Thank you MIKE!!! Great day!! Felt like one of those 'days in heaven'!!

We say Pymatuning Creek they say Shenango River
 

We really enjoyed this paddle today. Nice weather, easy water, scenic vistas, and good company. What more could you ask for? If you couldn't make it today, make sure you attend this one next time. Paddle on!

Darla

Trip Review
 

What an amazing day on Pymatuning Creek. With temps in the mid 70's and a little breeze made for a great paddle. We had 17 paddlers (13 Kayaks & 2 Canoes) and 1 doggy.

It was great to see Ken and Cheryl break out the old Grumman Canoe for this trip. Also another great surprise was Forest who drove 152 miles from Western Ohio to paddle with the club.

On this trip most of us paddle 2.5 miles up and then back for a nice 5 mile paddle. Ken, Cheryl, Stan & Forest went a little farther before a major blockage forced them to turn around.

This creek is truly amazing, once you get around the first bend you are completely out in the wild with so signs of civilization.

After the paddle a small group of 8 (Tom, Darla, Ken Cheryl, Ron, Rich, Jessica, myself, & Tori)made their way to Top Notch Diner in Cortland for eat out on the deck and enjoy great paddle stories and each other company.

Thanks to all who came for a great day on the river.

Mike Danko

An enjoyable trip
 

K & C really enjoyed this paddle and were glad Mike had put it on the schedule. Once away from the park it becomes very quiet and gives a nice sense of remoteness. Other than Riverfest I only brought the "Grumman" canoe on one overnight trip. We always bring our kayaks.

I often laugh because Mike in his canoe reminds me of a Mother Duck with all the ducklings (kayaks) all around. Now Cheryl and I were trying not to run over all those puny kayaks. Ha! We got a pretty good workout manuvering though all the logs and stumps (and kayaks) with the canoe.

Most of our group on Sunday paddled 2.6 miles before returning. Four of us paddled 3.1 miles (another 15 minutes upstream). We got stopped by a river-wide tree but I think with a hand saw you could quickly get through some small branches on river left but it was time to head back anyway.

-KenM

for future reference
 

As I noted, four of us paddled 3.1 miles upstream. We got stopped by a river-wide tree but I think with a hand saw you could get through some small branches on river left.

I did a quick measurement to find that the bridge and parking on East Milligan Road (river right) was only 1.4 miles further upstream. A couple of years ago that section was a log-fest but I wonder if possibly it is open now? That would make a nice 4.5 mile paddle down to Orangeville.

River mileage... As the crow flies, it is 8 miles from Orangeville to Kinsman. By water with all those crooks and turns it is 14.2 miles.

Water gage... The Pymatuning is a slow and sluggish creek. My paddle book notes a gradient of only 2 ft per mile drop. Gage at Kinsman was 5.2 ft this paddle but the evidence from debris in trees was that is it gets a lot higher. I looked to see that on July 21, 2019 it had been 11.9 ft. And from January 1, 2019 it had been over 10 ft at least 9 times.

Just to confuse you
 

Darla,

Just to keep you confused...

The Shenango River in PA flows into Pymatuning Lake then continues after the dam as Shenango River.

Pymatuning Creek in Ohio flows through the Shenango Wildlife Area then flows into the Shenango Lake and then the Shenango River again.

Why did they ever name it Pymatuning Lake ???

Ken

Pymatuning Creek Paddle
 

Even better. We look to the Go Paddle app and map for guidance on many paddles. We also go to Google Maps to find our destinations. However both of these believe this river to be The Shenango River at this point. I have sent corespondance to both asking them to look into this issue and correct it. Have not had a reply from either as of yet.



However the Ohio DNR does have this now listed as PYMATUNING CREEK and classifies it as a Wild and Scenic Waterway.


History of Pymatuning:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pymatuning_Reservoir