When the wind is up - kayak surfing on Lower Beverley Lake

June 11, 2014

Here's a little kayak bite from me to contribute to the love of paddling. It's National Paddling Week in Canada from June 6-15 so it makes me think, "Do something with one of your kayaks!"

If you can't find any organized paddling events in your area, you can create your own paddling event with the wind. It's often abundant and free!

That's what we did at Lower Beverley Lake, from the Village of Delta, Ontario (Canada) when we had a forecast with a 25 km/h north wind blowing us south across the lake towards Lyndhurst Creek.

But, it was the 40 km/h wind gusts blowing behind us that gave us the surfing power.

These conditions are my maximum for my smaller girl size, strength, and skills.

It's a lot of fun to get a feel for kayak surfing on lakes in moderate conditions if you've got good surf sea kayaks, some decent paddling skills, and the proper gear. If you don't know what stern rudder is yet. . . and have no rescue or rolling skills, it's not a good idea to give this a try.

If you don't have access to ocean waves and tides to surf on, and you're looking for a fun lake to kayak surf on, Lower Beverley Lake is a good candidate when motor boat traffic is low and the wind is up.

Lower Beverley Lake is an an awesome lake for day tripping with kayaks, wind surfing, boating, and fishing, with 28 kilometers (17 miles) of diverse shoreline adorned with granite rock formations, forest, marshland, small sandy beaches, and some cottage development.

Lower Beverley Lake has open water, large and small bays to hide in on windy days, 14 islands to skirt around, and several adjoining creeks that are interesting to explore (Delta, Lyndhurst, and Morton).

It’s a fairly deep lake with an average depth of 9.1 meters (30 feet), the deepest parts are 28.7 meters (94 feet).

There are some limestone shoals to watch out for. Most are marked with small white rock buoys with reflectors and lights.

You can launch from a public boat launch on Delta Creek.

The public boat launch is only a few paddle strokes from the beautiful Old Stone Mill, in Delta, Ontario. Although, if you see the Mill from the water, turn around and paddle the other direction out to Lower Beverley Lake. You can visit and tour the inner workings of the historic grist mill, built in 1810, but not by kayak. The entrance is at the front at 46 King Street (County Rd. 42). Don't get too close to it by kayak. The Mill has a working water wheel.

Delta Creek is short, sweet, and narrow with a bit of current and lots of cottages and campers surrounding it. But the giant willow trees along the route make it worthwhile for a short visit.

Now, how long did it take us to cross Lower Beverley Lake from Delta Creek to the opening of Lyndhurst Creek with a big push of wind? Only 30 minutes.

The orange boathouse on the southeast shore of Lower Beverley Lake in Halladay Bay sits at the opening of Lyndhurst Creek. It was our marker for finding the opening of the creek from the lake with no GPS.

You can paddle down Lyndhurst Creek from Lower Beverley Lake to Lyndhurst (or vice-versa). We were much more protected from the wind once we entered the creek, and the kayak surfing was over. Lyndhurst Creek is about 4 km (3 miles) long from Lower Beverley Lake to the public boat launch at Lyndhurst. The total distance one way from Delta to Lyndhurst is about 7.5 km.

At Lyndhurst there's a public boat launch with free parking, a waterfront gazebo/picnic shelter, a few picnic tables, and a public restroom.

You can't paddle past this point, there's a small dam. But, you can enjoy the views of the historic Old Stone Bridge, the oldest bridge in Ontario, built from 1856-57. Don't get too close, the wind and the current may push you towards it.

Lyndhurst Creek is an outlet of Lower Beverley Lake. The creek is wide enough, the current slow moving, and the water fairly deep that it feels more like a little river (with no rapids) than a creek. The shorelines have marshland and some cottages along the way, and is populated with snapping turtles if you like to catch them sunning on fallen logs.

I know what you're thinking, "Oh, yeah. It was a fun ride down in the wind, but how was the ride back to Delta!"

On windy days, and depending on the direction of the wind and where you launch from, you may want to shuttle a car between Lyndhurst and Delta, or earn your paddling points by paddling back against the wind, curse the gusts - they are wicked, and duck into a bay or hide behind an island when they hit and wait for a break. Then paddle like mad back to your cabin or take out before another wind gust hits. This will test your best paddling hat!. Luckily mine had a neck strap. I wore my paddling hat around my neck on the way back.

On calm days with little wind, this is an enjoyable paddle without the kicks! Bring friends. This makes a great day paddle for groups.