This paddling trip starts on the large 4200-acre Springfield Lake and travels south down Sugar Creek. This narrow corridor of water provides lots of natural scenery and opportunity to view wildlife in a suburban area. There are public boat launches located around the lake but the lake does require personal watercraft to be registered with the State of Illinois and the City of Springfield to launch. There are also canoe and kayak rentals available at the lake marina. There are restricted areas on the lake that are marked by buoys so pay attention and do not enter these areas.