Kayaking as a Family Activity

Getting out on the water for a paddle is a great summer activity for people of all ages. With the weather usually being more pleasant and the waters warmer, a low-impact family kayaking adventure is just the thing to bond over this summer.

Whether the grandparents are visiting, or you have young children itching to get out of the house, kayaking is a relatively safe and engaging activity to do together despite what you might initially think. Share the love of nature and paddling (or pedaling) with your loved ones today!

Why You Should Take the Family Kayaking

While some may be intimidated by kayaking as a group activity, it’s actually more accessible than you might think. Here are some benefits to getting into kayaking with the whole family:

Low Impact Activity at Any Age

For those with mobility issues, kayaking is a great alternative exercise to get moving, but with low chance of pain. Since you’re seated and floating along, you don’t have to subject your joints to the same type of impact as if you were running or walking. With a paddle kayak, it’s an arm workout with water resistance as your main opposing force. In this respect, it’s relatively low-impact and requires little strength to engage in.

For these reasons, kayaking is great for the younger and older members of your family. Children won’t have to struggle with any significant weight or resistance and any older people won’t have to worry about excess joint pain from joining in on the fun.

Flexible Pricing Commitment

Kayaking can seem like an investment with the different pieces of equipment needed to participate. Luckily, many locations rent kayaks.  If you’re looking for the occasional paddle, you can invest in fewer boats by purchasing tandem (2-person) kayaks for people to pair up for a kayaking adventure. Tandem kayaking will promote further bonding with the person you’re doing it with, so it can be a great relationship builder, as well.

Kayaking is quite customizable to your frequency and how many people you’re going with, so don’t be scared off if you’re not pairing up with family members, individual single kayaks are always an option for each family member!

Supports Children’s Comfort in the Water

If you have kids or younger members of the group you’re wanting to engage, this is a great activity to supplement or follow-up swimming lessons. Proper personal flotation devices (PFD’s) are a must, but it’s a different way to get your youngster familiar with the water outside of swimming lessons. Be sure not to strap them into the kayak like you would a car seat, since if you capsize they might not be able to get themselves out, but ensure that their PFD is properly fitted and not too big so they’ll be able to stay afloat in the event of the kayak tipping over.

Gets You Away from Screens

Especially given the impact of the pandemic on our work lives, finding a comfortable hobby that gets you away from a screen is incredibly beneficial. Kayaking provides that in spades--not only do you get active and out of your computer chair, but you also have the opportunity to get out into nature. This environment has massive benefits to your mental health, and the exercise of paddling (or pedaling) benefits that as well. Combined with spending that time with those you care about, kayaking can be a really meaningful family outing!

In these ways, kayaking is very customizable to different ability levels and age groups, making it a great family activity if you’re looking for something to do on the weekends together. Be safe and have fun!