Kayaks Ahoy!

Skip the disappointing movie threequels, and take the kids on a real summer adventure...

I love a day on the river or at the lake, but, honestly, they’re getting a little too crowded for my taste. In an effort to get away from the public beaches that line every accessible inch of sand, my family and I decided to take a more nomadic approach and spend a hot afternoon kayaking on the cool waters of the American River Parkway. Though I do love having misadventures with my family, I figured we should probably get some professional guidance to ease us into the kayaking world. So, with the help of John Weed at Current Adventures, we went from beach bums to kayak enthusiasts in the space of four short hours.

After a brief primer on fundamentals, including proper paddle control, steering, and helpful hints on how to not end up in the water, we launched out into the American River at Grist Mill Park. My four-year-old son and I powered “the boy boat” while my wife and fourteen-year-old daughter glided solo in kayaks of their own.

As we took our first strokes, kayaks slicing through the water, I realized that this is the penultimate man-powered water craft, the ultimate, of course, being that sea trike in the SkyMall catalogue. Whereas rafts and canoes take a concerted effort to propel, the kayak is a one man show. It’s incredibly speedy and maneuverable. You can go from a dead stop to top speed in a handful of strokes, and even the longer seafaring kayaks are surprisingly fast, even offensively fast to those poor sunburned fools in the rafts we kept passing.

As we figured out how to maneuver our kayaks, I was struck by how similar the learning curves were for grown-ups and kids. Unlike ski trips I’ve been on, where the adults have to choose between being with the kids on the bunny slopes all day or actually skiing, kayaking—it turns out—is truly family-friendly. Here we were, a preschooler, a teenager and two full-grown river lovers, really sharing the same experience. It was one of those great moments where the whole family was on a level playing field and we could enjoy the activity as peers. This is not to say we were all proficient kayakers, but the number of times we accidentally rammed into one another (my son’s favorite part) or got stuck in the shallows was evenly distributed.

Once we’d sort-of-mastered the kayaks, we started some serious exploration along the river. On our trip from Grist Mill to the Howe Avenue River Parkway Access, a little under six miles by paddle, we found all manner of shallow pond areas off the main river that were rife with critters. With the kayak’s ability to run shallow and silent, we were able to get up close and personal with many animals we’d never seen before in real life. This was another moment when having a guide was key. John was able to point out the wildlife highlights. He showed us where to find river mammals and even taught us how to tell river turtles from their store-bought cousins, who occasionally find their way out of their tanks. We also discovered that the American River Parkway is bird nerd heaven!

Within just a few hours, we saw a female Common Merganser, a Mute Swan, a Female Wood Duck with her four ducklings, a million Canadian Geese, and about 3,000,000 swallows, plus lots of other birds we’d need a bona fide birder to identify.

As we paddled toward the sunset, and the end of our journey, we came up to the Howe Avenue Bridge. We couldn’t believe that the people driving across it could be so oblivious to the beautiful scenery below them. They had no idea what wonderful secrets the river was revealing at dusk—the very same secrets we were unaware of when we drove across that bridge just hours before. I have to thank our dependable good time guide, John, and Current Adventures for introducing us to a whole new side of the American River and for giving us a truly memorable day.

Tips for Your Trip:

Bring Your Camera!
Trust me, so long as you’re not a complete butterfingers, and your world won’t end if it falls into the drink, you’ll find plenty of Kodak moments on a kayaking trip. I forgot mine, so I don’t have a photo of my son resting with his little feet up on the edge of our kayak. Still, I’ll enjoy that mental snapshot for years to come.

Get Some Guidance
Current Adventures offers any kind of kayak trip you can think of, from sunset and full moon paddles to sea kayaking and weekend trips. They also offer classes for kids and family outings. Find expert advice and local kayaking events at currentadventures.com.

Jason Adair is a writer and freshwater fish. He is currently working smarter not harder in Auburn, CA.