CANOE & KAYAK CASS COUNTY
Below are access sites to canoe and kayak Chistiana Creek that runs through Edwardsburg and the Dowagiac River that runs through Dowagiac and up toward Niles. If canoeing and kayaking can also be enjoyed on the lakes that have access sites maintained by the DNR. Visit Cass County Lakes on this website for a list of local lakes with access sites.
Christiana Creek
Juno Lake Access
Start: Juno Lake, Edwardsburg – Directions
Finish: Paddle 3 lakes and get out in the same spot.
Hours: 2.0
Miles: 6.0
Notes: Easy
Juno Lake Access
Start: Christiana Creek leaves South end of Juno Lake, Edwardsburg
Finish: Redfield Access South of Edwardsburg – Redfield Street, 1/4 mile East of Adamsville Road, on Christiana Creek, Edwardsburg, MI – Directions
Hours: 2.0
Miles: 5.0
Notes: Nature, Scenic, Easy
Redfield Access
Start: Redfield Street, 1/4 mile East of Adamsville Road, on Christiana Creek, Edwardsburg, MI – Directions
Finish: St. Joseph River in Elkhart, IN – Directions
Hours: 4.0
Miles: ?
Notes: Fast, Nature, Obstacles. There is limited parking at this launch site and no bathroom facilities.
Pat McGann’s Summer Kayak Adventure
Well, we put in at about 3:30 at Redfield Rd just east of Adamsville Rd, on the south side of the road west of the river, nice gravel parking lot. It was full so I had to park my F-250 pickup near the riverboat ramp. We went to the south end of High Dive Park in downtown Elkhart and placed a van at the end behind the Krogers. We should have taken out at Co. Rd 4. We had to get out and take shelter under a tent at the CCCC (Christiana Creek Country Club) to get out of huge lightning, wind and rain storm, for about an hour or so. I would like to know what governmental agency let the golf course put three bridges over the creek that is too low to kayak/canoe/tube under and have to portage around? That spoils the whole lower half, the nicest part of the trip for the public. There were some really beautiful backyards of homes in the lower half, too. It is surprisingly remote, it seemed like we were in the Amazon rain forest a lot of the time…beautiful! Most of the downed trees were cleared enough to get by until the CCCC golf course, probably because nobody ever kayaks that part. Great small waterfalls, three-foot drops, and short small rapids, which I was surprised at after the GC. Really that would be the best part of the river if the bridges and trees weren’t there. My seven-year-old grandson, Cole McGann Bell got stuck on a rock and flipped his little boat at the top of the last set of Rapids and his daddy Aaron Bell made an amazing in a boat, then out of boat rescue. I put Cole in my kayak and we did a double to the end. We got out of the river at 9 pm and stopped for a Coney Dog and Root Beer at the Simonton Lake Drive-in on SR 19. When we got back, in the dark to get my pick up at the put in the spot where it was stuck in the mud and I had to call a tow truck…$125!
Pat McGann, a “Man for All Seasons,” thinks all the cars in the parking lot where he put in were probably people who were doing only the lake part of the river where he put in.
Dowagiac River
Wetlands Access
Start: Wetlands Access at the head of the river – Directions
Finish: In and out in the same location
Hours: 1.5
Miles: ?
Notes: Nature, Scenic, River continues but can be too shallow for dependable paddling.
Mill Pond Access
Start: Mill Pond Dam, Dowagiac – Directions (approximate)
Finish: In and out in the same location
Hours: 1.5
Miles: ?
Notes: Easy, River continues but can be too shallow for dependable paddling.
M51 Access
Start: M51 – North of Dowagiac – Directions
Finish: M62 – West of Dowagiac – Directions
Hours: 2.0
Miles: 4.0
Notes: Fast, Scenic, Nature, Obstacles
M62 Access
Start: M62 – West of Dowagiac – Directions
Finish: Sink Road – Directions
Hours: 2.0
Miles: 4.0
Notes: Fast, Scenic, Nature, Obstacles
Sink Road Access
Start: Sink Road – Directions
Finish: Arthur Dodd Memorial Park – 61437 Creek Road, Niles, MI 49120 (5 miles NE of Niles, near Sumnerville) – Directions
Hours: 2.0
Miles: 4.0
Notes: Fast, Scenic, Nature, Obstacles, Rustic bathroom facilities, fresh well-water at finish.
Arthur Dodd Memorial Park Access
Start: 61437 Creek Road, Niles, MI 49120 (5 miles NE of Niles, near Sumnerville) – Directions
County Parks Office Phone: (269) 445-4456
Finish: Pucker Street Dam – N.E. of Niles
Hours: 2.0
Miles: ?
Notes: Fast, Scenic, Nature, Obstacles, Rustic bathroom facilities, fresh well-water at the start.
Pucker Street Dam Access
Start: Pucker Street Dam – N.E. of Niles
Finish: St. Joseph River/Old 31 – N. E. of Niles
Hours: 2.0
Miles: ?
Notes: Fast, Scenic, Nature, Obstacles