Located about 26 miles west of Bend, Oregon, off the Cascade Highway, the lakes are accessible right from the highway so you get in and paddle without much difficulty. Both of these spring fed lakes are connected by short channels which you can paddle to get from one lake to the other. The water is crystal clear and not very deep, with the maximum depth of 8 feet. You can see fish swimming below your boat. That sounds awesome to me.

The scenery is absolutely beautiful as these pictures sent in by our customer show. Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top and South Sister surround both Sparks Lake and Hosmer Lake. Broken Top and South Sister are all part of the Three Sisters Wilderness area. Ray Atkeson, a famous Northwest photographer refers to this place as the most beautiful place in Oregon.

Paddling the lakes is a delight with no disruptions from speed boats since gas motors are not allowed. The only motorized boats you will find on the lakes have electric motors.

You can kayak through the different coves and channels in search of wildlife. Some of the wildlife you might see along the shore line include mule deer and black tailed deer. River otters, California gulls, ducks and a great blue heron can also be seen. Overhead you may see osprey, red tailed hawks, night hawks, golden eagles and something I would love to see, bald eagles. Along the shoreline of Sparks Lake you will find lava formations that formed the lake and at Hosmer Lake you will see reeds and water lilies, always a favorite of mine to photograph.

This truly is a beautiful location to spend some time out in the great outdoors paddling and taking in the awesome scenery. Thanks Mick for sharing these gorgeous paddling locations with us.

Our first paddling venture was on Lake Superior in the bay below the statue of Bishop Baraga between L’Anse and Baraga. I’m working on a historical video feature about the statue and I wanted to shoot some video from out on the lake towards the bluff where the statue has stood for almost 40 years.

It was cold and windy day, much colder and windier than we usually paddle in, but I wanted to get that video from the lake and seeing we don’t get up that way very often, we decided to brave the cold … Brrrr!

We inflated the boat then got in the car to warm up before heading out to paddle. There were some small white caps, a bit choppier than we are normally in, but when you have a destination in mind, you just have to get out there and do it. And, we did! Got some good video for my story. Once we had the boat loaded in the trunk and back in the nice warm car, we both decided that it really wasn’t all that bad after all and will be a fun memory of our trip.

A couple days later, the temperatures were a bit warmer and we managed to put the boat in one more time. My sister, Gretchen wanted to go for a paddle, so once again we braved the wind and cold to put the kayak in the water. We were just a block away from the boat launch area in Hubbell, so we put in there. My sister had never been in an inflatable kayak and was surprised how easily it inflated and how quickly we could get it in the water. Once she got the rhythm of paddling we were moving along quite well, though she didn’t want to get too far out from shore. We were still in some choppy water, but she felt confident the boat was stable. We did cut the ride short because the wind was biting, but she did enjoy the paddle.

One thing that we did have another chance to try out was our Wind Paddle Sail. We’ve used it on a few occasions, but not always in the best conditions. The wind this week was probably the best sailing winds we have had. One of the tricky things to learn is folding the WindPaddle into it’s compact form. Recently I had gotten some practice getting it folded and connecting it to the boat correctly. Now I have it down to where I can confidently fold it up even while sitting in the kayak. With a little more practice and a few more windy days, we should have an even better feel for using the sail. I must say that having used it this last time, it was a nice addition to our paddling experience.

If you get a chance to travel to the Upper Peninsula, you will find so many great places to kayak. Or if you are simply looking for a great scenic vacation destination, the U.P. is someplace you should definitely consider.

Florida offers some of the most pleasant and appealing places to Kayak or Fish in the United States. Even though I’m giving away some of my secret fishing holes, in the spirit of camaraderie for my fellow paddlers and anglers, I’ll share my top five so you can enjoy them too.

Lake Talquin: This lake is located 20 miles west of Tallahassee and in 1927 the Jackson Bluff Dam was constructed on the Ochlockonee River to produce hydroelectric power. The waters held back by the dam formed Lake Talquin. The lake offers quite a few recreational activities such as fishing, nature walks, picnic spots, and boating. The lake is stocked with a variety of fish such as; Largemouth Bass, Shellcracker, Speckled Perch, and Bream. I recommend this lake for a day trip site only as I am unaware of any free campsites in the area.

