Enjoy a weekend spent at my home on 40 acres of hardwoods along the beautiful Betsie River. You’ll be treated to a series of skills workshops on Lower Herring lake followed by a Sunday trip on Lake Michigan to practice your new skills. We will introduce you to all the basic strokes, safety skills, group rescues and even some surf technique.
Two comfortable nights lodging, several fine meals and equipment are all provided. You’ll be able to swap stories over a glass of wine next to the fireplace or have a walk through the woods to the river when you are not out on the water.
Note: Although we spend a little time on basic strokes instruction on this weekend, you may want to look to our Sleeping Bear Sampler weekend if you are seeking a more instructional experience. Or add an extra day to this weekend!
Kayaking is one way to interact with water. There are a lot of different disciplines…whitewater, simple small lake and river recreational kayaking, sea kayaking, surf kayaking, olympic slalom, Greenland style traditional; hard to know what direction to go you have a better idea of what kind of kayaking you develop an interest in. You yourself probably won’t know until you get some time on the water. It’s a llfesport that can evolve as you do. We urge you not to invest too much in any sort of kayaking gear until you get some instructional time and you have a better sense of what style of paddling and venue you have available to you. You’ll make better purchase decisions. In addition to the beautiful scenery, this program will introduce all styles and the commonalities between them, but we do use primarily touring/sea kayaks in our programs.
Itinerary
Day 1
Friday evening arrival between 7-9 pm (after dinner on your own). Get acquainted and settled. Orientation for the rest of the weekend.
Day 2
Saturday morning basics skills workshop followed by lunch on the lake. Afternoon beyond basics and rescue skills. Farmer John/Jane wetsuits recommended. Dinner provided at home base.
Day 3
After a fine Sunday brunch, we’ll gear up for a 3 hour day trip on Lake Michigan (weather permitting) to hone your techniques and enjoy a little open water practice. We’ll turn you loose for home or other adventures at about 2 pm.
Dates for 2023
*May 26 – 29
*June 16 – 19 (For this date we have availability for a single female willing to share a room and we have a couple of camping sites. Contact us if you want to find your own accommodation.)
*June 30 – July 3 (For this date ONLY CAMPING sites are available. Contact us if you want to find your own accommodation.)
What’s Included
Cost includes professional guide/instructor, rustic river home accommodations, kayaking equipment (boat, paddle, PFD, skirt) and some very fine meals. Please call if you have special diet requirements. You are more than welcome to bring your own touring kayak if you have one and we’ll be happy to help you learn to get the most out of it.
Trip Gallery
Registration
[contentblock id=aca-reg]