Joe River