The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
PADDLESPORTS GROW
Local resources available
The growth in popularity in paddlesports shows no sign of slowing down in Ohio, said local and state experts who work in the industry.
Lorain County is no different from other counties experiencing steady increases in the number of people navigating Ohio by canoe, kayak and stand-up paddleboards, or SUPs.
“It’s wildly popular,” said Jim Ziemnik, director of Lorain County Metro Parks.
The park district offers winter paddling instruction at Splash Zone in Oberlin and outdoor paddling programs in the summer.
“Overall, the popularity of watersports continues to go up and up and up,” Ziemnik said. “We think we’re at the low end of the spectrum on this.”
Across Ohio, use of canoes and kayaks took off in the 2000s when gasoline prices spiked to $4 a gallon or more, said Lt. Dawn Cramer of the Division of Parks and Watercraft in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Cramer also is a paddlesport instructor for the agency.
Ohio lakes are popular for boating, but with a boat, gas and
“Overall, the popularity of watersports continues to go up and up and up.”
—Jim Ziemnik, director of Lorain County Metro Parks
supplies, taking a family out for the weekend can be costly, she said.
In 2006, Ohio logged a total of 67,880 canoe and kayak registrations.
By 2015, the most recent year figures were available, that number grew to 162,590, according to the Division of Watercraft’s “Paddlesports Report: A Summary of Revenue and Expenditures 20062015.”
People have discovered stand-up paddleboards, or SUPs.
And people can sit, stand or lie down on the boards, said Cramer, who last year taught three full classes for SUPs at Alum Creek State Park.
The boards operate with minimal equipment and are coming down in price, she said.
A family could buy a board and accessories for each member of the family and still spend less money than outfitting a small motorized jon boat, Cramer said.
For anglers, rigging a kayak for fishing is relatively easy and inexpensive compared to other fishing boats,
she said.
“What’s nice is, you can access some of the honey holes that larger boats just can’t reach,” Cramer said.
In rivers with gentle currents, canoes allow families to float safely with minimal effort and minimal expense, she said.
Canoe liveries on Ohio’s scenic rivers sometimes will send out thousands of people a day, Cramer added.
“As far as the canoe, that will never die,” she said. “It will always be popular.”
Overall, there has been a push for people to be fit and get outside to enjoy the outdoors, Cramer said.
“There’s something to be said for moving the vessel on your own, versus making the motor do it,” she said.
Lorain County has a number of outlets for learning and doing paddlesports.
Local retailers
The Backpackers Shop, 5128 Colorado Ave. in Sheffield Village, sells canoes and kayaks.
In 2016, the store added a test paddling lake and this summer, is offering instruction.
Molnar Outdoor, 9191 Leavitt Road in Amherst Township, has built an addition starting last year to
display Sportspal canoes because the local store has become a dealer for the Michigan-based canoe maker Meyers Boat Co.
“Sportspal is kind of like the Jeep of canoes,” said Ed Molnar, who operates the shop with his brother, David. “We added this boat room on because people kept calling and wanting to see them, wanting to see them.”
Paddle Lorain
Lorain has two kayak rental agents.
Grumpy’s Bait Bucket rents the boats at Black River Wharf, the Lorain Port Authority’s boat launch on 14th Street in Lorain.
The Lorain County Kayak & Paddle Sports Group, known as LoCo ‘Yaks, arranges to rent kayaks in Lorain and leads a weekly Monday night paddle in Lorain harbor or on the Black River, depending on the weather.
LoCo ‘Yaks also rents kayaks on Thursdays and Saturdays at Veterans Memorial Park in Avon Lake.
Vermilion
West River Paddling Co., 655 W. River Road, on the Erie County side of Vermilion, has a fleet of about 50 kayaks, canoes and SUPs to rent.
The company has capped its inventory so as not to overwhelm the Vermilion River.
But if there were more boats to rent, there would be no problem attracting more paddlers, said Vito Cammarata, who started West River Paddlesports in 2009 with Hallie Piwowar.
“Once June hits, July hits, August hits, it’s nonstop,” Cammarata said. “We see it every day. We see how much it’s ballooned.”
The Vermilion Port Authority this year added a handicap-access kayak launch at the South Street Municipal Public Boat Ramp, at South Street and West River Road.
The $40,000 dock was paid for with a grant from Lake Erie Electric, said Bill Yancar, port operations manager.
The launch, dedicated June 3, highlights three important things about Vermilion, said Mayor Jim Forthofer.
“It’s the best of Vermilion in many ways: its inclusiveness, its facing the water and its generosity when it comes to making things happen,” Forthofer said.
He thanked the Port and Lake Erie Electric for their contributions.