ELKTON Work to begin on construction of watercraft access point on creek

By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
ELKTON -- After several weeks of delays as a result of this summer's rainy weather, crews are expected any day to start constructing a new watercraft access point on Little Beaver Creek.
The work will be done by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to improve access to one of the state's most scenic waterways.
It will take about two weeks to complete the task, which originally was to start in May, Jim Tillman, Beaver Creek State Park manager, said Friday.
The cost of the project is about $5,000. The put-in point will be along county Road 419, east of its intersection with state Route 154 in Elkrun Township.
The undertaking will entail constructing a 60-by-60-foot gravel parking lot and a nearly 125-foot-long path leading from the lot to the stream.
A toilet and signs designating the spot as a watercraft put-in point also will be placed at the site.
Little Beaver Creek is popular with canoeists and kayakers. Several hundred people from throughout the region take trips on it annually.
Paddlers can ride the scenic stream all the way to its confluence with the Ohio River in Pennsylvania, just east of East Liverpool.
Such a journey would be about a 12-mile float and would take nearly six hours.
The peak paddling season for Little Beaver is spring and fall when water levels in the rock-strewn stream are higher.
Dangerous conditions
Given the recent rains, the creek is at a dangerously high level right now, and park officials are warning people not to float in it, Tillman said.
The water is flowing swiftly now, and, with so much runoff soaking into the creek from surrounding hillsides, the normally clear water is muddy.
The high, cloudy water conceals obstacles such as rocks, which could easily tip a craft.
Another hazard is the fallen trees and massive limbs choking parts of the creek, Tillman said.
A paddler could be swept into a fallen tree and become trapped or injured.
Tillman said the park is getting a lot of calls from people wondering whether to float Little Beaver right now.
It appears most people are heeding officials' advice not to venture out, he added.
leigh@vindy.com