Tag: paddling

Urban Paddling: Kayaking Belle Isle in Detroit

On December 9, 2024

Paddling Belle Isle

Imagine gliding through calm waters, paddle in hand, as the iconic Detroit skyline rises majestically before you. This is the surreal experience awaited at Belle Isle Park, an urban oasis that offers a unique kayaking adventure right in the heart of the Motor City. If you’re craving an escape from the concrete jungle without venturing too far, Belle Isle is calling your name.

Nestled in the Detroit River between Michigan and Ontario, Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park that provides the perfect backdrop for a memorable paddle. The 6.5-mile Blue Heron Lagoon Trail encircles the interior of the island, winding through shallow canals and marsh areas teeming with wildlife. As you dip your paddle into the placid waters, you’ll find yourself immersed in nature’s peaceful embrace, a stark contrast to the urban bustle just across the river.

Graffiti Bridge - Belle Isle

What makes kayaking Belle Isle so extraordinary is the juxtaposition of natural serenity and metropolitan splendor. One moment, you’re admiring a great blue heron standing motionless in the shallows, and the next, you’re passing beneath looming bridges with the iconic Renaissance Center towering overhead. This seamless blending of urban and natural landscapes is a photographer’s dream, offering endless opportunities to capture stunning shots of city meets wilderness.

While summer is undoubtedly the prime season for kayaking Belle Isle, the park’s appeal extends to the other three seasons as well. In spring, the island bursts into a kaleidoscope of blooms, with vibrant flowers lining the waterways. Fall brings a breathtaking display of foliage, painting the park in warm hues of red, orange, and gold. Even winter offers its own magic, with the possibility of paddling alongside chunks of ice drifting lazily in the river.

Scott Fountain - Belle Isle

Beyond the kayaking trails, Belle Isle Park is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream, with abundant opportunities for hiking, biking, fishing, and more. After your paddle, explore the park’s numerous attractions, including the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and the James Scott Memorial Fountain (above). Or, simply find a scenic spot to enjoy a picnic while basking in the park’s natural splendor.

Belle Isle Bell Tower Whether you’re a seasoned kayaker or a novice seeking a new adventure, Belle Isle Park promises an unforgettable experience. Embrace the opportunity to escape the urban grind and immerse yourself in the tranquil beauty of this hidden gem, all without leaving the city limits. Pack your sense of wonder and get ready to paddle into an urban oasis like no other. Kayak rentals are available from Simple Adventures.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out our Go See Do Explore Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Kayaking Pretty Lakes Quiet Area

By Ashleigh

On December 2, 2024

In Michigan

As avid explorers, we’re always on the hunt for off-the-beaten-path adventures that ignite our sense of wonder. This past Labor Day weekend, we stumbled upon a true hidden gem – the Pretty Lakes Quiet Area near Newberry, Michigan. Get ready to be inspired to pack your kayak and venture into this serene aquatic trail system.

Tucked away in the Upper Peninsula, the Pretty Lakes Quiet Area offers a unique paddling experience. Imagine gliding across a series of small, interconnected lakes, portaging between them with just a short carry of 100 meters or less. With each new water body, a fresh scene unfolds, from sun-dappled shores to towering pines mirrored in the glassy surface.

As we paddled our inflatable Sea Eagle tandem kayak, a profound sense of solitude washed over us. Despite it being a holiday weekend after venturing past the first lake near the parking area, we had these tranquil waters entirely to ourselves. The bustle of daily life faded away, replaced by the rhythmic dipping of our paddles and the call of birds overhead.

For those who prefer to explore on foot, the Pretty Lakes Pathway promises an equally rewarding adventure. This flat, easy hiking trail winds around many of the lakes, offering stunning vistas at every turn. Whether you choose to hike the entire loop or just a portion, you’ll be treated to a front-row seat to nature’s grandeur.

A night under the stars is also an option, thanks to the area’s rustic campground. Imagine waking up to the gentle lapping of waves against the shoreline and the first rays of sunrise filtering through the trees. It’s a true escape from the hustle of modern life.

Located about an hour and a half from Sault Ste. Marie, the Pretty Lakes Quiet Area is an accessible yet well-kept secret. As you wind your way through the Upper Peninsula’s pristine forests and over its rolling hills, you’ll be filled with a growing sense of adventure and anticipation.

We can’t recommend this paddling and hiking paradise enough. Pack your spirit of exploration, your kayak or hiking boots, and get ready to experience the Pretty Lakes Quiet Area for yourself. This hidden gem is truly one of Michigan’s crown jewels, just waiting to be discovered by those with a thirst for natural beauty and a craving for serenity.

