Event is now in it’s 6th year drawing 100 – 150 local paddlers.

Heavners Canoe comes out and rents canoes to those without boats.

Shiawassee River Paddle Event–June 6, 2010

Leisure paddle (open to all paddlers with proper lifevest pfd)

Race (for those that want to compete)

PUT-IN

-WaterWorks Park -

602 South Broad St, Holly, MI 48442-1674

TAKE-OUT

–Strom Park–

299 South East Street, Fenton,MI

near the East Street Bridge.

Shiawassee River Paddle Event–June 6, 2010

Start : WaterWorks Park in Holly, Michigan End : Strom Park in Fenton, Michigan Distance : 7 scenic miles of numerous twists and turns

Schedule :

10:00 am : On-site registration WaterWorks Park 11:30 am : Introductory Ceremony

11:45 am : Experienced Canoeists Start

12:15 pm : Novice/Youth Canoeists Start

12:45 pm : Kayak/ Single person canoeists Start

***1:15 pm : Leisure/fun paddle Start ***** 6:00 pm : Final river sweep completed

Canoes available for rental thru Heavners Livery Shuttle transport all day long until 6pm

Questions ?

Call Sue Julian, 248-634-3513

or email sjulian @ provide dot net

Call Doug Lanyk 248-634-4551

or email dslanyk @ comcast dot net

Call Willi Gutmann 586-215-6387

or e-mail Willi_H2O @ Yahoo dot Com

It was a good start to the journey. The river was quiet
and the wildlife was repeatedly surprised by us quietly
gliding down the river. Numerous deer, fish, turtles,
and heron were motivated to seek further cover upon
being observed at close quarters.
There is a tree partially blocking the river just after
the 3 tubes. You can still paddle around on the the shallow side.
It’s small and will be easily removed, but beware if you try it,
it’s covered in poison ivy. The quiet paddle was just about
perfect until another downed tree just before Fish Lake Rd.
Last week Jimmy had to portage the tree. Last night we had enough
water to bump over it. Once again it was smooth sailing.

The next item of note was the water level in Haddon pond.
It was noticeably lower. The beaver created marsh following the
pond had lot’s of fresh bank showing and a bit of challenging
paddling to go around trees we are accustomed to going over.
The reason for the low water level was soon apparent.
The big beaver dam is gone! I don’t know if it had help
but the center of the old dam is now completely washed out.
No drop whatsoever. This has aesthetic ramifications.
The old dump that comes up to the river at that point
is now showing a whole lot of garbage.

Some new work near Scarbury’s Ford was noticed too.
The ford itself had low water and we had to bump our way across.
The last beaver dam before the Fenton Millpond has been beefed up.
It’s now bigger and badder than ever before.
It’s about a one foot drop that we skated over.
The millpond itself was a pungent mess. It is severely grown over.
It was a bit of work to get the boats across.
After dumping our first load of picked up garbage off at
Strom park we were rewarded for our work by finding a
blue grass band playing at the bandstand in Downtown Dibbleville.

As we portaged the dam, lot’s of curious people questioned us
about paddling on the river. It was a good opportunity for
educating more people about our efforts. Below the dam
we launched Jimmy in his canoe just before I did a seal launch
off of the rocks. It was fun when the the crowd listening to the
band brokeout in applause and cheers in the middle of a song.

From the Dam to Bush Park was a bigger challenge than the millpond.
The water had disapeared. It was very shallow for most of the rest
of the trip. Where we did the cleanup a couple of weeks ago it was
hard to tell we had been there.
The trees that were totally submerged when we cut those above are
now completely above the water. More garbage has been exposed too.
By this time it was getting dark and we were glad that my truck was
right there. A longer trip would have been less than fun.

Get outside.
Doug.

O’Donnell Park is a one and a half acre park located on the corner of East Street and East Ellen Street across from Strom Park. It was named for Mark O’Donnell in honor of his service on the Fenton Parks & Recreation Board. The park is always open and has no entry fees. There is a picnic area and a wonderful deck with benches. It’s a great place to fish or feed the ducks and enjoy the beauty of a sunrise on the Millpond.

