Paddle In The Park

I was out at the Paddle in The Park event at The Hollows in Cary, Il. The event is hosted by the Mchenry County Conservation District. The Hollows is the home to Lake Atwood. I love this hidden lake and was very excited to be a part of the event. The hard thing was standing in the booth all day and staring out at the smooth water.

There were a bunch of vendors and clubs out at the event. The cool thing about it was that there were kayaks and canoes for the public to try out and handle. It was a great venue to test all the types of boats that are out there.

There were trailers of boats at the park. There was also a Voyager canoe and if you haven't seen one of them in person, they are a sight!

2k Adventure Gear out of Richmond, IL had a fleet of kayaks lined up for paddling. They had a great spot to launch right in the cove of Atwood. It was a picturesque set up.

Flatwater Canoe and Kayak rentals also had a few kayaks out on the shore. I talked with the owner for a little while and heard his story from bad ass biker bar owner to kayak rental owner. It sounded like quite the change!

BK Boat n Sleds had their canoe carts and GoPro on display. They also carry a decent sit on top for teens and small adults.

Kayak Chicago had some paddle boards out for folks to try. I had not seen them in person before so it was cool to see how stable they were. I thought that it was going to be more difficult to paddle while standing on a surfboard, but it didn't look that bad.

After a great organic lunch from Duke Alehouse and Kitchen and packing up the booth, I was able to play! I have never been so happy to hit the water. It was like being a kid standing outside an ice cream shop all day and the owner comes out with a free cone.

No wind, no rain, and temps in the 60's. It was a great day for a paddling event AND an even better day for a paddle.