Paddle With A Ranger: Minneapolis (Heron Rookery) Dates:
6 -8 PM : July 7, July 14, July 21, July 28, August 4
5 -7 PM: August 11, August 18, August 25, September 1
Kayak down the Mississippi River with a National Park Service ranger as your guide! Enjoy your urban national park and America's greatest river from a new perspective.
Participants start their four-mile paddle from the Carl W. Kroening Nature Center (North Mississippi Regional Park). Along the route, you’ll view the site of the future Upper Harbor Terminal Redevelopment Project and see great blue herons nesting on their island rookery before landing at Graco Park. Herons begin to leave their nests around late July.
You must manage your own transportation. The paddle BEGINS at North Mississippi Regional Park and ENDS at Graco Park. We recommend bringing a friend and two cars: park one car at Graco Park and drive together to the Carl W. Kroening Nature Center. You may also use rideshare apps, taxi services, or public transportation.
Tandem kayak registration should be made with a partner to guarantee appropriate passenger capacity. For your safety, DO NOT book a seat in a tandem kayak as a single individual person.
Events happen rain or shine. Programs are cancelled due to heavy rain or lightning. Decisions are made at least two hours before the scheduled program time. Be prepared for the weather and bring sun protection, insect repellant, rain gear, snacks, and water. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. Do not leave valuables in your car.
Due to staffing limitations, we cannot accommodate personal boats.
The program is appropriate for experienced kayakers ready to spend more time on the river or the intermediate/advanced kayaker interested in the social atmosphere of paddling with a park ranger. Attendees must be able to maneuver a kayak on moving water. Due to hazards on the route, the program is not recommended for beginners. We recommend participants have some paddling experience. The Pickerel Lake Paddle Share station is a great alternative for beginners to improve their techniques.
What's included
Each registration includes a ONE SEAT in the selected kayak, paddle, and personal floatation device (PFD) rental from Paddle Share.
More Details
This four-mile paddle begins at 6pm at Carl Kroening Interpretive Center / North Mississippi Regional Park and ends at 8pm at Boom Island Regional Park. We recommend bringing a friend and two cars, parking one car at Boom Island and driving together to North Mississippi Regional Park to start your paddle. You may also use rideshare apps like Lyft or Uber, take the bus, or rent a Nice Ride bike (there is a Nice Ride station at Boom Island). If you plan to bike, we recommend doing the bike portion first to avoid biking in waning daylight.
While some kayak skills will be covered, this program does not focus on skill development. This program is appropriate for newer kayakers ready to try the river or the intermediate/advanced kayaker interested in the social atmosphere of paddling with a park ranger.
This event will happen rain or shine; be prepared for the weather and bring sunscreen, hat, bug spray, rain jacket, and water. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. Please do not leave valuable in your car.
Due to staffing limitations, we unfortunately can not accommodate people bringing their own personal boats. Thank you for understanding.
Parking: Free parking at the Carl Kroening Nature Center parking lot. Free street parking near Boom Island Park or paid parking at the park's paid lot.
Cancellations: We only cancel if the weather is dangerous (thunder and lightning), and we do so very last minute in the hopes of finding a gap in the weather. If you have questions regarding weather conditions, please email miss_info@nps.gov. If we cancel the event due to weather, we will issue a full refund.
We will honor your own cancellations with a partial refund (minus the fees) up to 7 days prior to the event at info@parkconnection.org. Please let us know if you are unable to attend so that as many people as possible may have the opportunity to attend. We reserve the right to ask anyone to leave who intentionally does not adhere to these safety guidelines.
Note:
Closer to the event date, you can expect an email from the National Park Service from miss_info@nps.gov.
Attendees will be notified of event cancellations via email from miss_info@nps.gov. Cancellations are sent a minimum of two hours before the event's scheduled time. Be sure to check your spam inbox.