Little Miami River Ohio Kayak Camping Adventure and Thru-Paddle, Ep. 1

Overnight kayak camping on the Little Miami River part 1. I begin at John Bryan State Park and take out at Glen Thompson Reserve, aka Jacob's Landing, aka Eagle Pass Canoe Launch at US Rt. 35.
Part 2 Little Miami Thru-Paddle: • Kayak Camping and Thru...
Part 3 Little Miami Thru-Paddle: • FLASH FLOOD on the Lit...
Other kayak camping videos mentioned in this video:
The Ausable River:
• Kayak Camping Adventur...
The Mad River
• Solo Kayaking Adventur...
• Kayaking and Camping o...
The Big Manistee River:
• The Big Manistee River...
• Solo Backpacking and K...
The Pine River:
• Pine River Kayaking Ad...
The Scioto River:
• Kayak Camping Adventur...
The Big Darby/Three Mile Creek:
• Stranded! Kayaking Ad...
0:00-2:25 Arrival to John Bryan SP
2:25-6:50 Getting on the water
6:50-8:35 New camera
8:35-12:45 Enjoying the river and looking for camp
12:45-14:46 Setting up camp and starting a fire for dinner
14:46-19:28 Cooking over the fire and ending day 1
19:28-22:57 Start of day 2, cooking and eating breakfast
22:57-25:43 Leaving camp and back on the water
25:43-27:16 Current depth and discharge rates
27:16-30:54 More discussion about the river
30:54-32:18 Huge log jam to portage around
32-18-38:32 More looks at the river and talks of a thru-paddle
38:32-40:12 Other rivers I've kayaked and others I would like to do
40:12-41:14 How I get through shallow water without getting out of kayak
41:14-44:28 Final few miles and take out at Glen Thompson State Reserve

[@Robindigsit]

I grew up in that house that is built ON the river! Looks nothing like it does now. Great childhood and wonderful memories on The Little Miami!

[@jasonwish-]

Thats really cool that you saw that on my video! I can imagine how fun it would be having a river as your backyard!

[@thomasc7332]

Needs a slide coming off the back deck into the water!

[@cakeandchaos]

I love the hearty meals! My fiancé gave me so much crap when I picked fresh food for our kayak trip. However he wasn’t complaining when I served him a fresh ribeye, so now he doesn’t complain anymore. 😂😅👌🏻🙄

[@jasonwish-]

That's the great thing about kayak camping vs backpacking...you can pack a lot more weight in good food!

[@joelcarminati7822]

Another good float Jason. Thanks for sharing

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Joel! That was a fun float last year…getting back on the water for another one today!

[@throatpunch4789]

WOW! This guy is great👍 Pretty cool guy going on awesome adventures, i like it. Im also very appreciative of the camera setups like how he takes us around the fallen trees, it really brings us along for the adventure.

[@keithponchillia421]

I would suggest the Great Miami river from Port Jefferson all the way to Tipp City and the Stillwater river.

[@jasonwish-]

I just recently learned about the Stillwater so it's on my list. Don't really have a desire to do the GMR, too slow and murky for my liking.

[@backpackingadventures4813]

Great trip! I had the g7x mark III. Loved it except for the focus problem. I did get the Sony zv1 in 2020 and have been using ever since (sometimes my cell phone. Lol). That was a nice little hang spot. Dinner looked really good. Doesn’t that always happen? You camp at a spot and then when you leave the next day you always find a much better spot right down the trail. Lol

[@jasonwish-]

I had no idea you used the sony zv1, I thought you used a dslr. So you really like the sony? Maybe i should get one cause your footage always looks really good. I'm hitting the next section of river sat and sun, can't wait!

[@backpackingadventures4813]

@@jasonwish- yep. Love the Sony. I’m with you on the dslr’s. Just too big and heavy. Point and shoots work great for me. The Sony zv1 is supposed to be a vlogging camera so it’s easy to use. This year I actually used my phone for my trip videos for about 90% of my trips. Just trying to go lighter. It was about 1 1/2 pounds lighter but I’m back to the Sony because of better quality.

