Plenty of canoes and kayaks are available for use at the Creve Coeur Lake Rentals.
By Don Corrigan
Popular venues for major outdoor activities in the St. Louis area include Forest Park, the Gateway Arch grounds and Jefferson Barracks. But Cheryl Beckmann wants you to know you’re missing out if you don’t include Creve Coeur Lake.
Beckmann touts the miles of hiking and biking trails, plus a recreational lake for kayaking, canoeing and boating. There’s also a sandy beach for sunning, sand castle building or casting to catch the big one.
Of course, Beckmann readily admits she has a vested interest in promoting fun times at the 2,125-acre park that includes a 320-acre lake. She and her husband, Rick, have operated Creve Coeur Lake Rentals for the past 13 years.
A staff member at Creve Coeur Lake Rentals prepares a kayaker for a trip on the lake located east of the Missouri River.
If you need a mobile surrey for the loop trail, or a single or tandem kayak, canoe or paddle board for the lake, the Beckmanns have you covered with rentals on the shoreline just northwest of the park’s famous waterfall.
“We were out on the lake 15 years ago in our canoes, and some people on the shore asked if they could rent them from us,” said Cheryl Beckmann. “So I said to myself, that sounds like a great idea. We should start a rental business.
That’s exactly what they did.
“We started with five canoes and two quad bikes, and it just took off from there,” she explained.
Lots Of Activity
Creve Coeur Lake Rentals shares the lake with groups like the local sailing club and the sculling club.
There’s lots to see on Creve Coeur Lake. The St. Louis Rowing Club has practices in their long shells, as do several universities that use the rowing facilities and lake. The rowing club started on the Mississippi River in 1875 and came to Creve Coeur in 1983.
The Creve Coeur Sailing Association has first-class sailors, a number of them refugees from sailing at Carlyle Lake in Illinois and the Valley Sailing Association on the Mississippi River. These sailors know how to catch the wind and race their craft.
Then there are the anglers. Folks who are into fishing know that this lake can provide a good catch — the heron and the kingfishers provide all the evidence needed. It’s also not uncommon to see a bamboo pole hook a catfish, carp or bluegill.
“Of course, we’ve become famous for our carp,” said Beckmann. “We’ve had carp roundups for years, and tens of thousands of carp have been taken out to make room for other fish. “
She added that the carp have provided lots of good stories.
“They jump into the boats,” Beckmann said. “There was a mother who swore her son hit her in the back of the head with a paddle. We had to back up her son who said the guilty party was a flying carp.”
Great View And Fall Colors
The rental headquarters at Creve Coeur Lake is located at the southeast end of the lake just below the bluffs that include a small waterfall.
It’s great to catch a sunrise on the water over the woodsy bluffs that overlook the east side of the lake. On the west side are the soccer fields that seem to be busy every month of the year now.
“A lot of people get in the boats and head for the canal on the southwest part of the lake,” said Beckmann. “There are a lot of turtles there and waterfowl. It’s also pretty shady to keep out of the hot sun at mid-day.
“Some people like to paddle across the lake and hug the shoreline on the soccer fields side of the lake,” she added. “That’s where you really can feel you are on a big body of water.”
Creve Coeur Lake may be at its most beautiful in the fall. That’s when the wooded bluffs explode with color. That’s also when the lake becomes a rest stop for migrating birds heading south.
“I love this place,” said Beckmann. “If I am not out paddling or rowing myself, I am just hanging out near the lake, splashing around.”
For more information on Creve Coeur Lake Rentals, visit crevecoeurlakerentals.net or call 314-330-4692.
Environmental Echo 