Raccoon Creek in Ohio

Trip Overview

We started out at 8am and parked mountain bikes at the take out to ride back to the jeep after canoeing. The creek was not very wide and the water level was medium to low. We stopped counting log jambs at 16. Some, we went over but had to climb on the logs and drag the canoe over. Some jams were so big we portaged along the bank. I saw a large carp in the shallows in the grass. He spooked and moved out real fast.

We took all day without stopping and finished up at about dark too tired to ride bikes, we walked back to the cabin at Zaleski State Park.

We saw many mink, deer, turkey and other wild birds. A very scenic paddle but lots of work to get through. I did not see any beavers or beaver dams but there was sign in places. The beaver dams were non-existent unlike the description in the destination report from 2001.

The temp. never got above 45 degrees and the wind blew at 20 to 30 mile an hour gusts all day. Good thing the creek banks were high in most places to block the wind some.

I would do this trip again but with less gear than we took on this trip and a smaller canoe than my 15.9 Charles River Old Town. It took lots of paddling to go that far as the current is almost non-existent in most places. The water was clear as any water could be and in places an emerald green hew from the fresh spring vegetation reflecting back off the water from the forest.

Accommodations:

Zaleski State Park and Lake Hope offer camping and cabins with fire places. Lake Hope has fishing too!

Fees:

None

Directions:

Put in:

Vinton Co. Rd. 1 bridge in Zaleski State Forest off S.R. 328 north of Zaleski, roadside access river right and left (39.358 -82.385)

Take out:
Robinett Ridge Rd. (Twp. Rd 1) Bridge south of Moonville Tunnel, access river left (39.303 -82.326)

Resources:

Ohio DNR website:

www.dnr.state.oh.us/watercraft/streams/raccoon/