Lake Okeechobee: There is so much to do here ranging from fishing and boating to hiking and horseback riding. The most popular recreational activity in Lake Okeechobee is fishing. Lake Okeechobee is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the state of Florida; it covers 730 miles of shallow areas up to 9ft deep water and offers more than 40 species of fish including Largemouth Bass, Blue Gill, Black Crappie, and Catfish. The scenery can be beautiful and serene at times as well as wild and tempestuous during storms.

Lake Tarpon: This lake is located south of Tarpon Springs, and it is known to be one of the best fishing lakes in Florida. Lake Tarpon offers a large variety of fish such as Sunfish, Catfish, Largemouth Bass, and Blue Gill. The lake is five miles long, one mile wide and covers 2, 500 acres of land. It offers a lot of room for exploring and wildlife viewing. It is a very popular lake so be aware of your surroundings and be respectful of others. If you’re going on the Canoe trail, watch out for alligators!

Lake Harris and its sister lakes; Griffin, Yale, Eustis, Dora and Little Lake Harris; These lakes are all very close together so some friends and I headed down here for a weekend of sun and fun, visiting each of these lakes. There is quite a bit of Bass fishing to be had in these lakes, as well as some up close views of alligators. These lakes are all very open with no shade, so bring your sunscreen and stay hydrated. This is a great area to beat the heat and enjoy your day.

Lake Kissimmee: This lake is the third largest lake in the state and has many of the same activities as the other Florida lakes. The state park offers camping facilities as well as Ranger guided tours of the lake. They do not provide boats or kayaks as far as I know. Fishing is bountiful and there are plenty of things to do while you’re there. One of the non water activities I enjoyed was the Living History Tour they have which takes you back to the 1800’s and the cattle drives. The week I spent at this lake with my friends was both informative and fun.

(Victoria L. Holt-Adams is the mother of two wonderful children, a stay at home mom, semi-professional photographer, and self taught graphic artist. She enjoys a myriad of other activities to stimulate her creative processes.)

This article was originally published it’s author, Victoria Louise Adams in Ezine Articles under the title ” Top 5 Florida Lakes For Fishing Or Kayaking “.

It was another beautiful sunny day and as the locals had mentioned. The area was quite peaceful. We pumped up the inflatable kayak in no time and just launched the boat from the shore. It wasn’t a very sandy beach but it was great for getting in the water easily.

There was a bit of a breeze, which was nice, and we just paddled along checking out the scenery and watching the fish jumping in the distance. As we paddled into one of the little coves a blue heron flew from his perch on some dead trees further back into the wooded area along shore. Once we saw the bird we had to see if we could get close enough for a picture.

As we were leaving the cove we passed by two fishermen trying their luck along the shoreline. As we passed by we got to say “Hi” and I asked what kind of tiny fish we were always seeing jumping out of the water all over the lake. One of them told me they were “Shad”.  Well, these shad provided endless entertainment throughout the trip as we watched them all over the lake.

We had the wind behind us as we returned to the beach so we pulled out the Windpaddle sail to help get us back to the beach. This sail is still new to us and we like to experiment with it whenever we get a chance. There really wasn’t much of a breeze but it did a pretty good job of moving us, even with such a light wind.

Following the paddle, we packed up the kayak and while there was still some daylight left, headed to one of the trails along the shoreline and hiked to check out more of the area. What a great park, it’s something you really should see if you are in the area.

Our first day here we launched our Sea Eagle 330 inflatable kayak from the boat launch at the resort we are staying at. Everywhere you look there are boat launches and boat slips, so needless to say you will find boaters everywhere on the lake. Even with the numerous boaters, we were on a relatively quiet cove. Though there wasn’t a lot of scenery, the water was calm and we enjoyed getting out on the water and getting some exercise as we haven’t had too many chances to get out and paddle this year. It was amazing to see so many beautiful boats on the water and in the slips. This is certainly a boaters paradise!