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Ohio River

Cox Park Northeast of Louisville (Mile 600) to Fourteen Mile Creek (Mile 589.5)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

It really is amazing how much water access you have within two hours when you live in the Northern part of Kentucky – close to 1,000 miles I’d bet.  You’ve got around 200 on the Ohio River alone, then 250+ on the Kentucky River (not including it's tributaries) and maybe 100 additional on the Licking.  When you then add in all the other rivers and lakes, you’ll see that Kentucky truly is a paddler's paradise!  This economy has really left a lot of people feeling down and, having experienced it, I can tell you that the outdoors has been a great coping mechanism for me.  I hope that these journals will prove to be of assistance to others in this regard.  NOTE:  Paddling would end up being a great coping mechanism indeed!  Over the next three years I'd lose every penny and every possession I had due to fallout from the Great Recession.  When I paddled here I was essentially paddling while my personal Rome burned.

Today I put in at Carrie Gaulbert Cox Park (a.k.a. Cox Park) near mile 600.  They actually have two ramps within this park and both are really nice.  There are restrooms here too, plenty of parking space, and a fishing pier - all quite close to downtown Louisville.  Thus, once you get out on the water you’ll be able to see the city pretty clearly and the view is simply outstanding!  In fact, I’ll admit that this river is really starting to get to me and that I have had visions of paddling the entire thing.  This was one of the first times I'd paddled on the Ohio River.

Once I got on the water a little after 10am I decided to very quickly and carefully cross over to the other side.  Just my experience, but I’ve found that it’s safer to make your crossings earlier in the day.  I notice fewer boats out on the water during such times, and that of the ones that are out most are operated by a pretty easy-going crowd.  Later on in the day is when you’re apt to get more boats and a generally more assertive crowd.  There’s less time in the day and people want to get the most out of that little remaining time. 

Anyway, across the river from Cox Park on the Indiana side there’s another one – James T Duffy’s Landing in Jeffersonville, Indiana.  Like Cox, there’s a nice paved ramp here, plenty of parking and a port-a-bathroom.  As per the web link the park was named for a riverboat captain of the same name who ran coal up and down the river.  It's also said he built a mansion called Wathen Mansion, and I'm wondering if that's it to the left in the first photo below? 

It was here that I turned upstream in the presence of some ducks to begin, wondering how far I’d get before I had to turn back…

On this weekday the first mile or so was fairly quiet with the aforementioned parks on either side of the river, yet following these on the Kentucky shoreline came the Louisville Boat Club at mile 599.  This club was apparently founded in 1879, making it the third oldest boating club in the entire country!  You can’t see much of it from the water though - just the docks.  The club itself is up there across River Road, which at this point will be winding almost directly beside the river (and it'll continue to do so throughout this stretch). 

Meanwhile, signs of commerce will have already become apparent.  Wooten River Service and Supply is just past mile 599 in Indiana.  I don't see that they have a website, but there were a couple of push boats here today, the Miss Ida among them.  I usually try to get photos of all the push boats, but I noticed some guys working onboard and since I know that some people don’t like their pictures taken, I stopped.  Even so, it would be an oversight in this regard later in the day that would lead me into a bit of trouble…

Anyway, as I passed Wooten's to continue on what was now a light left curve in the Ohio, I found that an island was slowly beginning to emerge into view - 6 Mile Island.  It would actually be the first of two islands I’d pass today.  I presume this one is called six mile because it lies 6 miles upriver from downtown Louisville.  No way its 6 miles long - more like 3 in total circumference.  Darling Yachts and Boat Repair is located on the Indiana side at the downriver tip of the island, as is the Admirals Anchor Marina.  There was a cove at the marina, but I decided to pass up paddling in because of all the boats parked there.  Meanwhile, on the Kentucky side of the river you can see the Knights of Columbus Boat Club from here.  