See the FentonSays.com O’Donnell Park video (below):

This is the fifth in the FentonSays.com Parks of Fenton video tour series. O’Donnell Park is a small park found on East Street and East Ellen Street in Fenton, Michigan. There is a picnic area, a nice size deck with benches, and ample room for fishing, feeding the ducks or enjoying the sunset.

Strom Park is a small park of .7 acres on South East Street near the East Street Bridge. The land for the park was purchased by the City of Fenton from Louis Parr Rector and Mary Strom on February 16, 1967. The park is always open and has no entry fees. There is a small boat launch, a small gazebo, a picnic area, and plenty of fishing.

See the FentonSays.com Strom Park video (below):

This is the forth in the FentonSays.com Parks of Fenton video tour series. Strom Park is a small park found on East Street and Shiawassee in Fenton, Michigan. There is a small boat launch, a small gazebo, a picnic area, and ample room for fishing.

Franklin D. Adams Park is a small, neighborhood park that is a little over an acre. The park was named after Franklin D. Adams who served on the Fenton City Council. The park is always open and has no entry fees. It is located at the corner of South Long Lake Road and Appletree Lane. There is a half court and basketball hoop, picnic area and a swing set.

See the FentonSays.com Franklin D. Adams Park video (below):

This is the third in the FentonSays.com Parks of Fenton video tour series. The Franklin D. Admas Park is found on South Long Lake Road and Appletree Lane. It is one of Fenton’s smaller parks. There is a half court and basketball hoop, picnic area, grill, park bench, rocking horses and a swing set.

Bush Park is one of Fenton’s largest parks. It is five and a half acres and was given to the City of Fenton by Harry C. and Doris E. Bush on December 18, 1954. Both the Fenton Rotary and the DDA have been very generous in supporting this park. The park has two entrances; one at the east end of Jefferson Street behind St. John’s Catholic Church and the other entrance is on N. Leroy Street at Fifth Street. The park is always open and has no entrance fees. The Shiawassee River runs through the park and provides a beautiful opportunity to experience peace in the city. There are volleyball courts, children’s play equipment, a tot lot area, rest rooms, a gazebo, a pavilion with electricity, picnic areas and a small island to enjoy.

The pavilion and the gazebo are available for rental at the city offices. The fees are as follows:
Pavilion rental: Resident ($25 rental fee + $25 deposit = $50 total), Non-resident ($50 rental fee + $25 deposit = $75 total) and Non-profit ($15 rental fee + $25 deposit = $40 total).
Gazebo rental: Resident ($85 rental fee + $100 deposit = $185 total), Non-resident ($125 rental fee + $100 deposit = $225 total). The gazebos are rented in four hour time blocks (8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).

See the FentonSays.com Fenton Bush Park video (below):

This is the second in the FentonSays.com Parks of Fenton video tours. Bush Park is found behind St. John and also accessible from Leroy Street near the old Poppa John’s location. It is one of Fenton’s largest parks. There are volleyball courts, children’s play equipment, a tot lot area, rest rooms, a gazebo, a pavilion with electricity, picnic areas and a small island.

Freedom Park is .35 acres small, but it is rich in history. It is Fenton’s first park and it is the place where during the Civil War Colonel William Matthew Fenton had the soldiers practice their drills. It was also the town square when Fenton was founded in 1834 and used to have a wooden bandstand where the Fenton City Band would perform. It is bordered by West Shiawassee Avenue, West Elizabeth Street and Park Street. The park is always open and has no entrance fees. There are several benches to relax on, a picnic area, a war memorial and a gazebo which was donated by Dennis and Gail Schaefer in memory of their fathers. The gazebo can be rented at the city offices. The fees are: Resident ($85 rental fee + $100 deposit = $185 total), Non-resident ($125 rental fee + $100 deposit = $225 total). The gazebos are rented in four hour time blocks (8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).

See the FentonSays.com Fenton Freedom Park video (below):

This is the first in the FentonSays.com Parks of Fenton video tours. Fenton Freedom Park is a fairly small park found along Owen Road / Shiawasee Avenue. There is a seating area, several picnic tables, a gazebo and several memorials to enjoy.