Rowin’ on the river: Lee County responds to growing popularity of kayaking

LEESBURG — After seeing a significant increase in one of the area’s most popular activities, Lee County officials have responded by providing easy access to its waterways so kayakers and canoers can enjoy some of the county’s most important resources.

“There’s been a significant increase in the number of people we see out on the creek,” Jim Wright, head of Lee County’s Code Enforcement said of the Kinchafoonee Creek. “It’s great to see.”

A good portion of that increase in activity, which is also occurring on the Muckalee Creek and the Flint River, is stemming from the growing popularity of kayaking in the area.

Wright said that over the past couple of years, during the warmer months especially, he rarely goes by the county’s two Kinchafoonee Creek launches — one underneath the bridge at U.S. Highway 19 just inside the county line and another underneath the bridge at Highway 32 farther north — without seeing a couple of vehicles signifying someone has hit the creek.

It’s for that reason that Lee County’s public works department and Wright recently teamed up to clean up and improve the two launch areas which kayakers and canoers were already using.

“The people just started using them, which tells me there was a need there, and the desire is there,” said Lee County Commission Chairman Rick Muggridge recently. “All credit and thanks go to Jim and Mike (Sistrunk, Lee County interim co-manager). They really truly care about the public. They’re trying to give people things to do.”

Indeed, Sistrunk, who defers the credit for the launch improvements to Wright, said it wasn’t a tough decision to have public works do what was needed to make the creek more accessible.

“This is about taking care of the citizens of Lee County,” said Sistrunk. “Really though, this has been a Jim Wright project. He loves doing recreational things for the county. This is his deal and he should get the thanks. And the public works crew. They really did a great job.”

That great job included several things at both areas, things that seem to have already had an impact. At the Highway 19 launch crews cleared a significant amount of brush from the edge of the creek, giving it a more park-like feel, and cleaned up the parking area for easier access.

Additionally Wright saw to it that trashcans were placed in the area so that kayakers, or just people hanging on the creek’s edge enjoying the view, would be encouraged not to litter.

“That’s one of the things I’m passionate about, keeping the creek clean,” said Wright, who also organizes the county’s Rivers Alive cleanups each year. “We are seeing quite a bit of litter on the water and that’s unfair. When people are out on the creek with their families they don’t want to see beer cans everywhere. Now, I’m not saying people shouldn’t drink beer. There’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t leave your cans everywhere. That’s why we put the trashcans in.”

Wright also saw to it that trashcans were added to the launch off Highway 32, and crews also cleared some overgrowth there as well.

Future plans also call for picnic tables to be placed at both launches, which will further enhance the park-like atmosphere the county is trying to accomplish.

Although the bulk of the improvements were made earlier in the summer, crews have recently been back at both sites working on erosion issues, to make sure the launches maintain their relatively easy access.

At Highway 19 crews had to put a rock barricade in front of the launch area to prevent wash-outs and to encourage the growth of natural grasses that will also prevent erosion. At Highway 32 Wright had crews fill sand bags and stack them appropriately to help create a more natural water flow as rains work their way to the creek, and both moves seem to have had modest success.

In fact, Lee County’s commitment to encourage use of its creeks has been noticed by several area kayakers, including Josh Lorber, who, together with his wife, Theresa, operates Kayak Attack Adventures, a company that specializes in kayak and canoe trips around the Albany area.

Lorber, who began kayaking a few years ago on his own and then started Kayak Attack with Theresa just over two years ago, offers multiple trips of varying lengths along different stretches of local waterways.

Kayak Attack does Flint River trips like putting in at Cox Landing off Philema Road and finishing up in downtown Albany, or putting in at the Marine Ditch by Radium Springs and heading to Punk’s Landing just past Plant Mitchell, as well as several others. But Lorber says the most popular trip he provides for his customers is one down the Kinchafoonee.

“We’ve got a couple of main trips,” said Lorber. “We’ve got the Muckalee, the Kinchafoonee and the Flint. The most popular is the Kinchafoonee.”

Because the Kinchafoonee trip is so popular Lorber said he was really pleased when Lee County officials made a commitment to the launches.

“What was kind of holding it back was the launches,” said Lorber. “But, they just redid those and did a killer job. Now anybody can get back there and get a kayak in. The two spots that Lee County did, like I said, that’s our most popular trip, those get used a lot and really needed the job that they did.”

