Otisco: A Lake with a Split Personality

Today couldn't have been more perfect: perfect weather on Otisco, magnificent fall colors surrounding us, no motor boats on the water, and great turnout! Eleven of us (Daniel & Amy, Ben, Laurie, Don, Mike, and I from Ithaca, and Jeff B., Jeff H., Heather, and Nick from Rochester!) showed up for this beautiful paddle. After a few wrong turns, an incredibly steep hill, and some pungent overheated brakes, we all managed to meet at the causeway at the southwest end of the lake...

Heather and Ben passing through a gap in the causeway to choppier waters.

A  brief history (to make up for forgetting my tour guide notes!): Otisco Lake is the east-most Finger Lake. The valley where it lies was formed by the same continental glacier that formed the rest of the Finger Lakes. The lake, however, was formed from the damming of Nine Mile Creek, which flows north through the valley. The area south of the causeway has very different water quality from the rest of the lake because it was originally a wetland. In 1869 the water level of the lake was raised 9ft for use in the Erie Canal. In 1908 it was raised another 4ft to provide drinking water for Syracuse.

We launched around 1:30pm, and headed north. It was a big group, but since all were competent paddlers, we stayed together quite well. We chit-chatted our way up the lake (bonding as kayakers do), and arrived at The Narrows (a section at the north end of the lake that's separated from the rest of the lake by a narrower section) in no time. We were having a hard time finding Otisco Lake Park (the only other public access spot on the lake) so Jeff & Jeff sped over to some residents sitting out on their dock to ask for directions. We found the park shortly after, located a little ways down the east shore of the lake. It was a quaint little park, with no bathrooms or buildings, but it was a beautiful place to take a lunch break on this sunny October afternoon.

We headed back down the lake, encountering many waterfowl along the way (see slideshow above). We arrived back at the launch site a little after 5pm. Jeff B., Heather, Ben, and I decided to continue exploring beyond the causeway. The sun was starting to go down, and the fall colors were looking more vibrant than ever. At the south end of the lake we discovered the inlet creek, so we paddled up it until we couldn't turn our boats around anymore (dodging scary spiders and carp along the way). The creek winds through fields as opposed to the wetland/wooded inlets of other Finger Lakes.

After circumnavigating the south end of the lake, we paddled back through the little opening in the causeway. The conditions on the other side were drastically different. To the south end (down wind), the water was perfectly calm and wind-free. As soon as we passed through the opening we encountered a decent wind and chop - it was quite exhilarating! We got back to our cars just as it was getting dark. Much to my delight, Ben and I discovered (1/2 of) a delicious mint chocolate bar on my dashboard. What better way to end a day of kayaking?! Perfect, I say, just perfect.

Date: October 3rd, 2010
Weather: Sunny, 60 degrees, breezy - perfect!
Distance: 13.5 miles (9.5 to the top of the lake and back, and 4 miles exploring the south end)