Finding tranquility while getting your exercise, silent sports provide both. There is a chance to participate in a well-sponsored kayak, canoe, and standup paddleboard event. The Paddle Antrim Festival is set for September 16 and 17, 2016. Do good, feel good. The Paddle Antrim Festival is a charitable event whose top sponsors are Short’s Brewing Company from Bellaire MI, and Pearl’s New Orleans Kitchen from Elk Rapids. The two-day Festival will cover over 40 miles of Michigan’s Chain of Lakes as well as lend itself to many events found in the picturesque lake harbors. The scenery seen from the waterway is beautiful and calming. A few years back, a pair of professional photographers spent a summer cruising these same waterways. Not a race, instead a self-paced, and well-staffed organized paddle adventure. Choose how much you want to participate, either one day, or two. With checkpoints along the way, you can choose to end your paddle anywhere along the route. The fun begins at the Wooden Shoe Park found in Ellsworth, Michigan. Day one participants will travel seven miles through to the first checkpoint in Central Lake, where lunch can be found. Then onward for another eight miles to Bellaire. Total paddle time is expected to be about four to six hours. Day two begins in Bellaire and travels twenty-seven miles to Elk Rapids. There are a total of four checkpoints. Total paddle time is expected to be eight to ten hours. The House on the Hill Bed & Breakfast, located in Ellsworth and on the Chain Of Lakes, is located at the Wooden Shoe Park and the Day 1 Paddle Antrim Festival launch site. Not able to make the dates for this awesome paddle, no worries, many of the House on the Hill guests paddle our lakes at their leisure.
Other slow paddle opportunities:
August 16, 2016 – Meet at 6:30 pm at Richardi Park in Bellaire.
October 1, 2016 – Meet at 2:00 pm at Thurston Park in Central Lake. For more information on the Chain of Lakes, follow the link: http://www.fishweb.com/maps/antrim/chainolakes/ Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_River_Chain_of_Lakes_Watershed
We are right next door to the launch site.