At any rate, I had a decision to make at this point:  How did I want to negotiate the island?  I could continue to follow it along the Indiana shoreline, I could paddle along either side, or I could cross the river and paddle along the Kentucky shoreline.  Decisions, decisions…  What I eventually opted to do was to paddle along the Indiana side of the island.  That way I could also get a better view of was happening up onshore, because I could already see a lot going on at the upriver tip!  You see, the Port of Jeffersonville (a.k.a. the Clark Maritime Center) is here and according to the web link there are 27 businesses operating here!  I thought a port was a port and that was it.  Wrong!  This might as well be an industrial park with its own dock!  In fact, it’s hard to tell from down on the water where one business ends and another begins, but in looking at a map now I see that I was looking at 3.  All the others were further inland.

The first and most obvious business was Consolidated Grain and Barge with its grain elevators.  More familiarly known as “CGB”, they apparently began their operation with 3 employees in 1970 and have now become a fully diversified company, primarily focused on the grain and transportation industries.  Sounds like a good, old fashioned American success story to me!

A Kinder Morgan terminal came next, and the first of the 2 “overhangs” you can see in the picture above is part of it.  Kinder's operation is pretty vast.  In North America they’re one of the largest pipeline transportation and energy storage companies.  This particular terminal had a couple barge docks, but they have 180 terminals in total!

Eagle Steel Products followed.  According to the web link Eagle provides steel products and services to a few different industries, and I was looking at part of their 200,000 square foot processing facility here.  Eagle has been in business since 1982, and from this point they can transport their products via barge, train or truck.  This is all at mile 597 on the river, by the way.

…but I haven’t even talked about the island yet!  It's designated as a nature preserve, so there’s no camping permitted.  I found the bank to be somewhat steep, but the slope of the river bottom was gentle, and today I could see right down to the bottom.  I enjoyed seeing the wavy patterns in this sand/mud mix, and it gave me an idea...

First a little background:  Even in the summer you'll find me wearing gloves when I paddle so as to ward off the sun.  Sure I could use suntan lotion, but it's just a bunch of unnatural substances that I'd rather steer clear of.  Besides, you have to keep applying it anyway.  Sooo…  I had realized when I first hit the water that I was missing one of my gloves and that the back of one hand was going to get absolutely torched over the course of 8 to 10 hours!  If I could lather some of that sand/mud mix on the back of my hand and let it dry then I’d have a healthier sun block…  It actually worked!

At any rate, after passing the island you’ve got more activity between miles 597 and 596, but this time it’s more in terms of incoming streams and boat related businesses.  On the Indiana side there were 2 more coves within this mile.  The first actually had a sign discouraging entry by order of the Supreme Court!  The second, Lentzier Creek, seemed to basically be a harbor for the Rubaiyat Boat Club.  Again, I didn’t paddle in, but I did notice a large number of boats at the mouth that seemed to be in various stages of repair.  This was apparently the site of Marine Builders, Inc., a company that specializes in a fully diversified array of marine construction and repair services.  In fact, it looks like these guys will build or fix any water-related vessel; be it a towboat, barge, yacht, dinner cruise vessel, whatever – and then deliver it to you.  Pretty impressive!  (The business sadly closed in 2019)

Again, the above was just on the Indiana side.  Within that same mile in Kentucky you have the Goose Creek entering at mile 597 with the Juniper Beach Dock right inside it's mouth.  As you can see from the photo below, this one was really clogged with boats, and I was somewhat confused by the presence of a Harrods Creek rescue boat!  Harrods doesn’t enter the picture until mile 596…

Anyhow, it was just past this point that I got into a bit of trouble on the way back.  You see, there are some absolutely magnificent houses out here!  They're some of the most impressive and innovative that I’ve ever seen, and one really piqued my interest.  It looked like it might have been inspired by a Frank Lloyd Wright design, so I simply had to get some pictures of this magnificent house!  Wright, of course, was a brilliant designer whose houses were erected mostly in the Chicago area, although I knew there to be others in different places.  Was this one of them? 

