- Date Kayaked: June 4, 2021 and June 5, 2021
- Total miles Tracked: 4.5 miles (the Jungle Passage) and 1.2 miles (sunset paddle)
- Type of Paddle: Lake/swamp
- Put in/Take Out: paved ramp
- Conveniences: Bathroom, picnic tables
- Best Features: Truly stunning scenery
- Worst Features: Open water portions can get choppy, hidden stumps
- Wildlife spotted: Gators, osprey, herons, redwing blackbirds
- Vegetation: Cypress, tupelo, water lilies, some lotuses
- Associated Website: https://www.berkeleyoutdoorlife.com/
- Primary Author: James
Our last two posts were about SC paddle adventures that were, to be blunt, somewhat disappointing. Cat Island was a tiny spit of land. Wambaw Creek was fine, but maybe not special enough to justify potentially breaking an axle on the miles of dirt roads required to reach it. Wouldn't it be great if there was a remote paddle that left you feeling like you had the body of water to yourself that could be reached on a paved road?
Well, it just so happens that our next kayak destination turned out to be one of the finest kayak trips we've taken to date. Lake Moultrie in South Carolina is a huge body of water, just shy of 100 square miles. We went there expecting it to be heavily trafficked with motorboats but, at least on the days we visited, the parking lot at the Amos Gourdine Landing was mostly empty. Even if it had been full a lake of this size can probably hold a few hundred motorboats and still leave plenty of room for kayakers to enjoy the shallow, tree-filled waters near the shore.
The Berkeley county website link above offers several kayaking trails. We chose to tackle the Jungle, a tupelo swamp on the eastern edge of the lake. The website tells you to launch from the main boat ramp, but there's a better site for kayaks. When you first enter the parking lot to the boat ramp, there's a sign to a swim beach. Go down that (very short) dirt road and you'll find a small paved ramp perfect for a kayak launch. Instead of launching into the main lake, you'll start your paddle in one of the sheltered canals. Our first trip was a windy day, but the water in the canal was still as glass, and right from the start you'll appreciate the beauty of the place as you glide among lily pads buzzing with dragonflies. Keep your eyes open for herons and gators, both of which we saw very close to the ramp. After a few hundred yards of paddling, there's a gap on the right onto the main lake.
As you enter the lake, the full size of Lake Moultrie becomes evident with the far shore so distant it can barely be seen. The cypress trees rising from the water here are home to numerous osprey nests. You likely won't paddle far before you spot alligators drifting lazily, sinking beneath the surface as you approach. Some might be longer than your kayak, but the open water gives them plenty of space to stay clear of you.
Due to the wind, our paddle out was quite choppy. This concealed the one difficulty of keeping close to shore, the numerous cypress stumps just inches beneath the water. If you hit one and overturned, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, however, since the water is only a couple of feet deep.
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| A person with no fear of alligators could probably wade through about 75% of this journey. |
After you hug the shore heading south for a little more than a mile, there's a cove to the left that's full of cypress and lily pads. Head into this and keep heading back as the cove narrows into a creek. At about the point where you feel like you can't go forward any more, you'll find a deep channel only about ten feet wide heading to your left, surrounded by walls of high reeds. Paddle through this for a hundred feet or so and the reeds will give way to a magnificent, wide open tupelo swamp with water lilies spreading for as far as you can see. The channel through this was easy to navigate. If you push forward you can reach the dike that runs along the eastern side of the lake, but we only went about half the distance from the entrance to the swamp before turning back. It was insanely hot, with no shade, and the wind that had been fighting us on the open water vanished completely.
Despite the heat, the swamp stirred our sense of wonder. The unending lilies made us feel like we were paddling through some fantasy landscape. The few patches of open water were mirror smooth, so that we glided across blue sky and clouds. Redwing blackbirds flitted about. The only sounds were bird songs; there's not even a whisper of traffic or motorboats. Put down your paddles, sit, and bask in the tranquility.
We did our first paddle in the middle of the day. The next day, we returned about an hour before sunset, confident that the wide-open lake was going to reward us with an amazing sunset. What we found far exceeded our expectations. The evening was windless, and the second we left the canal and turned onto the open water we found ourselves on what seemed to be a lake of pure mercury, a softly rippling mirrorscape that blended water and sky. The cypress trees rising from the surface had a ghostly quality in the fading light. The moment we came through the gap in the trees to look upon this silvery vastness might be the most breathtaking moment we've experienced on a kayak trip.
We returned from the trip already talking over when we might return. This was a nearly perfect destination for us, and not just for paddling. In an upcoming post, we'll return to the canals and wildlife, but this time for a bike ride along the dikes that form the Lake Moultrie Passage.
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