Mosquito Bioluminescent Bay – Vieques

By Ashleigh

On March 18, 2024

In Travel

Photo by Kevin Wolf on Unsplash

Some of the links below are affiliate links and as such, I earn a small commission from purchases that allow me to continue telling you my stories without costing you anything extra.

Mosquito Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico is known as the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. When we ironed out our plans for our recent trip to Puerto Rico, I made reservations for our kayaking tour to experience the bay right away. While we were getting ready to board the ferry to Vieques, Chris asked me when our tour was, and I discovered that I booked our tour for the day after we arrived back on the Puerto Rican mainland. I quickly logged on to Viator to see if I could find another tour with availability. Luckily, I was able to find a tour with availability, but it wasn’t with the highly-rated tour company I had originally booked with.

We did a bioluminescent bay tour in Fajardo, in mainland Puerto Rico on our previous trip to the island. We enjoyed the evening paddle through the mangroves, but the bioluminescence experience was underwhelming. On that trip, we met our guide at a beach in Fajardo, we hopped in our kayaks and paddled into the bio-bay. In Vieques, the experience was a little different. Our guide picked us up in the town of Esperanza, crammed us into a rickety van, and drove without speaking to a pitch-dark parking lot where we stood in the mud waiting for someone to tell us what to do (remember, this was not one of the highly rated bio-bay tour companies).’

Eventually, a guide showed up and started directing us where to go. We ended up being the first in our group to get into a kayak. We sat down, paddled away from the shore, and immediately we saw the water light up. Our guide took us to the middle of the bay where we got time to explore this light-up water phenomenon on our own. We could see the fish, stingrays, and maybe even sharks swimming beneath us because the water glowed when they moved. It was an incredible experience, unlike anything I had ever seen before. Words and photos do not do it justice.

This bioluminescent bay is heavily protected because chemicals on our skins and in boat motors will kill the dinoflagellates that cause the water to glow. Swimming and gas-powered motors are not allowed in the bay. The only way to see it is by kaya with a licensed guide. The area is also protected from light pollution. There are not many streetlights near the bay and the ones that are nearby have red lights instead of white.

Overall, the transportation to the bay on our tour left something to be desired, but once we got out of the water, it was an unforgettable experience. It is a must-do if you are visiting Vieques, and if you are planning a longer stay on the Puerto Rican mainland, I recommend you plan a night in Vieques, just to see the bio bay. I recommend this highly-rated tour that we had originally booked on Viator, not the one we ended up on.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out our NEW Go See Do Explore Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. To read more about our time in Puerto Rico, check out my Circle Tour of the Island. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Pin This:

Biobay Pinterest Graphic

Kayaking La Jolla Sea Caves

By Ashleigh

On May 1, 2023

In Cruise, Travel

Kayaing La Jolla

Some of the links below are affiliate links and as such, I earn a small commission from purchases that allow me to continue telling you my stories without costing you anything extra.

Shortly after booking our recent California Coastal Cruise, Celebrity changed the itinerary and added a port stop in San Diego. We thought about doing the San Diego Zoo or Balboa Park, but our love of paddlesports won out and we decided to book a sea cave kayaking tour in La Jolla.

When our ship docked in San Diego, we caught a Lyft to La Jolla to meet our tour and walk to the beach. Now, we have kayaked in the ocean before (as recently as December in Puerto Rico), but nothing prepared us for kayaking in La Jolla. The description of the tour says “You will get wet” so we were anticipating the typical level of wetness that we get kayaking. We got in the kayak and the tour guide helped us launch through the surf where the person in the front (me) got hit with a full-body wave. I was dripping wet.

La Jolla Sea Caves

Once we were out in the ocean it was like any other kayaking trip. We got up close to the rocks but were unable to go into the caves because the tide was low and the waves were big. Our guide said that we could go into the caves but we wouldn’t be able to get back out, so you will have to settle for the picture of the caves in shadow (above). Since we couldn’t go into the caves, we paddled a little farther and got to see the sea lions sunbathing on the rocks (top).

Heading back to shore was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Our guide referred to it as “kayak surfing”. Essentially, you have to paddle hard, straight through the waves, until you hit the sand. If you turn your kayak the waves will flip you. Our guide told us 80% of people flip. I think our guide had kayaks going a little too close together because I think we would have made it if it wasn’t for the person who went before us. He capsized and was moving slowly and our boat was heading right for him so we had to veer out of the way and we capsized too. Chris says we need to go back to La Jolla and try it again because he thinks we would have made it otherwise.

