First ever kayak race comes to Red Cedar River

This month, the Lansing area will host its first-ever kayak race on the Red Cedar and Grand rivers.

The inaugural Red Paddle race will begin at 9 a.m. May 16 near the Kalamazoo and Clippert Street trail head in East Lansing and end at the Lansing City Market. The roughly two-hour, time-trial race will span some 10 to 15 miles of Lansing-area waterways.

Race organizer Jeff Smith said the course winds through wooded areas that, although in the heart of Lansing and East Lansing, feel very remote.

“It’s an incredible view, that stretch of the river,” Smith said. “There are some areas that I don’t think a lot of people may have experienced or even know exist.”

The company putting on the race, The Capitol Collective, also organizes the Dirty Feat and Frosty Feat adventure races in East Lansing.

Smith said the idea for the kayak race came out of responses from those events.

“The overwhelming feedback we got was that the water portion was the highlight of the race,” Smith said. “There are some amazing things to see along the river.”

The kayak race will be capped at 100 people, Smith said, with rentals available for the first 40 who sign up. The fee: $50 with a kayak rental, $40 without.

Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Friends of the Lansing River Trail group.

Paul Brogan, co-owner of River Town Adventures canoe livery, a major sponsor for the race, said events like Red Paddle and conservation of Lansing’s major waterways go hand in hand.

“We’re basically a city of water and our focus is to get people to look at it that way,” Brogan said. “We have an opportunity to really expose these awesome natural resources and these awesome waterways to more people in the area.”

Race organizers will also hold a number of log-clearing days in May to clean up the river and clear up log jams for the race. For more information about the race or to register, visit www.redpaddle.org.