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Ohio River

Brooksburg, Indiana (Mile 551) to Carrollton, Kentucky (Mile 545.5)

Monday, October 18, 2010

I love coming back to Carrollton, Kentucky!  It’s in a beautiful location at the convergence of the Ohio River and the Kentucky, and for me it'll always be a special place.  In 2007 I attempted a complete navigation of the Kentucky River, and at that time I'd decided to hold off on seeing Carrollton until I’d actually paddled down to it.  I wanted to see the river in sequence as the early flatboaters used to do when they took their wares down the river.  Problem is, I failed that year.  Well, in 2008 I did complete the navigation and seeing the area for the first time did not disappoint.  It’s been a favorite ever since. 

In addition to the general beauty of the area, one of the things that I love about this community is that the people who live here really seem to enjoy it.  When I drove out at dusk it seemed as if everyone in town was either out walking the streets or strolling down by the river.  I love to see that kind of spirit in a town!  It recalls a simpler time when the simple things were better appreciated.

You can easily reach Carrollton via Interstate 64 as it's between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio,  I, however, drove in from Lexington, mostly on back roads after passing through Frankfort.  If you, too, live near Lexington I can tell you that it won't cost you much extra time to take this very pleasant route - especially in the fall!

Anyway, once I arrived and got on the water I paddled on down to Brooksburg, Indiana to begin.  Brooksburg is a very small community, but what distinguishes it is that there’s a day marker here (at mile 550.9 as per the charts) amid a line of houses.  There are a couple ramps here too, but I don't think they're public. 

Also interesting is what looks like a boat repair place.  Notice the old push boat up on shore in the photo below along with a couple old barges.  This could be Adam's Marine which, as per the charts, is at about this point [it's actually Adam’s Boat Company, a designer and manufacturer of custom boats].  Kelly’s Landing is also supposed to be here, but I can’t seem to find any info on it.

This last photo of Brookfield was taken lookng back downriver once I'd passed.  The color came out better with better sun too...

Definitely the most interesting thing I saw today was across the river in Kentucky at about this same point.  It caught me completely out of the blue!  Someone had made a...  An um...  I don’t know how to describe it, but I thought it was awesome!  Someone had taken the time to collect all the toys out of the trash on the river and make a work of art out of them!  The scene reminded me of the Land of Misfit Toys from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!  What a memorable scene!

Speaking generally, this section of the river is almost all farmland as you might expect.  Indiana Route 56 will follow the river on the Indiana side while in Kentucky Route 36 does the same.  I was really impressed by the shorelines in here though.  The ones in Indiana were nicer this time in terms of having less trash, but both sides amounted to gently sloping sand/pebble beaches - very pleasant!  In fact, it appeared as if one community was actually called Sandy Beach.  Below is an example of one scene...

I’m getting ahead of myself, though...  The Indian Kentuck Creek (yes, it's really spelled that way!) enters the river at mile 550.5 in Indiana and it looks to mark the upriver boundary of the Brooksburg community.  There's a campground here at the mouth of the stream, the name of which (Canby Ferry Campground) makes me think that there was once a ferry that went across the river at this point.  This area was very popular today, by the way.  In fact, the only power boats I'd see made their way directly to this point and there was also a fisherman onshore when I arrived.  Not wanting to disturb them, I decided against paddling in.  Definitely another time, though!

From this creek I soon came upon another little line of dwellings (again in Indiana) with a couple more seemingly private ramps.  One of the homes really stood out.  Resting atop the beach, the embankment in front looked to be reinforced by a large number of railroad ties!  It also had one of those cool looking circular stairways which extended down to the beach.  Meanwhile, just upriver from this on the Kentucky side at about mile 549.5 was the Locust Creek.  I did paddle into this one, getting about 500 yards before being blocked by deadfall debris at a KY36 bridge. 

Then, back on the main river, two push boats passed in succession.  The first was Marathon Oil's Detroit.  The Detroit is an old friend, actually!  I encountered it in my Markland Dam to Warsaw, Kentucky trip too!  The C.J. McBride (below) followed.  It was much smaller, carrying a single barge, but it was a great sight and a very interesting contrast to all the larger vessels I’d seen.  I can't find much information on it other than that it appears to belong to a fleet owned by McBride River Services.

Anyway, at about mile 549 you’ll find that Kentucky Route 36 will begin to crop in toward the river and the farmland will disappear, to be replaced with a backdrop of forested hills (not to worry, the farmland will continue on the Indiana side!).  Meanwhile, there's actually a vehicle path that's been made in the Indiana beach which looks to run at least from the Indian Kentuck Creek on down to the aforementioned community of Sandy Beach.  At one point I got out of the boat in here to stretch and get some pictures, and once I’d gotten back in and taken off I saw a gentleman in a golf cart drive down to about the point where I’d gotten out.  Methinks I’d been watched!  Sandy Beach is distinguishable by the painted rocks you’ll see at the end of a boat ramp that's here.  There's also a sign at the top designating the community’s name.

The Notch Creek enters in Kentucky at about this point (unnavigable under a culvert) and there was another green day marker as the river began to curve left, heading toward Carrollton.  Also interesting further up along this side was that someone had gotten into the Halloween spirit and left a jack-o-lantern out on one of the tree stumps down by the water.  I got pictures but they unfortunately all turned out blurred.

