Whitewater Kayaking: River Fun For Everyone

When people think of whitewater kayaking they think of waterfalls and crazy death defying rivers.  But for us, kayaking is one of the most fun sports that we have ever done! Yeah, we run waterfalls and paddle crazy rivers and even compete at high levels of the sport, but in the end it’s really about having fun.

We’ve done a lot of different sports from gymnastics to football to hockey and soccer, but kayaking is one of our favorites, in fact, it’s tied for first with snowboarding.

Kayaking is something our family can do together and we all have fun together, regardless of skill level.  My youngest siblings are often on the river with us, and it’s such a great bonding experience.  We really believe that a family that kayaks together stays together!  I mean, how can you not when it’s just so fun?

Kayaking also allows us to travel the continent and see all the beautiful places our country has to offer. The mountains, the valleys, the history and the people are so vastly different coast to coast, we feel very blessed to meet the people and see the things we do. Paddling is a great segueway into the communities that we visit.

Even competition is super fun. We don’t train all year long like other competitors, we don’t cross train, we don’t even really take it very seriously, we just have a blast and get better just because it’s something we want to do.

We are a very competitive family and will compete against each other in just about everything and, of course, kayaking is not different.

One of our favorite games on the river is called, King of the Wave!

If you have ever played king of the hill, you know how to play.

Everyone has to first get on the wave, which in some spots is very hard. Once you have all the “players” on the wave, you have to try to knock everyone else off, while staying on the wave yourself! Last person on the wave wins that round!

We love this game! Sometimes there will be carnage, which Dally loves so it will usually be him.

On most of the waves, whoever has been successful at staying on, we add tricks, like Loops and Helixes, or whatever we feel like throwing. This, of course, makes it much more difficult!

There is no limit to creativity on the river. We keep making up new games while running rivers or surfing or even just goofing off on flatwater. There’s never a time when we aren’t sharing smiles and laughs on the river!

If you have ever even thought of learning how to kayak, come see us on a river near you, we have plenty of gear and would love to paddle with you, regardless of whether you’re brand new to the sport or an expert!! Don’t be shy!!

Hope to catch you on the river!

-Kady