Dix River in Kentucky

Trip Overview

Two friends and myself decided to take a half day trip on the Dix River. This is a relatively small river which creates Herrington Lake before flowing into the Kentucky River.

We used "A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Kentucky" by Sehlinger and Molloy to get us started. We put in at point B and took out at C(on page 104-105 in the 5th edition).

When we started, the water flow was approximately 280 CFS and was 240 when we finished, 4-5 hours later. The book claims this trip is 9.58 miles, but my GPS says it was 8.61.

As for our equipment, we were all three using Perception Swifty 9.5 recreational kayaks with open decks. No skirts.

Even though we knew that this river was very close to civilization, it felt quite secluded. The banks are tree lined the entire way. While mostly surrounded by farmland, the river is set low so we were unable to tell if we were close to barns, houses, etc. The only two people we saw all day was a farmer on his tractor and a fisherman out in the middle of nowhere.

The water was mostly class one with two class 2 rapids(in my opinion). What made this trip interesting was the fact that we had to maneuver our kayaks a lot. The water wasn't very high, so we found ourselves having to get our boats into the deeper (deeper meaning 1-2 feet) moving channels so we wouldn't bottom out.

The river was often split by small islands and we'd have to decide whether to go left or right. The water also accelerated through these channels which gave us just the tad bit of excitement we were looking for. Thankfully, the river was moving slow enough so that we had plenty of time to get into position and decide how to proceed. Hazards to navigation were mostly fallen trees and debris that had been washed around due to recent high water. One tree had covered the entire width of the river just downstream of the Logan Hubble boat ramp. That was the only time we were forced to portage.

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of wildlife we saw. There were several families of ducks, as well as geese. We were really impressed with one section of the trip. As we looked into the trees, we saw at least 50 nests with numerous Heron and possibly Falcons(we're not sure). We also saw a Red Headed Woodpecker.

The trip lasted about 5 hours. We were moving for 3 hours and 45 minutes and we took about 45 minutes worth of rest breaks. We had a lot of fun here. We're all relative beginners and nobody capsized. This would make for a great trip for the first timer.

Accommodations:

No accommodations that we know of. No good places to camp that we saw. Just make this a day trip.

Directions:

The put in is on Rankin Road. It is off of 27 just north of Stanford, KY. It is 2.91 miles north of the 27/150 intersection. Rankin Road is very tight (one car width), but we were able to park one car (no trailer) just off to the right (you'll know when you see it). Go out Rankin Road about 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile. Putting in here is easy.

The takeout is at a bridge (the only bridge on this section) at 1150. It was a little tough to take out since we had to pull our kayaks up a short, but kind of steep slope. You can leave a vehicle at the takeout just off of River Road, right before you get to the bridge.

To make the trip a mile or so shorter, you could take out at the boat ramp at Logan Hubble Park. The road is called White Oak Road. You go out to Logan Hubble Park, but veer off to the right to get there. It leads right down to the water. Good parking there as well. We'll use it as our put in for our next trip to the 52 bridge.

Resources:

The USGS website for water levels is a must.