Kayaking on the Scioto River next to downtown Columbus has been, by far, one of my favorite things I’ve done this summer! We dropped our kayaks in the Scioto at the dock by North Bank Park.
The boys decided to fish while kayaking and my brother caught a huge catfish within the first five minutes of being on the water. We cruised along for the next couple of hours, enjoying the cityscape views around us. Such a relaxing, unique, and beautiful way to take in the great city of Columbus. I highly recommend seeing the city from this angle.
I wish we could continue to kayak downtown well into fall and next spring and summer, however, the river will be closed to boating, beginning this fall, for approximately the two years due to a 35.5 million dollar project to remove the Main Street dam and return the river to its more natural state. The project will make the water flow more constricted and in the future, this will allow for a better river to partake in water activities such as fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. By making the river narrower, more greenspace will be next to the water, also allowing for more parks and bike trails. Read more about these projects from the Columbus Dispatch articles here and here.
meredith says
Can you rent and go? I don’t have a kayak but would love to go sometime with my hubby!!!
Phil Pavarini says
A few years old, but just ran across your blog and post/pics re kayaking. I’m up in Cleveland – we just started new site for Ohio Canoe (and Kayak) rentals. It’s free to sign up, free to use, everything is free. http://www.wheretocanoe.com. Would love to exchange links with your site…