[@cheezy-rider]

I wish I was a little more adventuresome like you. Sometimes you just need to get out and do it and not worry about the unknown as much as I do. I bike the little miami trail all the time and have wondered while I've ridden over it if a person could kayak the northern section and now I know. I'll be planning this trip for this year. I know it's a little far south for you but you might want to consider paddling the Paint Creek between Cincinnati and Chillicothe Ohio. I would suggest the Rocky Fork Creek Seven Caves area as it is IMO the second prettiest area in Ohio next to Hocking Hills. The only problem with it is you have to catch it at just the right flow. Too much and it's dangerous and too little and it's impassable. You can no longer enter any of the Seven Caves but they have opened a nature preserve there and it is still a beautiful hike around the creek. Both creeks are in close proximity to each other so a paddle on Paint Creek and a hike at Rocky Fork might be a good option. There are also a lot of Indian areas like the Great Serpent Mound and the Hopewell Culture Mounds within an hours drive also if you enjoy that type of thing. I have just came across your channel and appreciate you sharing. P.S. This area is exceptionally beautiful in the fall as there is a lot of forest and hills.

[@jasonwish-]

Yep I’ve been to most of those places you mentioned except for Rocky Fork. Hopefully you can make it out onto the Little Miami River this year, thanks!

[@trailwalker19]

that was awesome! and you did have the best spot to camp.. thanks Jason

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks, it probably only worked out well because the water level was down.

[@clearlyepic9958]

This channel is one of my new favs!

[@jasonwish-]

Hey thanks so much, glad you enjoy my videos!

[@smilewalker7998]

Beautiful and relaxing kayaking tour. Big like for you adventure.

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks! Just finished segment two of this river hope to have the video out this week or next.

[@dennybeehler741]

Another great video!

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Denny, hope to be back out there for part two very soon.

[@JoshEbersole]

Man you know how to kayak right. All your trips look awesome.

[@jasonwish-]

One of these days we’ll get you on a kayak to join me! I thought about doing a little section of the Blanchard River which wouldn’t be too far away for you.

[@rickfromvirginia]

Another perfect summertime video! Great tips on how to move through shallow water! Your videos of this trip are spot on and makes the viewer seem as if they are on it with you. And it's always cool to see you cook some of your farm grown food! As always thanks for sharing and I look forward to the next one! Rick From Virginia

[@jasonwish-]

Glad you enjoyed it Rick! I had so much fun taking my time and doing much more filming than I normally do...I wanted the viewers to see what it was like portaging around blow downs and such. The only bad thing about too much footage is that it makes for a long video sometimes 😁😁

[@fredzehring3223]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but the area to river left just after the SR235 bridge is where a Shawnee village resided and is the believed birthplace of Tecumseh, Great Shawnee chief. Nice video. I live near Spring Valley and about 1.5 miles from the river. I enjoy kayaking and fishing it. There is a nice variety of fish in the river.

[@jasonwish-]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

[@justinellingson4908]

I'm only a few minutes in and I have to say you did an exceptional job videotaping enjoying the different angles

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Justin! It's certainly takes more work and effort but so worth it to have the footage later, plus I enjoy the filming process, it's my way to be creative.

[@gam3rkid954]

I’d pass on the Current, nice float but just down the road is, Eleven Point River, absolutely stunning. TY for letting us float along.

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks for the heads up...I would hate to drive all the way out there to be dissipointed.

[@natecoleman2334]

Love the little miami, and the castle.

[@jasonwish-]

Looking forward to seeing the castle, probably won't quite get that far this weekend.

[@natecoleman2334]

@@jasonwish- be safe man, I put in some miles hiking today! Lovely day out.

[@jasonwish-]

@@natecoleman2334 it was a hot muggy day here...got in a 12 mile hike and it was miserable.

[@natecoleman2334]

@@jasonwish- helping me shed some lbs!

[@Rebel_1]

Great video and I appreciate posting this section of the river. Not many people do and it's part of the river I have not done yet. I especially like that you are giving flow rate and guage heights while on the water. It really helps give perspective to the data. I manly watch the Milford gauge and have been out on the river when its 7' and flowing at 2800cfs. It's fast but not unsafe. I've been from Oregonia to the Ohio river doing various sections at a time. Definitely a lot more people on the lower sections but if you go during the week then its not to bad. Plenty of camping places options as well (Morgan's campground has campsites on the river). One word of caution when camping on sand bars is that this river can come up fast. I've seen it jump from 6' to over 10' overnight on the Milford gauge. Safe paddles!

[@jasonwish-]

I've read conflicting reports about the Clifton Gorge section...some of the maps show a put-in at Clifton but I was under the impression it was not allowed or even floatable, do you know? Thanks for the campground recommendatio! Can't wait to get back on the water this weekend for part 2! I'll be sure to have my camp up away from the water a bit more this time around especially if any rain is in the forcast.