Other people on our tour were wearing wetsuits. After the tour, I wished we had rented wetsuits (remember, I didn’t know we were going to fall into the ocean on this tour). It took a long time to warm up after that and we just went back to the ship to change into dry clothes and warm up. If we had prepared better we may have explored more of La Jolla or San Diego before heading in for the day.

Kayakers in La Jolla

We were in San Diego on the day San Diego State was playing in the Elite Eight for the first time in program history and the vibe in town was electric. Our Lyft driver was listening to the game and whooping with excitement. There were people watching the game outside in La Jolla and cheering. It was a really cool moment to get to experience.

If you will be in the area and you want to kayak La Jolla and try your hand at Kayak Surfing, I recommend Hike Bike Kayak Adventures on Viator. Their prices are very reasonable and the tour was great. Just be prepared to get VERY wet and if it’s chilly, rent a wetsuit!

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, check out the Cruising the Pacific Coast Trip Report. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Pin This:

Kayaking in a Bioluminescent Bay

By Ashleigh

On March 27, 2023

In Travel

Fajardo Bio Bay Kayking

Some of the links below are affiliate links and as such, I earn a small commission from purchases that allow me to continue telling you my stories without costing you anything extra.

There are five bodies of water in the world where you are able to experience the magic that is bioluminescence year-round. Three of them are in Puerto Rico. The glow-in-the-dark effect known as bioluminescence is caused by microscopic organisms known as dinoflagellates that absorb energy from the sun and then will light up at night when the water is disturbed by a paddle or hand. You are not permitted to swim in these “bio-bays” because sunscreen and other products that we put on our skin will kill these organisms. Some of the bays are noticing a dimming because of this and also pollution from boats.

You are able to experience this bioluminescence in Puerto Rico on kayak tours. We regretted not being able to experience this on our first trip to Puerto Rico so it was one of the first things I booked after we had our flights. For the best experience, it is recommended that you take your tour as close to the new moon as possible. Since we had less than a week in Puerto Rico, we picked a day that fit best in our schedule and the tour organizers covered us up with tarps so we could best experience the glowing.

Since we were staying in Fajardo, we chose a tour of Laguna Grande. We met at a beach near the bio bay where we got a brief safety demonstration and basic kayak instructions before loading into our kayaks and getting a paddle-away picture taken (top). At the beginning of the tour, we paddled along the beach until we came to the opening of the lagoon and we waited for the groups ahead of us to paddle through. The sun was setting at this point, and paddling through the mangroves was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It is probably silly to compare a real-life experience to a Disney ride, but it made me think of the Jungle Cruise. I kept waiting to see the backside of water.

When we got through the mangroves, we huddled our kayaks together for an explanation of what we were about to see as our guides searched for the best bioluminescent activity. When we re-grouped where the light could be seen the most, the guides passed out tarps for us to huddle around so we could experience the glow-in-the-dark activity without the light from the moon interfering. It was not super comfortable under the tarp, so I didn’t stay under very long. This phenomenon is not easy to photograph so I didn’t even attempt it. I left my phone in the car and just enjoyed the experience. That is why the only picture I have is the one they took for me.

Laguna Grande is not the most active bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico but it is very convenient if you are staying near San Juan. If you want the best experience, you have to go to the island of Vieques. Honestly, the bioluminescence was not the highlight of this experience for me. I really enjoyed the paddle through the mangroves at dusk. It made me realize that I need to figure out how to go night kayaking at home when the weather warms up.

We chose Yokahu Kayak Tours on Viator and I would recommend them to anyone considering a bio bay tour from Fajardo. One thing to note is that most of these tours only have tandem kayaks. For seasoned tandem kayakers like us, this is not a problem, but my mother-in-law was traveling with us and as an odd number, she got paired off with a teenager she didn’t know and had never kayaked with before. She had more of a challenge with this tour and did not enjoy it as much as we did. In hindsight, one of us probably should’ve stayed with her and one of us stronger kayakers should’ve been paired up with someone else.

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, check out the Returning to Puerto Rico Trip Report. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Wordless Wednesday: Lovers Leap Arch

By Ashleigh

On December 28, 2022

In Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Paddling Pictured Rocks

By Ashleigh

On December 21, 2022

In Uncategorized

Kayaking Pictured Rocks

By Ashleigh

On December 19, 2022

In Michigan, National Parks & Places

This past summer I got to do something that has been a dream of mine for over ten years, kayak Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I have hiked the Lakeshore Trail and seen the rocks from the water on the boat cruise, but I have wanted to get up close and personal with the rocks since my first visit. So, when we were able to score a campsite at the lakeshore, I started doing my research for kayak tours.

