This late November, while visiting family, I took my canoe to Newburgh Lake for a quick local paddle. There are two public ramps off of Edwards N. Hines Dr. and I chose the one at Newburgh Point. It was a standard concrete ramp with plenty of parking, there was also a 3 mile walking trail around the lake. There are woods on about 60-70% of the lakeside with roads relatively close and visible elsewhere.
It took only about an hour and a half of constant but very casual paddling to make our way around the edge of the lake. Many sections were shallow, and with calm water we were able to see through it quite well. There seemed to be plenty of space to continue up stream towards the Middle River Rouge if you paddle under a bridge on the West side after passing a small island, but since I was keeping it brief I didn't explore further. While boating we saw a dozen swans huddle together in a couple groups, as well as plenty of ducks and a group of black squirrels. We also passed a couple people in kayaks, but it was understandably uncrowded this time of year.
