Kayaking the Mission Reach Paddle Trail

Bought a Groupon for kayaking the new Mission Reach Paddle Trail near Padre Park. It’s a pretty area just south of downtown and a lot of work has been put into the river here. Stacey Banta, who runs Texas Pack & Paddle (www.txpaddlesports.com), was the tour guide and she supplies everything for you, including the kayak and life vest. You basically just need to show up.

Unless you fall in, which no one did on our tour, probably only your bottom and legs will get wet for sure, so dress accordingly. I wore some swimming trunks and water shoes which was perfect for the occasion. The kayak had a cup holder, good for holding a water bottle, and I brought some snacks in a waterproof bag. It’s easy to grip the paddle too hard so we both got some blisters. I think some finger-less gloves would be nice to have.

You could bring a camera if you’re brave enough, but they take photos and post them on Facebook for you to see and download.

Stacey uses Meetup.com for reservations, although I believe you can call her as well. Check the website for more info.

Thanks in part to some gorgeous weather, 73 degrees and sunny, we had a wonderful time and plan to do it again. The water is not moving fast, but it’s a good upper-body workout for sure. Stacey has guided tours for other areas including multi-day trips.

Finding the Mission Reach location was a bit of a challenge so I made a map. Click here for the map. There is no physical address, but here is a link to Google Maps using the longitude and latitude coordinates.