Jacqui, Trish, Howie and I had a lovely paddle on Little Platte Lake. What a gem it is! It was the first time Jacqui and I had been there, and Trish and Howie had explored part of the lake several years ago. We headed on a clockwise course from the DNR boat landing, which is located at the north end. The lake is quite shallow and weedy in many places, so powerboats were absent. We practically had the place to ourselves. The day was clear and hot, but the light breeze made for a pleasant paddling. Several miles of shoreline is state land, so there were not very many cottages.
We headed towards the south end. En route there were 2 Trumpeter Swans with 2 cygnets, a Great Blue Heron, several Belted Kingfishers, and a loon was on her nest at a nesting platform. We explored the channel leaving/entering Little Platte. It was deep enough to paddle without issue, and was surrounded by reeds and cattails. We all wondered where this channel would go and if it was considered part of the Platte River. (A little online digging afterwards stated it was the North Branch of the Platte River, "known by locals as Deadstream!")
We paddled along the southwest shore, and then headed straight across the lake back to the DNR landing. I guestimate we covered roughly half the lake's circumference. Jacqui had recorded our progress, and our route was 4.9 miles long.
I will definitely paddle here again, perhaps exploring the parts of the lake we skipped.
Pics by Trish and Kathleen
Howie, Jacqui, & Kathleen
Howie
Jacqui & Trish
The Trumpeter Family
The channel
Howie and Jacqui