[@dickwood1249]

Awesome

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Dick!

[@thomasashbaugh1157]

Try the Maumee River in northwest Ohio

[@jasonwish-]

I might try it out eventually, but I tend to lean towards smaller, narrower rivers, thanks for the reccomendation!

[@thomasashbaugh1157]

I live in Napoleon and have been kayaking it the last 20 years if you get up this way I could show you around. I also have a video I did last year on our trip from the Indiana state line to Lake Erie. Search Thomas Ashbaugh and you should find it.

[@jasonwish-]

@@thomasashbaugh1157 Ok thanks!

[@thomasc7332]

Cool Video Jason! I know the kayak liveries maintain the Little Miami river further down, but does anybody maintain those blowdowns in the upper sections?

[@jasonwish-]

I don't believe they do, not too many people paddle the upper sections, which is sad because that was the cleanest and quietest sections! Thanks!

[@cheese7fold]

The Big Walnut from Hoover Reservoir to Three Creeks Metro, and parts of the lower Olentangy anywhere between Delaware and the confluence with the Scioto (but especially when it goes past Highbanks Metro) are nice.

[@jasonwish-]

These are all rivers that I have on my list that I’d like to do eventually specially since they’re close to home.

[@DMBman13]

Uh! Those blowdown’s! Went out earlier this year on the Clinton River in Michigan… pulled two blowdowns and ended up with 7 ticks and an atrocious case of poison ivy! Looks like a fun overnighter! Can’t wait to see the rest! 👍🏻

[@jasonwish-]

These blowdowns fortunaltely weren't too bad to navigate since there was a trail around them...no poisen ivy thank goodness. Hope to get back on it this weekend, thanks!

[@fernwogteveril6935]

When you do the next section maybe plan a meal at Little Miami Brewery in Milford, good food and drink. It is right on the river. I used to do a small stretch of the Whitewater.... it was fun we'd rent rafts, no tipping in that haha.

[@jasonwish-]

I will absolutely stop there, thanks for the heads up! After a quick look i'm guessing I won't get that far on part two but for sure on part 3.

[@shawnfecke4322]

I'm just now seeing this. A friend and i shot the Little Miami last August from rt. 35 to the damn just above Corwin. CAUTION, THIS IS A HIGH HAZARD STRETCH. VERY DANGEROUS..MANY LOG JAMS AND BRUSH PILES SOUTH OF RT. 35. Dangerous currents! Eagle Pass launch is marked. experienced kayakers only. Expect to have to portage kayaks and supplies about 300 meters in the first half mile.

[@jasonwish-]

Yes, that river can be extremely dangerous especially during flooding so definitely need to wear your PFD and be experienced.

[@MattNelson2]

Come on over to Eastern Indiana and hit the Whitewater from Connersville to Lawrenceburg. Done it a few times....great times

[@jasonwish-]

That river is on my shortlist. It might happen this year! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@jasonwish-]

How many miles is that section?

[@jasonwish-]

is Connersville the Northern most point to start or can you start further up river?

[@MattNelson2]

We've kayaked from just South of Connersville, downtown Connersville and from Milton. It's 70+ from Milton... there's a couple low head Dams... one between Milton and Connersville and one near Laurel. It's a pretty peaceful trip.... some decent camping spots.

[@MattNelson2]

It actually may be closer to 90 from Milton to LBurg....

[@icepick6270]

Hi Jason do the Youghiheny in Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. Tons of fun.

[@jasonwish-]

I've white water rafted the Yough twice, it is beautiful! And I've been on a nice stretch of the Clarion in PA, nice rivers in PA!

[@KentuckyWoodsman]

Looked like a great trip so far! Looking forward to watching the rest. Where is the Colonel? Take care Jason!

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Chris! I’m so ready to get back on the water! Hopefully the colonel can make another appearance eventually.

[@kellyohara806]

If you're willing to venture into Pennsylvania, the upper Clarion River, north of Clarion, PA, is a beautiful run. It's passable by canoe in the summer and should be easy in your kayak. It's a beautiful forested stretch.

[@jasonwish-]

I absolutely love Pennsylvania rivers and I actually have been on an overnight trip on the Clarion and it was gorgeous, one of my all-time favorites! Some Great campsites on the river banks too.

