The651.com

Attention canoeists and kayakers, the Mississippi River Challenge is just one month away! This one- or two-day paddling event is one of summer’s most fun ways to get active and experience nature in our city’s own backyard. Even better, money raised from event goes toward protecting, conserving, and restoring the Mississippi River.

The fun doesn’t end at night either. At the end of day one, we’ll camp at the historic Fort Snelling State Park, where the party continues during the “Night at the Fort” celebration. The registration fee covers all meals, live music, and free massages Saturday night for those sure-to-be tired muscles. Even our camping gear will be shuttled to the camp sites while we paddle downstream during the day.

The organizers say that even though the event is a big challenge (22 miles of paddling each day), all skill and experience levels can participate. Mississippi River Challenge’s web site offers a full range of training tips that actually make training sound doable. It’s not a race, so you can paddle as slow or as fast as you want, knowing that there are two rest stops, a lunch stop, and Safety Captains who can provide paddling tips as needed.  If you don’t have your own kayak or canoe, you can rent one. So really, what’s your excuse for staying on dry land?

(Oh, and if you don’t paddle, think about volunteering to support the paddlers during their long journey!)