Motor Mill to Garber Description
The remote 12.4 mile stretch from Motor Mill to Garber may provide the best scenery of the Turkey River Water Trail. Your river retreat begins at the access just downriver from Motor Mill (#32), which can only be accessed by road from the north. Motor Mill operated from 1869 until 1883 when a large flood severely damaged the dam. After paddling past a farm, a veteran group of red cedars stand guard on a narrow limestone bluff. The timbered ridges on both sides of the river rise high and close together giving this stretch a remote canyon feel. On this section of the river you will float past numerous scenic 150-foot vistas, abundant wildlife, and 100 year old native white pines growing from limestone rocks. Three miles beyond Motor Mill, Pine Creek enters on the river-left; paddle in a short way to view a spectacular rock bluff topped with native white pines. Seven miles downriver from Pine Creek, the Volga River enters the Turkey. After going under the Elkport-Garber bridge, you curve left and the takeout is just past the next bridge on the river-left (#20). This section of the river has a gradient of 3.4 feet per mile.
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