[@therusticcollectionebaysto7028]

New sub ! Liked 🙏👍✌️😃

[@dalevodden1359]

You need to get some Stanley s.s cookware A fry pan a cook pot like the Stanley cook set for two has two bowls two lids a ladle and a spatula it's good cookware I like it it serves its purpose and you don't have to keep all the contents in it either like in the bowl the bowls and the lids and whatever set it up however you want it's good stuff God bless have a good day

[@jasonwish-]

I bought a non stick pan for episode 3, it worked great!

[@philsorensen2697]

Nice to see another paddler exploring that section of the Little Miami River! I canoe that section of the Little Miami on my river trips, usually starting from Jacoby Launch just outside of John Bryan and ending down at Constitution Park in Spring Valley. You can reserve the meadow campsite at the Narrows Reserve through the Greene County Parks and Trails site for only $5 and it comes with a fire pit and a picnic table. You can carry your boat and gear up from the river to the lower meadow where the campsite is about 100 feet off the river. Did you portage river left for that log jam north of Xenia? I usually portage river right, starting a bit before the log jam and I come back out on a sand bar on the other side of the mess.

[@jasonwish-]

I'll add that campsite to my list of possible stops, always nice to have a picnic table! I did portage left, and it had a great trail to follow, I never saw anything to the right, I musta missed it, but it made for some good footage though, lol. Do you know whether or not you are allowed to paddle through Clifton Gorge section? I was under the impression you can't but maybe I am wrong. Thanks Phil! I'll be back on the water this weekend for part 2!

[@philsorensen2697]

@@jasonwish- I didn't even know you can start at John Bryan. I thought Jacoby was the closest you can start to the John Bryan/Clifton parks. I know for a fact you aren't allowed to paddle clifton.

[@jasonwish-]

@@philsorensen2697 that's what I thought, thanks for confirming.

[@jeffreyt7177]

Great tip, is there only one river portage on this route??

[@philsorensen2697]

@@jeffreyt7177 For the section shown in this video, yes. There was a huge blockage just south of US 35 that was kind of cleaned out last year. I think Jason made mention of it in this video. When the river splits south of US 35, you want to take the left side. The right side is where the humongous log jam used to be. They cleaned a lot of the logs out last year, but the river still flows to the left. They cleaned out the left path and made it passable when they did all the other clearing, but when I went through earlier this summer, blowdowns and other storm detritus had caused a few blockages. I was able to hop out onto the blockages and pull the canoe over some of them, but one I had to get out and carry around, but I hesitate to really call those proper portages.

[@MossHomestead]

I hope you do the Scioto River in Kenton, I have always wanted to do this section, but there isn't much info on it. I work in Kenton and have always pondered it.

[@jasonwish-]

I almost did it last Saturday and Sunday, I was actually packed up and ready to go but then started not feeling very well and was very tired so canceled but I will do it very soon. I will be back on the little Miami this weekend for part two.

[@captxcountry9835]

Love your videos! Is that the natural recording (audio) from the camera or are you using something to enhance the audio quality? Sounds great :)

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks! Yes, that is just the audio from the Cannon G7X Mark3...I do put a little multidirectional mic in the mic input which helps with wind noise quite a bit

[@JourneyontheTrail]

All those blow downs reminded me of the Little Muskingum or Duck Creek here in SE Ohio. Looked like a very fun trip man and some darn good cooking. Kayak camping definitely has its advantages. You set up some really awesome shots in your video…I know that’s a lot of work to make those happen but really make watchers feel like they are there. Racoon Creek would be a good one. You mentioned Hocking and that’s one that I’ve sections of but still never done the whole thing (been from The Plains to the mouth on the Ohio river). Little Muskingum when the water is up is a lot of fun. Like you said so many rivers only so much time. Thanks for sharing!

[@jasonwish-]

You are the second person that has mentioned Racoon Creek, I've never even heard of it. When I'm solo I love taking the time to set up shots but for some reason I don't enjoy getting the drone out and when I get home I kick myself for not flying it more lol. Thanks for watching bud!

[@Smokeybeesnatural]

Did you here Chad, Samuel and I screaming for down here 🤣 Cameras are so tough to choose!

[@jasonwish-]

Not sure what you are trying to say in this comment Nick 😂😂

[@Smokeybeesnatural]

@@jasonwish- 🤣🤣🤣

[@dbharby832]

I’ve been planning to do the Elk River Trail here in WV. You may want to check it out!

[@jasonwish-]

I actually looked into the elk River one time while I was doing some research on rivers in Tennessee and I came across it. It does look very nice!