Next up was the Little Kentucky River at about mile 546.5 and I found this one to be really nice, getting in about 1 ¼ miles thanks to someone’s consideration.  There was a large fallen tree maybe a few hundred yards in, you see, and had it not been cut I wouldn’t have been able to get back in as far as I did.  As it was, I was able to continue paddling, first passing under another KY36 road bridge before I was blocked by low water at the second of two large shoals. 

It was as I was looking down a straight section on my return that I espied American Electric Power’s Capt. Gerald Boggs vessel up ahead followed by the Paul Striegel (also of AEP).  The latter vessel was running without a load and I’d not seen this before.  Perhaps it's a common sight out here, but I remember from working in the moving and storage industry that if a semi truck goes to a location which is less than optimal for making another pickup, then the truck either has to wait there until they can get one or go to another location – empty – for one.  Regrettably, if the trucker does decide to move, he or she isn’t making any money during this time and the drive is called a “dead-head”.  I wondered if the situation was the same for these vessels…

Anyway, the charts indicate that the Green Valley Creek enters in Indiana at about this point, but it wasn’t navigable today.  The community of Lamb, Indiana was here too, and while  I couldn’t see too much of it from the water I certainly could see the Barbara H sternwheel boat!  The link has a nice article on the history of this vessel which was apparently built in 1923 by a company located about 300 miles further upriver on the Ohio at Point Pleasant, West Virginia.  What works of art these vessels are!   

The Kentucky River was next and I can tell you that the Kentucky is a great experience to paddle!  It really gives you a feel for the flavor and the history of the state too, to include the capital of Frankfort.  If interested, I’ve made a complete photo-documentation of this 250+ mile river along with detailed directions to a majority of the put-ins.  Should you have any questions about it or any of the things on this site, please don’t hesitate to ask.  My address is on the “Aboute Me” page.

Prestonville, Kentucky is to the downriver side of the Kentucky’s mouth and Carrollton is on the upriver side.  While the former is a bit too receded from the shoreline to see much of it, Carrollton is right there!  This was to be my end point for today and it was early (I thought it would take me a longer to paddle the Little Kentucky River) so I decided to paddle around a little while.  The first photo below is not optimal.  I kinda screwed it up, but it does provide some overall perspective.  You see the mouth of the Kentucky River at the far right, followed by Point Park and then downtown Carrollton.

Notice that Point Park (where I put-in) is actually pretty large.  In terms of shoreline it almost seems to make up 1/3 of the town!  There’s also a ramp that descends from the heart of the community and you could use it if you wanted.  It's at the end of 5th Street.  There are also a few more ramps over on the Indiana side, but they’re almost surely private along a very nice line of houses.

Anyway, when I finally arrived back at the ramp I had the pleasure of talking to a couple gentlemen, both a father and his son who appeared to be a toddler.  This was no ordinary toddler, though!  This one was a trophy fisherman, even though he was fishing from a stroller!  According to his father, he'd once caught a prize fish here in the presence of a game warden!  I was pretty amazed by how relaxed he was too!  Most kids his age just can’t keep still!  The father was interesting too - he looked to be fishing with a cylindrical net, maybe a couple feet in diameter and a few feet in height, and although he didn’t seem to be having much luck, I do hope that changed once I left. 

It seems to me there’s no better sight than a father out enjoying the peaceful sport of fishing with his kids.  In fact, as I think about it now I’ve got to believe that at such an impressionable age this young man will now be instilled with the quality of peace, such that he'll be able to call upon it within himself whenever he needs it most - later on in life.  My father took me fishing too.  Perhaps that’s why I so often seek peace.

At any rate, a couple more push boats passed before I left and, of course, I had to stay and get pictures!  The first was the same Paul Striegel (from AEP) that had passed me at the mouth of the Little Kentucky earlier in the day without a load.  This time he had some barges, and it occurred to me that he must have picked them up somewhere close.  I’d probably see where on my next upriver excursion.  Marathon's Garyville passed right behind him, but you’ll note that both pictures below are of the Streigel as I believe that these were the clearer shots.  Hopefully they'll give you a good idea of the kind of pleasant scenes you’ll see when you visit Carrollton's Point Park!

DIRECTIONS:

Carrollton is directly accessible from Louisville or Cincinnati via Interstate 71.  Just take the KY227 exit and head north.  Then, once you hit the dead-end you'll take a left on US42.  The park with the ramp ( Point Park) will be on the far side of town on the right just before you go over a bridge.  You'll see a sign for it.

Scenic Drive from Lexington:

As far as what I did from Lexington, I first went to Frankfort and then headed north on US127.  Then, just past Monterrey, Kentucky I took a left onto KY355 and followed it and the signs to the General Butler State Park (they indicate that it’s 25 miles up ahead) in Carrollton.  The farms in here will stun you in the fall with their beauty, and you’ll also go through the picturesque little Kentucky River community of Gratz and you can stop at the News Café [now sadly closed] if you’re hungry).  KY355 will eventually dead-end (in a little less than 20 miles) and you’ll make a left on KY227, to follow it all the way past General Butler Park (which also has a restaurant – Two Rivers) until it, too, dead-ends - at KY42.  Make another left, go through town, and then just before you go over a bridge you’ll see a sign for Point Park on your right.