Evansville’s Pigeon Creek
Monday, October 21, 2013
Pigeon Creek runs through the city of Evansville, Indiana to empty out into the Ohio River at around mile 793. It makes for a nice day trip. Today I accessed the stream by putting in from the Ohio River ramp in downtown Evansville (you’ll find that the mouth of Pigeon Creek lies only about ½ mile downstream from this point). My intention today was simply to paddle upstream on the creek to see how far I could get, but if you don’t have your own boat I know that the Wesselman Nature Society offers trips on this stream. Also of interest for outdoor enthusiasts in the area is the Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.
As you start your day in
Evansville you’ll note that they have quite a nice put in amid the
Riverfront/Dress Plaza complex.
This complex was completed as part of
Evansville’s riverfront revitalization in the 1980’s when they refortified and
re-designed their break wall. In the process they made it much more
recreation-friendly.
In addition to plenty of parking for both boaters and
fishermen, you can also now walk or bike along a path that runs through this
complex and beyond - the
Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage!
I know that this paved path runs a good 5 miles north and then west to
Garvin Park in Evansville alongside Pigeon Creek but they also plan to add to
it so that it will eventually run about 10 miles in the other direction too –
south and then east to Newburgh, Indiana.
The break wall itself is
interesting as well.
It has 3 river overlook points incorporated into it
along with placards placed at regular
intervals which relate stories about the river and its history.
They used to have hydroplane races
here which made for a great
event. I hope they bring them back someday.
On to the paddling…
As you get your boat in the water and start
heading downstream (or Northbound from the ramp) you’ll find yourself in a
stretch where the Riverfront Plaza begins to taper off to make way for the
Tropicana Casino complex (formerly Casino Aztar) and from there to the more industrial side of Evansville’s waterfront.
It’s in this latter section that you’ll encounter the mouth of the Pigeon
Creek between Mulzer Crushed Stone (the navigation charts have it as Evansville
Materials) and the Port of Evansville (pictured below).
I paddled in…
Today I would find the
Pigeon Creek notable for its many bridges.
In fact, the stream itself is quite easy to spot due a red span right at
its entry point.
This particular
bridge looks like an out of commission railroad version (they now use it as part
of the bike path) but as you paddle in you’ll note that directly alongside this
span is another – one for Ohio Street.
You’ll also note remnants of even older bridges along the
shoreline.
A little further on you’ll
pass under Lloyd Expressway before you pass yet another bridge– the one for Franklin
Street.
I found the area around this one to be quite interesting.
Just before you reach it you’ll note what looks like an ancient
culvert on your right side and directly above that you’ll see what looks
like a railing. That’s part of the recreation path I mentioned earlier.
You’re now in the vicinity of Lamasco Park on Evansville’s near west
side.
Lamasco is the name of a
former town which used to comprise the west side of Evansville.
It later became incorporated into the city.
As for the Franklin Street
Bridge itself, I found it notable because I couldn’t recall seeing another span
with such an interesting reinforcement structure.
Look at how the beams underneath are interwoven and instead of solid
metal in the beams themselves you’ll notice how there’s a pattern to them.
Also of note here is that you’ll have an unnamed stream entering on your
right side. I got in around 100 yards
before it ended at some industrial buildings.
Guess what’s next???
3 more bridges!
The first
two are road varieties for Delaware Street and Maryland while the third looks
like an old railroad bridge.
After
this point, however, the more populated area of “West Side Evansville” will be coming to an end.
As a consequence the bridges
will begin to get a little fewer and further between from here.
Anyway, after the bridges you’ll make a slight right curve to enter into a straightaway. It’s at the end of this straightaway that you’ll be in the area of a water intake (at the end of Dresden Street). Here I noticed some remnants of what might have been an old docking structure and I thought that the site might make for a nice fishing spot – or perhaps a put-in point?
Then, coming up on your
left hand side, you’re about to encounter what I thought was an absolutely
beautiful scene at the point of another little incoming stream.
You might make it into this one around 100 yards as I did, but the beauty
of this area compelled me to stop to enjoy it for a while…
Incidentally, it was at
about this same point that I was finally able to get my first decent picture of
an otter (and yes, they are rather - ahem - “cute”!).
I had some time on my way back, you see, so instead of paddling I simply
floated along and in so doing I was able to see a lot more wildlife – the otter
below, a turtle, and many varieties of birds.
Here, too, I began to
wonder where the Wesselman Nature Preserve might be located.
I thought that it must surely be coming up and all the trees on the right
side in here had me thinking that perhaps I might be near it.
Not so.
As it turned out the
preserve would be much further upstream than I was thinking - about 2 miles
upriver from the point at which my progress would end today.
Next up, you’ll meet with a sharp right curve in the river. What’s essentially happening here is that you’re “bumping up” against the foundation of Route 66, the Diamond Expressway. You’ll find that the river hits it and then retreats, heading southward for a time. Later the path of the stream will revisit the expressway to pass underneath it, but in the midst of this particular curve you’ll encounter two more bridges - the Kratzville Road/Fulton Avenue Bridge and then the First Avenue Bridge. A sign on the latter indicated that I’d come 3 miles, yet the shallow water that came after this bridge really had me wondering just how much further I’d be able to get.
From here you’ll begin to
curve back to the left (or northbound) to revisit the expressway.
This is a very nice stretch of water where you’ll pass along the edge of
Garvin Park, but after I paddled under the Diamond Expressway Bridge that was
the extent my progress.
No
amount of muscle was going to get me through the next spot of deadfall
debris/shallow water that I was to encounter.
In fact, a even a portage looks like it might have been an adventure.
I decided to head back.
Finally, here are some scenes of downtown Evansville and the ramp...
DIRECTIONS:
The ramp for this trip is
right in downtown Evansville along the riverfront.
Just head downtown and take a southwest turn on Court Street.
It’ll take you right down to the water.
Court Street is the one between the Tropicana Hotel and
Vectren Corp.