The Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club is a group of paddlers of many disciplines.  Some of us are focused on one type of paddling, while many of us enjoy more style of paddling.  Check out any of the groups below to learn more, see trip schedules, or find a group to paddle with!

Canoe & Kayak (Flatwater)

Probably the most inclusive group as just about anyone with a boat or paddle board can do flat water.  The HCKC Canoe and Kayak Group sponsors paddling trips on many Indiana rivers and lakes through out the year. There are over 30 paddling events that you can enjoy this year on our Trip Schedule on rivers and lakes in all sections of Indiana as well as in West Virginia and Tennessee. On these trips, you will see solo canoes, tandem canoes, and kayaks.

Club trips have sponsors that set a time and place to meet and decide which stretch of what river will be paddled. This group typically does flat water trips (mostly in Indiana) on White River, Blue River, Sand Creek, Big Walnut, Driftwood, Cataract Falls, Whitewater, and Flatrock. Annual trip favorites include a New Year's Day Float, the Ice Falls Trip down Sugar Creek, and the Annual Indiana Paddler's Rendezvous on Wild Cat that is sponsored by the Friends of Wild Cat Creek.

Whitewater

A fun and adventurous group for sure!  Whitewater takes skill and the the right equipment, but if you want to get into it, this is definitely the group for you!  You'll want to start out with Class I water while you work on your skills to progress to Class II, II, & IV.  A great way to get started with your new equipment is to join us in one of our weekly Pool Sessions where other members will help you learn to paddle and even roll you kayak - that's right, you'll learn how to go from upside down and under the water to upright without even getting out of your boat!

Every year, the HCKC group paddles a variety of class III-IV whitewater in Pennsylvania, (the Lower Yough and Stonycreek, West Virginia (Cheat, New and Gauley, Tennessee, (Ocoee, Tellico, and Big South Fork), and Wisconsin (Wolf and Peshtigo). A number of class II trips also come together for training and fun such as the Big Pine in Indiana and the Elkhorn in Kentucky. The class II man-made whitewater course in South Bend is a valuable asset for training both beginning and experienced paddlers.

Join us on the water. With time and work, you can the share the adventure of the Upper Gauley and Yough with us.

Sea Kayaking

The HCKC Sea Kayak Fleet organizes paddling trips and training for touring and sea kayaks. We often do trips or overnight trips on Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan but we also try to have at least one day trip to a nearby lake every month. In 2019, we had trips to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior, Beaver Island and South Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan, and South Carolina.   We had weekend trips to Cataract Falls, the Ohio River, Lake Monroe, Hardy Lake, Warren Dunes, and many other places.  Click on Sea Kayak schedule to see past or upcoming trips.

Anyone with a touring kayak or sea kayak is welcome to join us. For most trips, we pick locations where paddlers should wear spray skirts and should have fore/aft flotation (either sealed hatches or flotation bags)mand perimeter deck lines. On all trips, paddlers must know how to wet exit from their kayaks. For trips on "bigger water" (e.g., Great Lakes, Monroe, or the Atlantic), we may require that you have a sea kayak and that you have participated in a open water rescue clinic before coming on the trip.

The Sea Kayaking fleet offers many training sessions throughout the year: Intro to Paddling, Open Water Rescue, Intermediate Paddling, and Roll Class.

Paddle Fishing

It is very hard to paddle by a log jam and not cast into that eddy that may be holding a 4-pound small mouth. I have been on several HCKC Flatwater trips and have always wanted to make a cast here and there. I've found out that there are several other members who share this passion. On almost every trip I have been on with HCKC, there is always someone who shares my angling and paddling obsession.

Well. now is the time for all fisherman and fisherwomen to come out of the closet and admit their obsession and start paddle fishing together. Thus, we now have a discipline for paddle fishing.

If you are new or just curious about paddle fishing,come out on one of the scheduled fishing trips or hook up with a more experienced paddler about rigging your boat for fishing. You may find some of the links helpful in rigging a boat for fishing. Those of you who are ready and rigged for fishing give Jay or me a call about setting up a trip to your favorite fishing holes. I encourage you to use the HCKC bulletin board for casual trips and fishing info.

Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP)