Kalamazoo County is home to two Portage Creeks. One is in the Kalamazoo River watershed. This Portage Creek is in the St. Joseph River watershed. I originally planned to kayak Portage Creek from Sunset Lake in Vicksburg to Barton Lake. I soon found out that the creek was not navigable for the first mile downstream from the Sunset Lake dam. There were too many downed trees to contend with. Instead, I kayaked upstream from Barton Lake to Vicksburg and returned to Barton Lake.
The creek is bordered by wetlands, mostly cattail marsh. The stream meanders a lot. I found it easy to paddle against the light current of the creek.
The MDNR Barton Lake Public Access is off Portage Road, Between W Avenue and X Avenue, at the end of Fisherman’s Lane.
Head northeast from the boat landing to Portage Creek. It’s a one mile paddle. The creek mouth is difficult to spot from a distance because the shoreline all looks the same – cattail marsh. There aren’t any landmarks to go by.
Upstream from the creek mouth, the waterway is wide with very little current.
The stream flows through Angel’s Crossing Golf Club and some of the course can be seen from the creek. The clubhouse and a few residences are visible, but most of the creek banks are undeveloped.
Continuing upstream, the creek gradually narrows. A covered bridge spans the creek.
The stream passes through a pair of navigable culverts.
There are some tree branches and tree limbs in the water, but they were easy to paddle around or through. I never had to portage. I found the marshland to be very scenic.
My progress was halted by a big willow tree that blew down across the creek.
I decided to to turn around and head back to Barton Lake. If I was really determined, I could have found a way through, but it would have been difficult. A little ways upstream from the willow, the downed trees become more frequent. Another good reason to turn back. On the return trip, drifting with the current in the upper portion of the creek is a good way to rest up for paddling the no-current lower portion of the creek and the one mile Barton Lake crossing. Kayaking a small stream through picturesque wetlands is a great way to spend an afternoon!
KAYAKING SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN 