The temperatures have dropped and frost is eminent, yet you still have the urge to kayak and canoe. What’s a person to do when their floating buddies have disappeared along with the warm weather? Are they simply fair weather friends?
Don’t despair. While the majority of kayakers and canoers consider floating to be a warm weather hobby only, there are diehards who paddle year round. As long as there is flowing water, there are paddlers to be found. But, where?
A great source for finding someone to paddle with when it gets frosty are the Meetup sites. It’s simple enough to google Meetup with the name of your city. Once there, click on the search bar. Type in keywords such as kayaking or canoeing to find groups of people with similar interests. If nothing pops up, why not start your own group? You can’t be the only one interested in winter kayaking and canoeing. Perhaps, a group is waiting for you, their leader, to appear!
In fact, we have a meetup group. If you live in Missouri, you should definitely join, as we post various canoeing trips and special offers throughout the year (mostly in summer, of course).
A second source for finding a winter time (or any time) paddling group is with Yahoo! Groups. Visit and type in a few keywords such as kayaking or canoeing and your city in the search section. Voila! A group of your new best friends will appear.
Another source is the Canoe & Kayak Magazine. This particular magazine includes a state by state listing for Paddling Clubs. In addition, information on canoeing, sea kayaking, whitewater, and paddle fishing is available. Canoe & Kayak also provides valuable links to paddling schools, outfitters, and events.
One last place to look for kayak and canoe enthusiasts is Facebook. More than 1,000 pages named kayaking are listed. Even if you can’t find a page for a group close to you, you’ll find other enthusiasts who might be up for a winter trip or know someone who is.
Most of the groups, no matter where or how you find them, will have links to more kayaking, canoeing, and floating websites which will in turn lead to even more links and more friends.
Cooler temperatures and frosty days do not put an end to floating. Instead, they bring out a different breed of river person. When everyone else is trying to stay warm by hunkering close to the fire, this breed stays warm by paddling. This breed accepts the challenge of a winter kayak trip, and thrives upon it. If this sounds appealing to you, then maybe you’re one of those rare few—a breed apart from others—the year round paddler. And while you may be rare, you are not alone.
Two other places to look are 1 paddling.com, and finally American Canoe Association website looking for Paddle America Club. Such clubs follow the best practices that are set by American Canoe Association.