Before I get into the tour, I want to talk a bit about Lake Superior and boating safety. Lake Superior is notoriously rough and can be dangerous if you are not in the proper boat. It is not recommended that you take a recreational kayak to see the rock formations. A sea kayak with a spray skirt is the recommended boat for this trip. If you are not a seasoned sea kayaker, it is best to see the rocks on a guided tour.

There are many companies that offer tours of Pictured Rocks, but we decided to go with Pictured Rocks Kayaking (paddlepicturedrocks.com) for one main reason: they launch from a boat (left). Most of the tour operators launch from a beach in the park and you paddle from the beach out to the rocks and back. With the boat, Pictured Rocks Kayaking is able to take their guests out farther and allow them to paddle the most impressive rock features. The boat follows the tour and if someone needs to go to the bathroom or gets too tired, they are able to go back to the boat. Also, if a storm blows in fast, they are able to get everyone back on the boat to safety.

As of 2022, Pictured Rocks Kayaking offers two tours, the shorter (2-3 hour) Miners Castle Tour which gets paddlers up close to the famous Miners Castle rock formation, and the 4-5 hour Ultimate Kayak tour. Being a bucket list experience, of course we chose the Ultimate Kayak Tour.

Our tour started in Munising where we had a quick kayak basics and safety demonstration before getting on the boat for a 40-ish minute ride to the spot where you get in the water right from the boat. The water was unbelievably calm on the day we did the tour. You can see in the pictures, the water was like glass and it was a very easy paddle.

It was amazing how close we were able to get to the rocks. We paddle into caves and felt the water dripping from the rock above (above). We got to paddle under the iconic Lovers Leap arch (top). The tour ends at Chapel Rock where we headed back to the boat to eat our picnic lunch while the boat took us back to town.

My only complaint about the tour was the speed it went. As pretty avid kayakers (and experienced tandem kayakers at that) we had a hard time going as slow as the tour dictated. I understand that it is a long time on the water and we didn’t want to tire anyone out, but my back go sore sitting in the seat before my arms were tired.

If you are visiting Pictured Rocks and want to get out on the water, I highly recommend Pictured Rocks Kayaking. You get to see more than other tours with the comfort and security of knowing the boat is there if you need it. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable and gave great restaurant recommendations! I would absolutely take the tour again if I was in the area.

Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip check out my Planes, Buses, and Boats Trip Report. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Pin This:

Camping at Cheboygan State Park

By Ashleigh

On June 21, 2021

In Camping, Michigan, Project: State Parks

The bay from our campsite

Before our tour of Michigan State Parks last summer, I was watching a lot of Trekker’s Michigan State Parks videos on Youtube. When they did their drive through Cheboygan State Park, I knew I needed to check it out for myself! The park is located in Northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron. Its location, only half an hour from Mackinaw City, making it a good home base for exploring the straits area. The campground is small, only 75 sites, and with only 20 amp service, some might call it outdated, but it is perfect for the kind of camping we do.

Camper under canopy I decided to head to Cheboygan for Memorial Day weekend and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get a waterfront site without much fuss about six months out. For some reason, this campground isn’t as popular as others in the area. Our site (site 27) was wooded on three sides with a path to the lake. Most of the other sites in the park are just as private. This is very unusual for a Michigan State Park campground. Most of them are big open fields. The bathhouse at the campground was small, but with most people relying on the bathrooms in their rigs, there was never a wait for the showers.

The path to the bay from site 27

It was really nice to be able to put our kayak right in the water at our site and be able to paddle around the bay when the water was calm. We went a little way out and floated over two shipwrecks, the Leviathan and the Genesee Chief (unfortunately, forgot my action camera when we went out the first day and when we went back it was too cloudy to see them so I don’t have any photos). When we got back to camp, I looked these wrecks up and was interested to learn that they were both intentionally sunk in the bay. I did feel better when we returned to the site knowing there were no casualties, but it’s always sad to realize that in the 19th century, the Great Lakes were thought of as garbage dumps.

Besides the Mackinac area, Cheboygan is not a far drive away from the only named waterfall in the lower peninsula, Ocqueoc Falls, The waterfall will be the topic for next week on the blog, so be sure to come back! Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Pin this: