Its source is at Otisco Lake in the town of Marcellus. From there it runs northward for almost 22 miles through the villages of Marcellus and Camillus to Onondaga Lake. The creek is most know for its trout fishing.
After some research online, I found a couple video on YouTube of some teenagers kayaking on it for a short distance just beyond where it flows under the Erie Canal. Beyond that I didn't find any more info on people actually kayaking it. From my own personal scouting out and fishing on it I knew that portions of it could dammed with debris and may be difficult to navigate. Also while driving along the creek in Marcellus I learned that there was a huge dam as well as several very shallow areas.With enough info gathered I decided to put in the Village of Camillus because it was public place as well as very accessible from the road. If driving into the village down West Genesee St. make a right onto Leroy St. and follow the road as it goes to the Old Camillus School which is now a senior citizen home. Enter the parking lot parallel to the building and it goes straight down to the creek. At the creek there is a small 6 x 6 foot dock where you can launch.
My wife dropped me off at this location. After a few quick pictures, MapMyRide app turned on, and my Garmin GPS tracking, I started the new adventure. It starts out with a moderate current. I didn't put the skirt on quick enough so I had to do it while drifting downstream. The creek gently flows along Route 5 before it flows under it near Pine Grove Golf Course.A short distance down the river, there is another well known landmark, the Erie Canal. It actually flows over the Nine Mile Creek. There was an area of overflow from the canal and it gave off an unpleasant smell.
Beyond the canal I came across a small area of rapids, which I have seen videos on YouTube of young kids kayaking and flipping there boats as they went across it. I honestly thought that they were purposefully flipping their kayaks, until I had the experience of going through the area myself. There is a fairly large rock hidden underwater that could easily cause you to flip because I came very close to almost doing some myself. I got some water onto my skirt but nothing actually came into the kayak.
After a little adrenaline rush, the next lag of the trip was smooth sailing as the creek went along Trotters Ridge Run street. The creek goes to Warners Road and Airport Road intersection. At this intersection there another dam--about 15 foot high dam. Just prior to the dam there is several areas to to get out and portage the kayak for about a 100 yards downstream. I put in right under the Warners Rd bridge where I have fished several times.
Once on my way, the creek is shallow but flowing quickly. This lag of the journey, there was times I had to make quick decisions in which direction to go because some parts of the creek were dammed up. I wore my fishing waders just in case I had to get out and portage around a dam. My concerns became reality when I had to push myself in the kayak over a couple dammed up sections of the creek. I was grateful I didn't have to get out and get wet.
Beyond these 2 challenges, the remainder of the trip was not very exciting. I was planning to kayak out to Onondaga Lake, however, because of construction along the new walkway on the southern end of the lake I had to get out at State Fair Blvd.
Animals seen: Many otters along the first part of the trip before Route 5. Several herons, one especially was very large in size. There were many wild ducks long the way.
Overall it was a nice trip but I'm not certain if its something that I would like to do again anytime soon. One of the concerns was the water level would be really low in the summer months.
