Mohican River in Ohio

Trip Overview

I invited my family, dad mom sister, her husband and 3 kids to a camping weekend and day canoe trip. My mom came camping but not canoeing. The weather was on the chilly side and it had been raining all weekend. We decided to hit the river on Sunday morning when the rain stopped and the sky cleared. I chose a kayak, my dad, sister and her youngest, a boy of 5, chose a canoe, my brother in-law with their 2 girls also chose a canoe.

The trip started out great. Nobody else was on the particular fork we were on. You'd come around a bend to see a lone crane fishing for frogs, then around another to trees shading the river while the sun broke through in spots to make the water look like it was covered in diamonds.

We took turns racing and running each other into the shallows along the edge. About halfway, just a short 3 hour trip, my dad asked to try out the kayak. We pulled into a rather steep but accessible spot on the edge. My dad got into the kayak and I pushed him back out. We were at a shallower area so the water was a little rough.

I got in his vacated spot in the canoe, stroked twice to back out and heard a holler. About 10 feet away was an upside down kayak with my dad disengaging his legs from it. He did not even last a whole 30 seconds in it. Now a scene like that just has one result, extreme laughter. While my dad is standing in about 60 degree water up to his chest, the rest of his brood is just trying to stay in place while doubled over with a great laugh. We finally pulled back into the bank and dad made his way up to us. He said to me as he held onto the end of a submerged kayak, "you can have this back." The rest of our trip went without any mishaps even though it started to rain again. We stayed warm with paddling and an occasional burst of laughter. My dad's report to mom, "I don't like kayaking."

Fees:

Fees all vary depending on your accommodations. The highest being at one of the many bed and breakfasts. Canoeing fees run according to trip length starting at 20.00 for a short, 11-mile, trip to 2-day trips. Fees include; canoe or kayak, life preserver, paddle and a river map with pick up to start or at end.

Directions:

Route 71, south out of Cleveland or north out of Columbus. Exit at rt 97 east. Take to rt 3. Turn left. There are numerous campgrounds and canoe liveries. I personally recommend the Mohican State Park camping, a full service are a primitive area, and group camp area. It is clean with bathrooms, showers, and laundry. There are multiple trails through the State Park. The canoe livery I chose is the Mohican Canoe Livery right on rt 3.