At the end of July, we embarked on an afternoon of canoeing. For this trip, we met up with friends to explore the 2+ miles of canals running right through Eugene.
A huge thank you to Ryan of Northwest Canoe Tour who rents boats each weekend through Labor Day at Alton Baker Park. For $10 an hour, we were outfitted with a great canoe, paddles, lifejackets, and a map of the area.
Our total canoe trip was two hours long. The canals we traveled were lined with trees and (in some areas) seemed miles from civilization. However, we also floated around a bend to find a grand view of the U of O Coliseum.
Along the route there were two points where we needed to pull our boat from the canal - carry it less than 50 yards – and then re-enter the water. At first, I wondered if this would dampen the fun, but for our family it turned out to be part of the adventure. These ports made space for kids to change boats or seats, take a snack break, or walk along the shore and explore.
The turn-around point for our trip was a large pond. Several tree stumps sat in the middle of the water and we maneuvered close enough for everyone to lean over and touch the driftwood. Both boats achieved this feat without bumping into each other or losing anyone overboard – Hooray!
The current helped the return trip speed by and, once back to the dock, there were three cheers for our location: just 5 minutes from a frozen yogurt shop. That’s just one more highlight of urban canoeing!
The current helped the return trip speed by and, once back to the dock, there were three cheers for our location: just 5 minutes from a frozen yogurt shop. That’s just one more highlight of urban canoeing!