Lake Monroe Overnight Paddle Saturday-Sunday, April 7-8, 2018
Trip Sponsor: Kevin Dogan
Join us on Lake Monroe the largest lake in this state and a favorite Indiana sea kayaking destination. We will paddle on the east side of the State Hwy 446 causeway and camp overnight at one of the shoreline campsites in Deem Wilderness. With Mother Nature’s cooperation, we will have a warm campfire in the evening for this early Spring excursion. If you only want to Paddle on Saturday, our campsite should be only 2-3 miles from the Cutright put-in so that people are welcome to come out and day-paddle with us without camping.
Meeting Place/Put-In: Cutright Public Access Site. This is about 2 hours from the intersection of Hwy 37 and I-465 on the southeast side of Indianapolis. (Google Map)
Directions to Meeting Place: Take Hwy 446 south from Hwy 46 on the east side of Bloomington to the Lake Monroe causeway. Cutright is the first turn on your left immediately after you cross the lake causeway. We will assemble on the shoreline immediately east of the first boat ramp that you come to after leaving Hwy 446.
What to Bring: Bring your paddling gear, spray skirt, camping gear, food for lunch, dinner, and breakfast, and warm clothes. You should also bring drinking water with you. We will be camping from our boats and you will have to pack all of your gear and food in your boat, so plan accordingly.
Be sure to have a 2017 Indiana DNR Boat Permit. You may be able to pick one up on the way to the meeting place, either at the DNR headquarter office on Hwy 446 on the north side of the entrance to the Paynetown SRA or at the gatehouse for the Paynetown SRA. In mid-March the trip sponsor was told the DNR office and gatehouse would likely be open all Saturdays in April, so you should call the office (812-837-9546) during the week before to confirm. You can also purchase permits online at the DNR website.
Required Equipment: Wet suits or dry suits are strongly recommended. Due to potentially rough lake conditions, spray skirts, safety equipment, and sea kayaks with fore and aft bulkheads are required.
Schedule: Saturday - 10:00 am is the recommended time for arrival at the put-In. We will launch at 11:00 am. We will probably paddle about 4-5 miles and then set up camp and have lunch. After lunch, we will go out and explore more of the lake.
Sunday: We are flexible here. We could return to Cutright as early as 10:00 am and drop off people who have to take off. We’ll figure this out Saturday night depending on how far people want to paddle on Sunday and when people have get home
Contact information: Kevin Dogan, kdogan54@gmail.com Please contact me by 7:00 pm on the Thursday before the trip if you want to come. It is important that I have way to reach all persons intending to participate on all or part of this trip. I will be monitoring weather forecasts prior to the trip and I will notify people who have contacted me if there will be changes to or cancelation of the trip due to the expected weather.
