SUP on Valentine Lake, MN

Getting to the water:

The only access to this lake is via Bethel University. There is a dock near the auditorium, which I did not discover until I got onto the lake. I put my board in a bit before the dock where there is a little patch of grass. Depending on your preference, both are super accessible to the parking lot and are sandy areas.

The Paddle:

This is by far the most beautiful paddle I have done, and one of the better sunsets that I have seen. As I had the entire lake to myself, it was as smooth as glass. This made for a very easy paddle. The only issue I ran into was on the far end of the lake there is a lot of seaweed that would catch on the rudder of my board. I recommend timing this paddle with the sunset on a not windy day because by the time I made it back around to the southeast end of the lake (where the dock is), the sky was on fire, and since the lake was so smooth, the sunset reflected perfectly onto the water. After taking more pictures than necessary, I layed down on the board in the middle of the lake and watched the sky turn colors.

This lake review is brought to you by Chris (@minnewake), a Brand Ambassador for Paddle North. 

Stand with us:

Have you paddled this lake? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Have your own lake to review? Send an email to peter@paddlenorth.com to get it featured on this site.