Kayaking offers health & fitness benefits in OKC's "Hidden Oasis"

[SherryM]

If you are looking for an new way to stay active, find something you'll enjoy! This NewsOK.com video shows you how one reporter learns how to kayak at the Route 66 Boathouse at 3115 E. Overholser Drive at lake Overholser. Call 552-4040 to learn more or visit http://riversportokc.org/ to learn more.

http://www.newsok.com/hidden-oasis-k...o/221202855001

[PennyQuilts]

Has anyone gone to them, recently? If so, any comments or thoughts about their operation? I was taking advantage of this beautiful late fall weather hiking out at the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, yesterday. I'd not been there, before. I don't know much about kayaking but it sounds like it would be a fun way to see the refuge from the river. Is it hard? Any thoughts on getting started aside from a class? I realize this isn't the best time of year to check it out but I just never thought of it, before.

[Achilleslastand]

I havnt been around Overholser since last year. Im not sure how much water is actually in the canal right now given the current drought.

[PennyQuilts]

I havnt been around Overholser since last year. Im not sure how much water is actually in the canal right now given the current drought.

I didn't check the canal by the lake but the river north of the highway looked good. I am not sure where the Stinchcomb lakes are, though. Stomping through those cattails to try to reach the edge was an experience I am not interested in repeating. It went on FOREVER. It crossed my mind that if I fell down from exhaustion, I might just not get up. So if I tripped, I made myself stand up, immediately. Eventually, I gave it up and retreated back to the forest area. Heading out into the cattails wasn't my brightest move.

[Achilleslastand]

I didn't check the canal by the lake but the river north of the highway looked good. I am not sure where the Stinchcomb lakes are, though. Stomping through those cattails to try to reach the edge was an experience I am not interested in repeating. It went on FOREVER. It crossed my mind that if I fell down from exhaustion, I might just not get up. So if I tripped, I made myself stand up, immediately. Eventually, I gave it up and retreated back to the forest area. Heading out into the cattails wasn't my brightest move.

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Oklahoma City lies one of the metro area’s best kept secrets: Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge. Named to the list of 100 largest city parks in the United States, this 1000 acre refuge follows the tucks and turns of the North Canadian River after it re-emerges out of Lake Overholser to the south.


The refuge’s extensive bottomland hardwood forest of oak, sycamore, redbud, cottonwood and hackberry, scattered with swamps and marshes, make it an exceptionally rich habitat for wildlife, songbirds and waterfowl. The refuge is listed as an Audubon Birding Hotspot for Oklahoma and among the hundreds of bird species found here are nesting prothonotary warblers, wood ducks and three types of owls.

The refuge offers several hiking and biking trails and an easy access to the river makes it a popular destination for canoe and kayakers. The main hiking trail can be accessed on the east side of the refuge at N.W. 51st and Stinchcomb Road, just north of 50th and west of Council Road. The two-mile trail links the refuge’s four small lakes to the North Canadian River. Another trail suitable for hiking is found on the west side of the refuge at the intersection of County Line and Morgan Roads.


One of the best ways to visit the refuge is by boat. Kayaks and canoes are most often launched at the put in just south of Lake Overholser near the Old Route 66 Bridge. For a longer 9 mile float trip on the North Canadian through Stinchcomb Wildlife Reserve, kayakers can launch from two different spots on the west side of Yukon. OKC Kayak offers a two-hour guided kayak tour, with naturalist, through the refuge several times a year. The next outing is currently scheduled for Saturday, November 21st.


Hidden among the vast urban sprawl of Oklahoma City, Stinchcomb Wildlfe Refuge offers an increasingly rare glimpse of Oklahoma City’s stunning natural heritage. This seldom-visted spot is an ideal urban oasis; a place to enjoy the quiet solitude of nature, marvel at the unending colors of fall foliage, pluck a persimmon, spy a great blue heron wrangling a catfish, or glide among the riffles and eddies of a smooth flowing river.

[PennyQuilts]

The trip with the naturalist would be fun. I will keep an eye on their calendar. Thanks.