Enogerra reservoir has always been a great place to visit. With bush walking tracks around the reservoir and further into D'aguilar National Park, as well as the wonderful South east Queensland wildlife centre as well and the cafe.
In December last year for the first time the reservoir was opened to swimming and kayaking/ canoeing.
Previously if you wanted a quick paddle as there isn't much on this side of town I would head out to Nudgee beach.
The reservoir is reached by heading to the Gap then continuing along waterworks road which then turns into Mt Nebo road and then turning left into the Walkabout creek wildlife centre.
A new car park has been installed but car parking is still quite limited especially on Weekends and public holidays, on Australia Day cars were parking along Mt Nebo Road
The bottom car park is closest to the launch area, it is still a reasonable walk to the lake, so a trolley or a helper to carry the kayak to the lake would be a good idea.
Path To Reservoir
On my first trip I put the kayak on my shoulder and carried it to the lake its doable but a hard slog especially on the way back as it is a slight incline back to the car park.
A area has been cleared and a artificial beach installed there is a swimming area roped off and the kayak launch area is to the right of this.
On a couple of times I have visited due to recent rain the reservoir has been quite high and with a large patch of water lilies to the right it can be hard to distinguish the launch area from the swimming zone.
Launch area after Rain
Once you launch to the right is a small little inlet to explore
To the left you can head out and explore the rest of the reservoir as you paddle the dam wall and spillway is on your left and marked by two yellow buoys this area is obviously restricted for the safety of paddlers.
Turn right and the rest of the reservoir is there to explore there a few little inlets as you follow the shoreline eventually you will make your way to Enogerra creek .
I really enjoyed this section as the creek narrows and you are surrounded by bush as you make your way up the creek. I was pressed for time so only got half way up the creek I look forward to seeing how far I can make it.
With the wind against you the return trip to the launch area can be surprisingly hard going.
It is not a huge area but big enough to the make the paddle interesting with the little inlets and creek to explore.
Lots of water birds and I even had a large turtle surface near my kayak before quickly disappearing.
It is very picturesque with the water lilies on the lake and surrounded by bush, being so close to the city makes it a memorable place to spend the afternoon paddling.
Strava map of paddle on Enogerra Reservoir