Interest in paddling the Genesee keeps growing year by year!  For the five events of 2024, 130 people joined us – up from 102 last year, which was itself a record for this program that started in 2018.  Genesee RiverWatch partners with the Genesee Waterways Center and the City of Rochester to offer this summer series of on-the-water kayak paddles because we feel strongly that the best way to really appreciate the Genesee is to explore it from water level, along with the herons, turtles, muskrat, mink, and occasional eagles that make their homes on the river and its banks.

June 28th Paddle

We began the season on June 28^th with a free evening “Learn to Paddle & Ice Cream Social” program.  Waterways Center, City, and RiverWatch staff were on hand as guides and instructors for those new to kayaking.  The evening was sunny and warm.  Bryan Wang provided guitar accompaniment and Lucia’s Ice Cream made for a perfect ending to this day on the river.

July 13th Paddle

July 13^th again focused on learning to paddle, but we expanded our horizon by going up the Genesee to the Erie Canal and from there into Red Creek.  This narrow and secluded by-way is home to painted turtles, white egrets, geese, and muskrats.  As we paddled up the creek, away from I-390 and under the Genesee Valley Park bridges, the trees grew over the waterway, forming an almost silent green tunnel, broken by stretches of open sun.

July 24th Paddle

July 24^th found us back on Red Creek with our “Genesee River Kayak Cleanup” paddle.  We were joined by staff from the Seneca Park Zoo who weighed and categorized the trash collected and by Katie Stoss from RIT who described the new RIT/UR Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health in a Changing Environment.

August 17th Paddle

 The “City Skyline Paddle” on August 17^th,  took us downriver, past the university of Rochester, to the Ford Street Bridge where we discussed the buildings visible from the river and some of the history of canals, railroads, and floods that have left their imprint along the Genesee.  Though the weather looked threatening, we stayed warm and dry for the entire trip.

October 5th Paddle – Roc the Riverway Weekend

Our final paddle of the season took place on October 5^th – Roc the Riverway Weekend.  Again, we did a “Kayak Cleanup”, this time downriver through the University toward Corn Hill.  It was a lovely warm fall day with the leaves beginning to turn.  15 paddlers did great work, picking up trash along the riverbank which the Seneca Park Zoo staff again weighed and categorized for their on-going study.

2025 Plans

For 2025, we hope to hold six events, including two “Learn to Paddle” programs and the very popular “Kayak Cleanup” trips.  We also hope to return to the Lower River with a trip from Seth Green Park to the harbor through the wildlife- and history-rich area we call the “Wilderness in a City”.  Also on the wish list is a repeat of 2023’s trip through Erie Canal Lock 33 – always spectacular from the seat of a kayak!

Join us next year to personally experience the magic of the Genesee and its adjacent waters.

Have a wonderful winter – and take the opportunity to walk the river’s banks following one of the hikes outlined at Hiking in the Genesee River Basin | Genesee RiverWatch.