Now I usually don’t care to take pictures of other people's property.  I feel a little uncomfortable.  Yet I simply had to find out about this house!  I took one picture...  Then two…  Before I knew it I’d taken 5 or 6!  Well, after the last one I saw a man at the balcony…  I froze.  Mortified that I’d not seen him before, he greeted me with a:  “Hello, hello” as I half-shouted:  “You’re house looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright!”  No response… 

Awkward… 

Well, it didn’t take me but an instant to get the point, but it didn’t matter - the damage had already been done.  I was quite embarrassed!  Taken in total, the man’s expressions were ones of:  “Stop taking pictures of my house - yesterday - and get the heck out of here!”  I obliged.  If this man ever happens to read this:  I am very sorry!

Back to business – still on the Kentucky side: 

Limestone Bay comes up near mile 596.5 and it contains the Limestone Bay Yacht Club.  There will also be some things to note on either side of the mouth of this bay.  Downstream is a red roofed building (possibly a condominium complex) that is so prominent you’ll surely have seen it well before this point.  Meanwhile, McBride Towing and Drydock is just upriver from the mouth, and there was an interesting assortment of push boats and barges visible here, the Georgia M. amongst them.  There might have been a beach here at one point as this business is at the end of Guthrie Beach Road.

As mentioned, Harrods Creek enters at mile 596 and another marina can be found at the mouth of this one - the Captain’s Quarters Marina - along with a restaurant which also looks to be operated by the good captain!  Everything looks really nice with a great deck overlooking the river at the restaurant.  Not sure if it's open to the public or just to members though...

…and with that, we're now caught up with our shoreline descriptions of mile 597 - 596!  We come together at mile 596, the location of Utica, Indiana and things are starting to get a bit more reserved from this point.  After Utica’s line of houses you’ll predominantly be in the midst of a rural area in Indiana, while on the Kentucky side there will be little rows of houses at Transylvania Beach at mile 595 and then at Beachland Beach at about mile 594.  The Louisville Sailing Club lies at the latter of these, and today I could see all the sail-less boats lying in a row onshore.  I did see some out on the water later, however.  These are so peaceful in action, but I’ve heard they take a lot of work to operate! 

Directly across the river from this sailing club there's another club in Indiana, also at mile 594.  That building you see with the “CCCC” on it is the Clark County Casting and Conservation Club.  Part of the Longview Beach subdivision of Utica Township, it was founded in 1935 as per the web link.  Here I had another navigation decision to make...  With 12 Mile Island now visible up ahead, I again decided to navigate around it on the Indiana side, yet when I arrived I found the beach so nice that I decided to get out and walk around a bit!

You can certainly see why a lot of the communities in this section are named after beaches, and while I didn’t see any nature preserve signs like I had back at 6 Mile Island, I did see some more ducks!  (This island, by the way, is closer to the center of the river than 6 Mile Creek had been.)

I’m now at mile 593 and, blocked from my view at the time on the other side of the island, was Pond Creek on the opposite side of the river.  The spot marks the location of the Louisville Yacht Club (as opposed to the Louisville Boat Club described earlier) of Prospect, Kentucky.  Pond Creek itself, like all the others in this section, was too crowded with boats and too short to be navigable.

Anyway, after enjoying the island for a while I headed back over to the Indiana shoreline at mile 592.  I did pass a little stream that was too small to be crowded with boats, so I couldn't resist going in.  I didn't get very far, but I did notice afterward as I neared mile 590 that there were a couple interesting structures overlooking the river of a kind I'd never seen.  They were raised platforms upon which rested some picnic tables.  Odd…  Some kind of park up there?  Turns out, there was!  These days it’s known as Charlestown State Park, but at one time this site was part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant and the structures I’d seen were old water intakes.  There was a nice paved ramp here too…  Hmmm…  I decided I had to get out and look around a little! 

