Alan J.

Bartels (all)
CALAMUS RIVER FACTS
The word Calamus, pronounced CAL-
uh-muss, refers to a native plant and is
an Indian word meaning food of the
muskrat.Most land adjacent to the river
is privately owned. Floaters may portage
around obstacles, but camping, hiking
and other activities are allowed by on
private land by permission only. Calamus
River outftters can be found at www.
VisitBurwell.org/outftters.html.
THE CALAMUS RIVER, North and Mid-
dle Loup rivers, and the Cedar River are
great places to foat a kayak, canoe or
inner tube. Lack of rapids, slow currents
and typically shallow depths make water
sports here easy, fun, safe and enjoyable,
even for beginners.
Te newest thing in river fun is tanking.
A Sandhills thunderstorm probably frst
launched a livestock tank into a river and
gave some adventurer cause to climb in.
Livestock tanks are stable, safe craf. Tanks
spin slowly downstream at the will of the
stream. A long pole is good for pushing
away from the bank, but other than occa-
sionally pulling your tank to deeper water,
little exertion is necessary, so sit back and
relax. A six- or eight-foot tank has plenty
of room for up to six friends and coolers
of food and drink.
Te North Loup Canoe Trail begins at
Burwells City Park and runs 18.5 miles
to Anderson Island just south of the
Highway 70 bridge at Ord. Between these
points, the only other access is at a county
bridge near Elyria.
Water levels are highest in spring and
fall, which makes for easy canoeing.
From mid-June through August, water is
diverted for irrigation, and water levels
sink. Kayaks and inner tubes work well in
these conditions.
Te Middle Loup River fows past
Arcadia and is another enjoyable foat.
Te Calamus River Trail begins in
Brown County, above where Highway 7
WWW.ViSitLOuPVALLEy.COM 11
Escape 2014.indd 11 6/17/2014 3:26:30 PM