The Green River Reservoir Is A Special Place
By Gary Moore
Last Thursday I finally made it to the Green River Reservoir State Park and managed to explore about half of it by kayak. What a special place it is.
For three years now I have been trying to find a time my schedule and my sister Wendy O’Donnell’s aligned so we could paddle the Green River Reservoir.
Thursday was hot and humid but once we got on the water there was a breeze most of the time making the paddling comfortable.
One of the special things about Green river Reservoir is that no motorboats are allowed. It is canoes and kayaks with the occasional small boat with an electric motor. No noise, no canoe swamping wakes and no exhaust smells. Wonderful!
We were thrilled to watch an adult Bald Eagle riding the thermals, slowly circle over us. Loons nest on the reservoir and signs warn boaters to stay away during the period the nests area active. We saw no loons but we heard their haunting calls.
Green River Reservoir State Park is a 5,500 acre state park in Hyde Park. It is located on the shore of the 653 acre Green River Reservoir.
The reservoir has nineteen miles of undeveloped shoreline. The few structures you see are far from the water and well hidden in the trees.
The park provides camping and paddling experiences in a remote setting. All 27 remote campsites can only be reached by paddling to them, with some a one to two mile paddle from the launch site. Many love that seclusion. The day we were there only two campsites we unoccupied.
Access to the park is in the southern part of the Reservoir off of Green River Dam Road.
Day use such as we experienced is allowed on the reservoir in limited numbers. There are designated day use sites where fires are permitted. One such site we saw in the end of a southern cove had two kayaks and a canoe pulled on shore with several people swimming and others relaxing in lawn chairs, simply enjoying the beautiful scenery and the quiet.
Forest Parks and Recreation states, “The park will remain in its wild and undeveloped condition, with low-impact, compatible recreational use allowed on and around the Reservoir. Management activities will be only those necessary to maintain the property’s character, protect the environment and critical resources, demonstrate sustainable forest and wildlife management, control excessive recreational use, and ensure high-quality outdoor experiences for visitors.”
Wendy and I so loved our visit that we vowed to go back and explore the rest of the reservoir, perhaps in the fall when the foliage is at peak.