Hi All - Just popped onto the forum here for the first time in a while. Hope to catch up with everyone on Saturday, but plans are a bit up in the air at this point.
A couple of tidbits on running down the lake to Wabasha, if anyone is interested.
- Lake Pepin can be a bit of a bear sometimes, depending on the wind. Plan accordingly. If the wind is from the North, the North side of Pepin will be fairly calm and you'll have an easy run down the lake. Coming back up will be a different story.
- Places of interest on the South side of the Lake and down river a little:
- The Pickle Factory in Pepin, WI
http://www.pepinpicklefactory.com/ -- This is on the Wisconsin side of the Lake, towards the South end. This is a bar/restaurant with a dock on the south side of the sailboat marina. An easy way to find the place is to look for the sailboat marina. You can see that from quite a ways away. Shoot for that, then head to the south side of that and you will see the dock for the Pickle Factory. Has outdoor seating.
- Slippery's in Wabasha.
http://www.slipperysumr.com/ Yes, this is the Slippery's from Grumpy Old Men... sort of. It's right on the channel of the river, in the no wake zone. A tip on docking here... there's usually a fairly decent current at this point in the river. If coming from the North, it's usually better to pass the docks, then turn around and approach the docks while motoring against the current. Also has outdoor seating.
- The National Eagle Center in Wabasha. http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/ Also in the no wake zone at Wabasha. The docks here are just past the Wabasha bridge, on the south side. This place is brand new and pretty neat to take in. A heads up -- There is an admission fee to this.
- Also in the channel on the south side of the lake, there are many sandy banks and dunes to pull up to. Good for hanging out and letting the kids play in the sand. For those not familiar with river boating, be aware of wing damns beneath the water surface. These are large rock piles which are built in a straight line, perpindicular to the channel. They keep the flow of water going through the channel. These wing damns can take out a prop or lower unit in a hurry. Never boat outside the channel, unless you are familiar with the water. If you are going to head to the shoreline from the channel, do so in a perpindicular line from the channel. This will greatly reduce your odds of hitting a wing damn.
If I think of anything else, I'll add it later.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