[@personaltimeoutdoors]

I canoe camped on the Allegheny River last month. Had a great time. I posted a video of the trip if you are interested. It was my very first YT video, so yeah, it's lame. But still shows a little bit of what it looked like. It's only a 3 hour drive for me (Cleveland). Guessing it would be in the 5 hour range for you.

[@jasonwish-]

Sounds like a blast...how were the camping options?

[@personaltimeoutdoors]

@@jasonwish- There are multiple islands on the river that have established campsites on them. I only did a 15 mile stretch and there's an island called Hemlock island that has great sites. Good for either tents or hammocks. That's where we camped. We ran into a scout troop the night before we started and they were going from Kinzua Dam all the way to Oil City. I'm not positive but I think they said that was a 60 plus mile trip. I haven't done the research on that whole thing so I'm not sure where they were camping each night. I went from the town of Tidioute to the Tionesta and there were several camping options there.

[@jasonwish-]

@@personaltimeoutdoors Ok, thanks for the info!

[@daytondigger1]

Hocking River and Raccoon Creek here in Ohio. Powel River in Northern Tennessee.

[@jasonwish-]

Wasn't familiar with Raccoon or the Powel, will check them out, thanks.

[@davidhettinger3582]

Paint creek in Chillicothe

[@jasonwish-]

I’ve boated on the lake and stayed in the campground, but never been on the creek itself, thanks

[@WVWes]

I’ve been wondering when you were gonna get back on a river. Missing your paddle partner though

[@jasonwish-]

It's been a long time coming! I'll be back on the water this weekend for part 2! Solo again.

[@cgriggsiv]

For as GoPros go I have the GoPro hero 8 which is pretty darn good at least for what I need until I break it again due to somewhat extreme mountain biking that are slightly above my level And for cameras I have the Pentax k70 two of them and I have the pen text k10d but my k70 my kit lens is water resistant or in this case weather resistant

[@jasonwish-]

Yeah, my son has an 8 but he said the buttons are so much better on his 10. I'm sure I'll get a nice camera eventually, I just hate big bulky cameras for outdoor activities.

[@patrickhenry8637]

Where are you located? Just moved to Logan County!

[@jasonwish-]

Lookup Wishwell Farms Produce

[@happy-kz8lb]

Hey new kayaker here and i was wondering if i could launch from anywhere i wanted to. I live closer to south lebanon and was wondering if i would get in trouble for launching there and going a couple miles down

[@jasonwish-]

Should be fine...lots of public launching areas on the LMR

[@robertuffman3041]

i'm in Lexington KY and i would love to do this over night.

[@jasonwish-]

I know there is some great kayak camping on the Green River near you.

[@MI_is_Home]

Can you share/explain how you mount your Camera?

[@jasonwish-]

I use the scotty mount attachment that came with my fishing kayak, they are mainly for holding fishing rods but there are also camera mounts that fit in the same attachment. If you search "scotty camera mount" you'll see some similar to what I use, even though I can't seem to find the exact one I use. The camera attaches to the top of it like a standard tripod and I can swivel it in all directions while paddling.

[@cgriggsiv]

My cousin which is out on his kayak he is so burnt after about an hour it wore off and he should have redid two or three more applications no he has work tomorrow and he still hasn't even gotten the redness to go down just yet it's still too tender to even walk and it's from what I'm seeing it was a nice purplish pink red yeah very close to a second degree burn

[@jasonwish-]

Got to be careful out there on hot sunny days for sure!

[@throatpunch4789]

I would give my left nad to sleep out on that balcony right over the water like that at 34:45

[@jasonwish-]

lol

[@davidt.3673]

As a man who still owns dairy cows I can't believe you're not using real butter.

[@jasonwish-]

I’ll pack the ice and the cooler you bring the butter 🤣

[@gklop5830]

Tiffin River or the ST Joseph River Ohio

[@jasonwish-]

I'll check em out, thanks

[@jaxcoop1511]

I can tell you really spend a lot of time with your walking away/paddling away from and towards shots. How do you get your camera back after you are paddling away downstream? Are you turning around and paddling against the current to get back to your camera?

[@jasonwish-]

Yes, I normally try to do it in places where it’s easy to paddle against the current or get out and go get the camera. It’s definitely easier to do it while you’re hiking lol but I want the viewer to feel like they are right there with me experiencing what I am.

[@jaxcoop1511]

Makes for really nice viewing. Always enjoy watching. Thanks

[@jackkat8825]

If you are a ele model than you should a Always wear a life jacket.

[@jasonwish-]

I keep the life jacket strapped right in front of me on the nose of the kayak and always put it on for fast/deep water sections