LAWLER LAKE and LAWLER BEAVER POND, KALAMAZOO COUNTY

FORT CUSTER STATE RECREATION AREA

The entrance to Fort Custer State Recreation Area is on the north side of M96, just east of the village of Augusta. Follow the park signs to the Whitford Lake access site. Whitford, Lawler, and Jackson Hole Lakes share the same boat launch area. The Whitford and Lawler landing is on the south side of the site. Whitford Lake and Lawler Lake look like one single body of water. It’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Paddle east across Whitford Lake to Lawler Lake.

There is a large shallow area on the east end of Lawler.

The shallow water continues to the southeast corner of the lake. Some areas are too shallow to float a kayak. There is a deeper channel through the southeast shallows. It is not always bordered by aquatic vegetation.

The channel leads to a creek mouth.

Follow the small creek to a beaver dam.

To portage the dam, I paddled the bow of my kayak to the base of the dam. While seated, I put a leg over each side of my boat and slid forward to the tip of the bow. I carefully and gingerly stood up on the dam, stepped up to the top of it, and pulled my kayak over. I did all this without falling into the marsh! It wasn’t easy.

The backwaters of the beaver dam do not fit the stereotype of the typical beaver pond. The backwaters consist of many different size ponds connected by channels, all within a cattail marsh surrounded by forest.

I thoroughly explored the backwater area.

I didn’t want to leave until I saw everything that there was to see.

Exploring the beaver pond is as good as it gets.

I finally satisfied my curiosity and returned to the dam.

On the way back, I used a different technique to portage the beaver dam. I paddled as fast as I could and slid about half way over it. I stayed in my kayak and used “scooting” to get the rest of the way over the dam. It’s like sitting in a chair and “scooting” it up to the dinner table. It sounds odd, but it works! I returned to Lawler Lake and on to Whitford Lake and the landing. The pristine beauty of the beaver dam backwater is hard to beat. It’s definitely the highlight of Lawler Lake.