Up onshore I found that they’d kept another old structure preserved as an interpretive exhibit, and I also found that they offer a few hiking trails with some great river vistas.  Campsites are available too, yet as I stared at the large, empty parking lot it made me a little sad.  I like to see lots of people out enjoying such nice places!  Granted, the summer was over, but I thought I might at least see some boaters or fishermen.  Well, I'd find out later that most of the park is located further inland along the Fourteen Mile Creek, the mouth of which was coming just further upriver.  I was only seeing the “tip of the iceberg”!

Anyway, from here the Indiana side looked like a pleasant wilderness to me, with Fourteen Mile Creek entering the river at about mile 589.5.  I would have explored it, but I saw a sign at the entrance indicating “Electric Motors Only”.  I was stunned!  If anything, I thought it would be the opposite - "Paddlers Only".  I had to respect the sign, though.  I figured there had to be a reason for it.  Still, this was supposedly a very nice creek and, to my fascination, there used to be an old amusement park (Rose Island Amusement Park) which extended upstream from it's mouth.  Apparently, some of the hikes in Charleston State Park take you by remnants of this park that was apparently done in by the Great Depression and then a flood in 1937.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky you'll have a brief stretch of farmland after passing the island followed by a nearly continuous line of riverside homes.  These look to  comprise parts of the communities of Oldham Acres, Harmony Village, and Harmony Landing.  I found the last, Harmony Landing, was almost directly across from 14 Mile Creek and a perfect place to turn around and head back. 

Not just yet, though...  First the Sara Page of Crounse Corporation passed me coming downriver.  Crounse operates out of Paducah, Kentucky and they're quite prominent on the river.

Then the Marathon Oil push boat, Superamerica, passed going upstream...

It wasn’t until these boats had passed that I began to paddle back over to Kentucky, getting about ¾ of the way before I spotted a power boat coming at me.  No problem.  I was almost to the other side and he had his boat pointed behind me where he had the majority of the river with no other boats coming.   But wait… 

No... 

This guy turned to aim in front of me – between me and the shoreline.  Despite having nearly reached safety, I wasn’t going to make it before he passed.  I stopped and hoped he wouldn’t run me over!  Trained, boaters will not do this.  They'll show consideration for the relative vulnerability of paddlers, yet near large cities with dense populations you're apt to have all kinds.  This one didn't even slow down.  Needless to say, I was OK or I wouldn't be composing this.

Anyway, once on the opposite shoreline I was at a point near the Rose Island Yacht Club cove.  A ramp entered just upstream from the cove, but I couldn’t tell if it was public.  Downstream there was a row of identically constructed homes (or condominiums) and Heather’s on the River was here too, although the bar and restaurant didn’t show any signs of life.  I wasn’t sure if it was still operating.  The location is now called The Drift Bar Prospect.

On my way back I had a lot of push boat traffic pass me by, and all at nearly the same point.  The William P Morelli of Ingram Barge came first, followed by the Leslie M. Bell of Crounse Corp. and then the now fully loaded Miss Ida that I’d seen earlier at Wooten River Service and Supply.  There were more, but I couldn’t make out thier names in the semi-darkness.  As you might expect, there’s a lot of traffic so close to Louisville, but do you know what I completely missed?  A sternwheel boat!!!  I don’t know how I could have missed it, but I only saw it after coming back down to the water to bring my boat up to the car.  By that point it was too far away to get a good shot.

Lot going on today…  Hopefully I’ve given it an OK representation…

DIRECTIONS:

I took the Zorn Avenue exit off of I71 east of Louisville and headed north.  Then, after making a right at the River Road stop light (in front of the old pumping station) I began to keep a sharp eye out for the park on the left.  There will be signs for it and there are 2 entrances.  Either one will lead you to a ramp - they have two out here.  Actually, I think you should just type in "Cox Park Louisville" into Google Maps.  This will give you a good overview to check out before you arrive.