20 River Paddle Pin - Ken & Cheryl

KenM · 01-03-2020, 03:07 PM

ODNR Paddle Pins

For those of you that are not familiar, "Paddle Ohio" (Div. of Parks and Watercraft) has a program where each year you can paddle any four different eligible waterways, send in details about your trips, and they send you a Paddle Ohio pin. You can get up to five pins total.

We heard about this program the first year it was offered (2014). At that time we had already paddled three qualifying rivers-water trails and had another scheduled. I sent in the info for both of us. Months later we received our pins with a note saying we were among 14 paddlers that had received the first pin. Only 14 ?? Yep. It was a nice little pin and that program gave us some motivation to do more.

In Oct 2018 we submitted our data for our "20" River Pin. Months passed and we never got them. I emailed/phoned ODNR and never got a response. There were lots of major changes going on at the State level. New Governor. Scenic Rivers Program was being tossed back and forth. I figured the Paddle Pins had gone belly-up.

Then, Nov 2019... a year later, I had an email from ODNR saying they had moved a couple of times. The Paddle Pin Program had been packed away in boxes. They had just now found them.

So mid Nov 2019 we did finally receive our "20" River Pin from Paddle Ohio along with a congratulatory note from Robert Gable, Director of Ohio Scenic Rivers.

As we "used up" all of the qualifying waterways near home, we had to travel farther for new opportunities. We ended up all over the State of Ohio. Fortunately, they added several smaller lakes with unique natural features to the list. That gave us some options when the rivers were dried up. So where all did we paddle?

Paddle Pin Program Log 2014-2018

06/01/14 Grand River overnight TWC 29.0
06/19/14 Upper Cuyahoga (Mantua to Red Fox) 6.3
7/12/14 Mahoning River water trail (TCT first trip) 3.52
8/24/14 Mohigan River (bridge to Kokosing R) 11.73

6/21/15 Bass Lake (Chagrin River) ODNR 2.25
8/27/15 East Sandusky Bay (water trail) 5.48
8/28/15 Black River (water trail) 8.22
9/20/15 Muskingum River ODNR (thru locks) 5.88

8/1/16 Little Miami River 9.5
8/2/16 Stonelick Lake S.P. 4.6
8/3/16 Cowan Lake S.P. 3.2
10/19/16 Punderson Lake S.P. 2.7

8/8/17 Harrison Lake S.P. 3.4
08/09/17 Maumee River 5.4
10/03/17 Dow Lake – Strouds Run 4.8
10/17/17 Belmont Lake – Barkcamp S.P. 4.4

06/17/18 Little Beaver Creek ODNR 4.1
06/30/18 Kokosing River ODNR 4.3
08/14/18 Big Darby Creek 10.8
08/15/18 Mad River 9.7

Even though we are now finished with the Paddle Pin Program there are still lots of places on that list to explore. -Ken and Cheryl
Paddle Pin-1.jpg

01-03-2020, 03:07 PM	#1
KenM Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Louisville Oh Posts: 389 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	20 River Paddle Pin - Ken & Cheryl ODNR Paddle Pins For those of you that are not familiar, "Paddle Ohio" (Div. of Parks and Watercraft) has a program where each year you can paddle any four different eligible waterways, send in details about your trips, and they send you a Paddle Ohio pin. You can get up to five pins total. We heard about this program the first year it was offered (2014). At that time we had already paddled three qualifying rivers-water trails and had another scheduled. I sent in the info for both of us. Months later we received our pins with a note saying we were among 14 paddlers that had received the first pin. Only 14 ?? Yep. It was a nice little pin and that program gave us some motivation to do more. In Oct 2018 we submitted our data for our "20" River Pin. Months passed and we never got them. I emailed/phoned ODNR and never got a response. There were lots of major changes going on at the State level. New Governor. Scenic Rivers Program was being tossed back and forth. I figured the Paddle Pins had gone belly-up. Then, Nov 2019... a year later, I had an email from ODNR saying they had moved a couple of times. The Paddle Pin Program had been packed away in boxes. They had just now found them. So mid Nov 2019 we did finally receive our "20" River Pin from Paddle Ohio along with a congratulatory note from Robert Gable, Director of Ohio Scenic Rivers. As we "used up" all of the qualifying waterways near home, we had to travel farther for new opportunities. We ended up all over the State of Ohio. Fortunately, they added several smaller lakes with unique natural features to the list. That gave us some options when the rivers were dried up. So where all did we paddle? Paddle Pin Program Log 2014-2018 06/01/14 Grand River overnight TWC 29.0 06/19/14 Upper Cuyahoga (Mantua to Red Fox) 6.3 7/12/14 Mahoning River water trail (TCT first trip) 3.52 8/24/14 Mohigan River (bridge to Kokosing R) 11.73 6/21/15 Bass Lake (Chagrin River) ODNR 2.25 8/27/15 East Sandusky Bay (water trail) 5.48 8/28/15 Black River (water trail) 8.22 9/20/15 Muskingum River ODNR (thru locks) 5.88 8/1/16 Little Miami River 9.5 8/2/16 Stonelick Lake S.P. 4.6 8/3/16 Cowan Lake S.P. 3.2 10/19/16 Punderson Lake S.P. 2.7 8/8/17 Harrison Lake S.P. 3.4 08/09/17 Maumee River 5.4 10/03/17 Dow Lake – Strouds Run 4.8 10/17/17 Belmont Lake – Barkcamp S.P. 4.4 06/17/18 Little Beaver Creek ODNR 4.1 06/30/18 Kokosing River ODNR 4.3 08/14/18 Big Darby Creek 10.8 08/15/18 Mad River 9.7 Even though we are now finished with the Paddle Pin Program there are still lots of places on that list to explore. -Ken and Cheryl Paddle Pin-1.jpg Last edited by KenM; 01-04-2020 at 08:44 AM.