Countryside Food Rides: Drakes Creek (Alvaton, KY)

~~Bike~~ Kayak: Old Town Vapor 10
Route: Google Maps (GPS)

Sometimes we trade motorcycles and minivans for Jeeps and boats.

They say Kentucky has more navigable water than any state that isn't Alaska, and this is the section we most often navigate. The route on Drakes Creek between Romanza Johnson Park and Phil Moore Park has become quite popular over the last few years, probably because the location just a few miles outside of BG is so accessible to so many, and because it's so easy to park at Romanza and take out at Phil Moore. The parks are separated by less than five miles of road, and the 6.23 mile creek route can be paddled in less than three hours on most any day. It is a very convenient way to spend some time relaxing on the river.

Below are pictures from two trips this year, and at the very bottom is a time lapse video of the whole route. The first trip was fun because it was the maiden voyage for two kayaks and for our 13-year-old. The second trip was fun because I joined some guys from the Bowling Green Riverfront Foundation and the Warren County Rescue Department in preparation for the first HSK Race on the River Fest benefiting Hospice of Southern Kentucky.

HSK Race on the River Fest, presented by Nat's Outdoor Sports.

If your family has ever needed their services, then you know the good folks at HSK are doing important work, and this sure will be a fun way to help them out.

It's gonna be a great Saturday in Alvaton... In the morning we have BBQ from Jimmy D's, live music, and paddling on the creek. Later that afternoon the Boyce Store is having their first Pickin' on the Patio Summer Music Series event with, you guessed it, more BBQ! In between the creek and the store, there will be plenty of time to stop by Reid's Livery Winery to do a little tasting and shopping there, too. And later that evening the Neon Flamingo has more live music, and mostly likely more BBQ, too. This little corner of the county is packing plenty of fun into one day.

Pickin' on the Patio, featuring Diversified.

General Information

View Larger Map

Clinton Lewis from BGRF brought a GPS on our latest trip, so this shows the exact route we took on June 8th. The creek flows south-to-north and it was 6.23 miles. It took just over two hours, even though we were in no hurry and we stopped here and there to pick up trash. Technically, we really start in Trammel Creek and it meets Drakes Creek just a few yards downstream.

Phil Moore Park parking.
The big crowd of cars on most weekend days shows just how many people are on the creek.

If you're leaving a car at Phil Moore Park, you'll want to park on the Old Stone side of Scottsville Road in the big grass field. You can park on the gravel road near the bridge on the baseball side of the park, but it's a lot easier to take your boat out of the creek and load up your vehicle on the grassy side.

Romanza Johnson Park.

Romanza has a big gravel parking lot which often fills up on summer weekend days, but there is plenty of room to park along the road after unloading.

Trammel Creek at Romanza.

Before the big bridge was built on Mt. Lebanon Church Road, this was not a park. It was just a road, although like other similar water crossings in the area it sometimes seemed like a park because it was a fun place to play. Good times spent here as kids on bikes, and now you don't have to dodge traffic. In normal water conditions like this, the easiest spot to put it is just to the right of the old road where the rocks gently slope down to the creek.

Boyce Store Fried Chicken Sandwich.
Even if you're not getting in the water, the park is a fine place for a picnic.

April 27th, 2014

This was the first paddle of the year, the first time Bubby had ever kayaked on a creek, and also the first time for two of these boats. Great day and perfect timing...

Trammel Creek at Romanza.

Drakes Creek.

Nice boat, Mark!

It didn't take him long to get used to paddling on the creek.

Drakes Creek.

Drakes Creek on the back side of Phil Moore Park.
He said the boat should be stable enough to stand up in, and then he stood up.
This could have had a funny ending, but it didn't.

Phil Moore Park, where we beat the storm by five minutes.
We got a lot of rain over the next few hours...

Good times.

I knew he had fun because he said so, but also because I caught him with several of those sincere grins when he didn't think anybody was looking. Eh eh...

April 29, 2014

Sometimes Romanza Johnson Park is under a few feet of water...

The obligatory motorcycle or Corvette pic that has nothing to do with nothing.
The Mallet Hammer Z06 after being pulled from the National Corvette Museum sinkhole on April 9th.
Mother Nature did this, and that wasn't very nice!

June 8th, 2014

It didn't start out as a very beautiful day, but it turned into one. This was a fun trip for me because it was nice to make some new friends. The folks at the Bowling Green Riverfront Foundation have really neat plans to create the Barren River Outdoor Center that will certainly make Bowling Green even better. The BROC will feature white water boating, mountain biking, climbing, and other outdoor activities. The Warren County Rescue guys volunteer their time to save lives, and of course that's pretty cool. I think both groups deserve our support, and both groups are supporting the River Fest Race next weekend. Awesome.

On this trip we came across two newly downed trees that were blocking the creek. And on the bright side, neither seems to pose a very serious problem.

Trammel Creek at Romanza.

Great day.
Horrible hat.

Trammel Creek.

When the water is about normal, the only really low spot you should encounter is at the very beginning of the trip before Trammel Creek meets Drakes Creek. You can get through it with the right line, or you can just walk for a few feet.

I felt sorry for him at first because it looked like it would be a long day of hard paddling in that boat.

I didn't feel sorry for him anymore when he broke the motor out and came cruising by on Drakes Creek.
Photo by Clinton Lewis.

Drakes Creek.

The first obstacle on Drakes Creek.

This first downed tree has a good gap in the middle that all of our boats fit through, but it would also be easy to walk around the tree on the left side.

The gap.

Plenty of room to float through at this water level.

Even the big boat made it through.
Photo by Clinton Lewis.

Drakes Creek.
Clinton Lewis.

Drakes Creek.
Photo by Clinton Lewis.

The second obstacle on Drakes Creek.

This second tree was pretty much impossible to paddle around, but there is a gravel bar perfectly positioned on the right that makes for a really quick and easy portage of just a few feet.

Plenty of room to park and walk around this second downed tree.
Photo by Clinton Lewis.

Drew did make it through a small gap on the left side of the tree, but that didn't look like fun and is not recommended.

Drakes Creek.
Photo by Clinton Lewis.

Drakes Creek.

Drakes Creek, where the GoPro on the front of my kayak was taking pictures every five seconds.
Clinton Lewis took this picture.

Drakes Creek.

LLWF

Picking up trash on Drakes Creek.

Drakes Creek.

Drakes Creek with some of the Warren County Rescue guys.

We ran into a few groups of folks fishing and tubing, but it wasn't a very busy day on the creek.

Drakes Creek.

The Scottsville Road bridges over Drakes Creek at Phil Moore Park.
Hard to believe the creek reached the bridge in the 2010 flood, but it did.

FLASHBACK: May 2010 when Drakes Creek flooded Phil Moore Park.

FLASHBACK: Phil Moore Park, May 2010.

FLASHBACK: May 2010.
That's the bridge we paddle under, but no paddling on this day!

Drakes Creek, on the back side of Phil Moore Park.

At the take out spot, there are several options when the water level is pretty normal.

Take Out Spot #1.

Take Out Spot #2.

I like to go on down to the concrete ramp, especially when the other spots are real muddy.

Take Out Spot #3.
If you miss the ramp for some reason, there is a fourth spot around the corner that's usually pretty muddy.

It was a fine day on the creek, where thankfully these guys didn't have to do any work!

Video

Thanks to the Farewell Drifters for letting me use one of their songs...

Update (6/14/14)

The HSK Race on the River Fest went well -- great group of folks and great weather. Pics and another creek video from that event can be found in this post.