Overlooked but not underwhelming: Crab Orchard spillway

We have lived five minutes from the Crab Orchard Lake spillway for nearly six years.  We have never visited the spillway itself.  I have spent time in the woods right next to it and we have walked part of the levee with Lucy, but we never made it down to the spillway.  I wasn't even sure if you could get to a viewpoint because it looks fenced off from the road.

Last week, we had a really nice afternoon and Laura was out fishing.  It was about time to feed Lucy, so I warmed up a bottle, clothed her in clashing layers, and drove us down to the waterway.  We took the little footpath around the fence to the levee and sat on the concrete wall during the sunset.  I hadn't brought my camera gear but knew that I wanted to go back soon.


A few days later, Laura and Micah were looking for a spot for an easy walk with the stroller so I suggested walking the levee to the spillway.  Laura dropped me off at the creek so that I could have a head start shooting photos while they walked from the other end of the levee.

There are signs saying that going down on the rocks is prohibited, so I was restricted to using my telephoto lens to find scenes from the wall.  I really enjoyed the spot, with its many braided flows downstream of the very rigid, artificial spillway structure.

Access is easy, merely a couple hundred yards from the fenced access or just over half a mile from the parking at the top of the levee to the north.  The top of the levee is grass and gravel, so no issue for a jogging-type stroller or those who aren't able to do difficult hikes.  The walk along the levee puts bottomland forest on one side (across the road) and the lake with ducks, herons, pelicans, and more on the other side.  We will certainly take some more walks there and I hope to go back to take some pictures in the winter when it gets icy.


















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