A small boater’s paradise in Northern Indiana lake country at Albion is one of Chain O’Lakes State Park’s claims to fame. The beautiful landscape left by the receding glaciers thousands of years ago provides an unparalleled recreational paddling opportunity for the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Chain every year.

Paddlers can experience the wilderness of the park all over, especially in the back lakes and channels. Seeing otters playing mischievously, turkey vultures soaring on an updraft, hearing the croaking groan of a great blue heron, seeing a beaver building a lodge, or a pileated woodpecker making wood chips fly are all common experiences here and can help make memories for a lifetime.

A relaxed smile is evident on visitors’ faces as they return from a day of paddling. A big smile is particularly true of paddlers completing the 9 Lake Challenge.

It is a joy to see their pictures and hear about their time on the water when they come to claim their well-deserved exclusive T-shirt.

The park’s boat rental has a single or double kayak or traditional canoe ready for you to make your own paddling memories naturally.

The Chain O’Lakes State Park staff invites you to participate in the unique challenge and join the Hoosiers and visitors who earned the right to say, “I paddled the Chain!”

Hundreds of visitors travel to Chain O’Lakes State Park at Albion each year to embark on the popular 9 Lake Challenge to earn their sticker and the chance to proudly say “I paddled the chain!” The paddling adventure will take you five miles across the park’s scenic waterways through forested channels and nine connected kettle lakes. Few ways of enjoying the natural beauty of the landscape rival the unique vantage point of your boat. Along the 9 Lake Challenge route there are nine photos you need to be on the lookout for to show you completed the quest. The challenge does not need to be completed in a single day (or even a single visit). Just be sure to hang on to your completion pictures. Here are some different ways you can complete it:

- Finishing in a single trip

The most popular way to complete the 9 Lake Challenge is in a single trip. You can launch your boat from the new EZ-dock kayak launch at Long Lake and paddle the chain end-to-end. If you choose the route, keep in mind the park does not shuttle boats and you will either need to hike, paddle, bike, or drive back to the start once you complete the challenge. Some visitors will leave a vehicle or a bike at the end of the paddle route, Miller Lake, and take the road back to the start point, Long Lake, to pick up a vehicle and retrieve the boats. Others will double back on the water and paddle back to Long Lake, a total paddling trip of 10 miles.

- Finishing in two trips

Another popular way to complete the 9 Lake Challenge (especially for visitors renting boats from the park) is in two trips, both starting at Sand Lake. Sand Lake is the center of the challenge as well as the location of the park’s boat rental facility. With ample parking available at the top of the hill, the location is excellent for beginning any paddle adventure out on the Chain. Paddling from Sand Lake to Miller Lake one day and paddling from Sand Lake to Long Lake on the second day will break up the 9 Lake Challenge into two 2.5-mile trips, or 5 if you choose to paddle back to Sand Lake. Remember you can shuttle the park’s rental boats yourself as long as you stay within the park and return them to the boat rental facility on Sand Lake.

- Multiple trips (least amount of time per paddle outing)

Do you only have time for short outings in your paddle craft? There are several boat launches which can be used to access different parts of the nine connected lakes. Boat launches are shown on the Paddle Trail Map and are at Norman, Miller, Sand, Dock and Long Lakes. Below is one of several ways to complete the 9 Lake Challenge in four trips.

1. Trip 1: Launch at Long Lake and paddle to Dock Lake

2. Trip 2: Launch at Sand and paddle to Bowen

3. Trip 3: Launch at Sand and paddle to Weber

4. Trip 4: Launch at Miller and paddle to Mud

Whether you complete the 9 Lake Challenge in one trip or 10, the park looks forward to helping you make memories naturally at Chain O’Lakes. Rent a boat or bring your own so you can complete the challenge and enjoy the scenic beauty.

Indiana Paddlecraft Wildlife Index

If you’re a paddler and enjoy wildlife watching, participating in the Indiana Paddlecraft Wildlife Index might be the volunteer opportunity for you. Paddlers of any experience level may participate in the Indiana Paddlecraft Wildlife Index until July 31 of this year.

The Paddlecraft Wildlife Index compiles wildlife observations from people who use canoes, kayaks, or other non-motorized paddlecraft on Indiana’s waterways.

The index helps the Indiana DNR gather more information about wildlife spending time in and around Hoosier waterways. The DNR has selected some key wildlife species either challenging to study or are lacking Indiana-specific information.

The information collected by participants is used to estimate changes in wildlife populations over time and with paddlers’ help, the DNR may also gain insight into new locations where the particular wildlife species live.

The survey is a fantastic citizen science opportunity for Hoosiers to help conserve and protect our beautiful state’s wildlife.

Chain O’Lakes State Park is a wonderful place to complete the Paddlecraft Wildlife Index. Volunteer paddlers can help by completing a paddling trip postcard with the wildlife they observed while floating.

The postage-paid cards will be mailed to you when you sign up at: on.IN.gov/paddlecraftindex.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.