Just like walking on water

Standup paddle boarding along Big River

 We love recommending Catch A Canoe & Bicycles Too to one and all as the best spot in the area for kayak and canoe rentals, as they have a wide variety of activities and rentals on offer and serve each guest with perfectly laid-back Mendocino charm. Besides the ever-popular kayaks and mountain bikes, they also have redwood outrigger canoes, nature tours in the custom made Mendolea, and standup paddle boards.

 One of our innkeepers recently tried out the paddle boarding option with a good friend, and they had such a fantastic time she can’t stop raving about it…

 “We had been contemplating going up Big River on the standup paddle boards for a good long time, and when we were lucky enough to both have a day off with gorgeously sunny weather, we knew we had to jump on it! Jason and Mitchell at Catch A Canoe are true Mendocino gems, and they set us up and sent us off with big smiles at our patent excitement. It was so much fun going upriver, moseying from bank to bank and soaking in the delightful scenery. It was almost like we were walking around on the water. We even managed to ship our paddles and sit down on the boards for a while, just lazily floating along beside a harbor seal.

 Going back west toward the dock was much more on the exhilarating side of things. The afternoon breeze that had been at our backs was now in our faces, and it had kicked up quite a few notches. The tide was probably also working against us. Coming around some of the bends in the river, we would get caught in a straight-on gust of wind and had to get down on our knees to reduce resistance. I fell into a great rhythm, digging deep with my paddle and powering along. I’m pretty sure I had a big dopey grin on my face the whole time, because I was having a blast.

 I think we each lost our balance and fell in the water once during our two hours on the boards, but it was totally worth it. We’ve made a pact to go out again soon! Or maybe we’ll try some of the guided tours put on by Standup Paddle Mendocino…”

Written by Laura Hockett