Lorber said there’s no doubt that the Kinchafoonee trip will continue to grow in popularity thanks to the launches, and due to the fact that the trip simply includes a lot of good things that make it attractive to kayakers and canoers.

“The Kinchafoonee (trip) starts at (Highway) 32 in Leesburg and finishes at the 19 bridge right next to Ford Town, and it’s a five hour trip,” Lorber explained. “There’s a cave, blue holes, and waterfalls, so it’s pretty popular. The (bigger) blue hole on the Kinchafoonee, you will see people there when you go by, no matter what. It’s a popular spot for people to stop.”

Being in the kayak rental business Lorber knows a thing or two about what attracts people to kayaks and cites the opportunity to commune with nature as the main draw. In fact, that’s one of the things that drew him to area’s waterways and keeps him coming back.

“I think it’s about being out in nature,” said Lorber. “We always say it’s like getting to go to the beach without having to leave town. You’re out there, there’s literally a beach, the kids are swimming, you’re in nature.”

Lorber said one of the other things that draws people to kayaking in this area, and in his mind has contributed to its growing popularity, is the affordability.

“Everybody wants to kayak over the last few years,” Lorber said. “I think part of it was they became more accessible as far as price. You can go get a kayak from Walmart for $150 — or, rather, kayak, paddle and a life vest — and be out on the water, where in past years it was three or four hundred dollars for the entry level kayaks.”

Additionally, companies like Kayak Attack have sprung up, which has also helped spur the popularity of kayaking, something that has very beneficial to Lorber.

“Obviously you’ve got the rental places that have opened up that make it even less expensive to get on the water,” said Lorber. “You don’t have any maintenance; you just kayak and don’t have to deal with carrying the kayaks around and whatnot.

“I’d say from the first year to now the number of trips we’re doing has tripled. I was just hoping to get to double digits on the weekend and now we’ll do 20 person Saturdays and 20 person Sundays.”

Lorber said that kind of growth is indicative of what he’s seeing every time he gets near the water putting customers on a trip.

“Traffic has definitely increased, I mean a bunch,” he said. “We may be down there putting a trip in and there’ll be, they’re not a rental company, you can tell it’s people with their own boats, there’ll be 10-20 cars parked at each spot on a busy weekend.”

Lorber added that thanks to Southwest Georgia’s favorable climate, even though there’s a spike in the summertime, traffic remains fairly high for a good portion of the year.

“As soon as the kids get out of school we blow up, all summer long we’re busy,” he said. “And as soon as the kids get back into school it slows down a little bit. The summer is definitely our busiest rental season, but as far as people going, as soon as the weather turns warm it may be February and one random warm day in February and they’ll get out there on kayaks. Any time it’s warm, you’ll see somebody out there on the water.”

And those somebodies, Lorber said, include people of all ages, including children who are joining their parents and friends for a fun, relaxing day on the water.

“Fortunately in our area there’s no rapids, so we’ve had 8-, 9-, 10-year olds do all of our trips,” said Lorber. “There’s nothing strenuous. You’re relaxed on our trips, you’re not nervous. It’s definitely good, group fun. When you’re kayaking you’re generally going to have your friends with you and rarely do you have a bad time.”

Offering something that’s good, clean fun, so to speak, is why people like Wright and Muggridge are proponents of doing anything that allows area residents to enjoy what the community has to offer.

“We’re blessed to have the Kinchafoonee, the Muckalee and the Flint,” said Muggridge. “Those are wonderful resources for our area.”

And it’s not just Lee County that is trying to open up area waterways to residents.

Recently the City of Albany invested upwards of $150,000 to construct three new kayak launches along the Flint River, and Albany’s Chehaw park is also welcoming kayakers and canoers to make the park a stop on their trips.

“It’s good to see kayaking becoming so popular,” said Lorber. “It’s a fun way to spend a day, being with friends and family and enjoying nature.”

Anyone interested in learning more about kayaking or area kayaking trips can find Kayak Attack Adventures at kayakalbanygeorgia.com or on Facebook at KAYAK Attack Adventures. The company can also be reached at (229) 669-1259.

Lorber said the company can handle groups of any size, although he discourages solo trips. The company also offers guided trips for anyone who is interested. Lorber said they also welcome kayakers of all experience levels and will do basic kayak training with any newcomers so they feel comfortable operating the vessel.