Paddling the Chain of Lakes in a Canoe

In case you didn’t know, there are about 351 lakes around Alexandria in Douglas County. If that isn’t awesome enough, over a dozen of these lakes around the city are connected in “chains.” If you ask me, that sounds like a paddler’s paradise!

 

The lakes vary greatly in terms of size, depth, accessibility and popularity. The connections between lakes like Darling, Carlos and Le Homme Dieu are very accommodating to most boat sizes. With a few restaurants located right off these lakes, it’s no surprise they are popular for various means of motor boat recreation. On this day, I took a group of visiting friends to a chain of smaller lakes on the west side of Alexandria.

We were excited to canoe this area and check out the fall colors up close and personal. We paddled Lake Brophy, North Union Lake, Lake Stony, Lake Taylor and Lake Cowdry without even having to lift our bottoms off the boat seats! These lakes have great connections for smaller boats that are perfect for canoes and kayaks.

The fall colors are really starting to form some beautiful scenery around the lakes area. Many trees are showing off their beautiful hues of red, gold, yellow and orange. There is still a little ways to go before we reach peak, as there are many trees just now beginning to cash in the green. A good guess would be around 30-50% has changed. This means you still have time to plan your Alexandria Autumn Adventure! Check out our Autumn Guide page for all the information you need for fall fun!