Wabash River in Indiana

by  guest-paddler

A self-supported trip created by guest-paddler

Trip Overview

Wabash River - Indiana/Ohio State Line to Geneva, Indiana

My wife and I dropped in at the bridge over the Wabash River on the Indiana/Ohio State Line Road. (around 11:00AM) We went in on the Southwest part of the bridge. The guardrail and tall weeds made it a challenge to get the canoe to the river, but it looked to be the best option to stay on public property.

We joked around that we had 3 1/2 portages. Three of the portages were around tree dams. The 1/2 was a tree across the river where we sent the canoe underneath (backwards) and we climbed over the tree.

The River was pretty low in spots and we hit bottom countless times. We got beached on sandbars a couple of times.

There are several rocks, so watch out! Even worse, there are several places where broken concrete and bricks were dumped down the bank to reduce bank wash out. Some have rolled into the river and many have sharp broken edges and re-bar.

We saw several Herons along the trip, the closer we got to Geneva, the more we saw. We also saw a Deer, Muskrat, Eagle, woodpeckers and many many ducks and squirrels. The "Friends of the Limberlost" and the Indiana DNR has done a great job in restoring wetlands and wildlife habitat in the area.

We arrived at the Ceylon Bridge on 950 South (just north of Geneva, IN and East of St.Rd. 27) around 5:30PM and got out at the Northwest corner of the bridge.

The weather was mostly sunny and in the upper 60's most of the day

Overall the trip was a nice paddle, just much longer than we expected. At 6 hours and 30 minutes, this was our longest trip to date. It was a quiet slow-moving section of the Wabash with very few places to exit to civilization.

Accommodations:

Geneva has a couple of small-town restaurants and a gas station. For more choices, Berne, IN to the North, Portland, IN to the South, Bluffton, IN to the Northwest and Celina, OH to the East all have Hotels and a better selection of restaurants.

Fees:

No fees

Directions:

Bridge at Indiana/Ohio State line (Start) - From Fort Wayne, Indiana
South on US Hwy 27 to Geneva, Indiana. Turn Left (East) at the Caution light. This will bring you through Downtown Geneva and turns into 1100S. Keep going East (slow down for "S" turns) to State Line Road (700 east), then turn Right (South) on State Line Road the bridge will be about 1.5 miles south. REMEMBER: RESPECT PERSONAL PROPERTY!! The public only owns right-a-way to a sliver of land at most bridges.
40.563436, -84.802605

Ceylon Bridge (End) - From Fort Wayne, Indiana
South on US Hwy 27. Take the next left (East) after you cross over the Wabash River (950 South / Main Street / 1st Street). This road turns into SW 3rd Street with a 90 degree Left hand Turn then turns into SW High Street with a 90 degree Right hand turn THEN turns into Covered Bridge road after you leave Ceylon. You will see a restored red covered bridge on the left side of the road. there is parking there and on the other side of the river both are kept up by the Adams County parks department.
40.615098, -84.940751

Trip Details

  • Water Type: River/Creek (Up to Class II)

Trip Location