Paddle Boarding in Kelowna is one of the most popular sports of late and growing. Partly because you feel like you’re walking on water and partly because the inflatable versions are both great for beginners and easy to transport.
Stand-up paddleboarding is easier than you think and an ideal way for beginners to foster a love of outdoor watersports. It’s perfect for kids over the age of about eight, and with the abundant variety of inflatable boards, everyone can be catered for. There are fabulous spots in Kelowna to practice your board skills without the threat of speed boats careering by.
Be warned, the sport is an all-around body workout, which is great news for attending to our health and that of our families while having the best fun ever.
Beginners’ Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Kelowna
If you’re wanting to ‘test the waters’ so to say and decide whether the family will take to stand-up paddleboarding, then Kelowna is the place to do it. Okanagan Beach Rentals are present in several beachfront locations along the lake to hire stand-up paddleboards.
You will receive great instruction from the friendly staff who will let you find the right board for you. Once you’ve fallen in love with stand-up paddle-boarding, it's time to think about purchasing your own so that you can go to the many breathtaking spots in Kelowna and skill-up.
Hot Tip: Don’t, whatever you do, spend hundreds of dollars on your first paddleboard. Look for four things only and don’t be drawn in by all that glitters. (There are some pretty glitzy varieties out there.) Wait for yourself and the kids to feel confident and then reward them later with shiny, stylish boards.
Here are three things to look for:
- Affordability - go for a 500 -1000-dollar mid-range board.
- Stability - get a beginners all-rounder board and you’ll be fine.
- Reliability - inflatables are pretty robust, or triple-layered PVC.
Of course, standing up can get tiring, especially for newbies. However, inflatables become the perfect water mattress to rest up flat on your back while floating in safe, idyllic surrounds.
The Ultimate Kelowna Paddleboard Trails
- Kalamalka Lake - home to the summer paddleboard festival and voted one of the top 10 most beautiful lakes in the world by National Geographic, we’re talking smooth, calm waters that are a beginner’s dream.
- The Kelowna Paddle Trail - There is no shortage of perfect spots for beginners in the Kelowna, Okanagan area. This trail spans some 27km from McKinley Beach to Bertram Beach and is clearly marked by at least 22 buoys. The best news is that it was designed for paddling without being hampered by motorized watercraft.
- Skaha Lake - for when you have gained some confidence, and want more of a workout, the winds toss up little waves for you to practice negotiating.
- Rattlesnake Island - consider this your graduation trail once you’re an experienced paddleboarder. From the shores of Peachland to Rattlesnake Island means venturing out across Okanagan Lake.
Four Key Reasons to Paddleboard in Kelowna
There are excellent reasons to try this form of watersport and to do it in Kelowna.
- Location: Kelowna is centrally located on Lake Okanagan, so you are ideally placed to choose to venture northward or down south. Either way is spectacular.
- Relaxation: the environment is a natural de-stressor, the mechanics keep you in the present so you'll zone out of your monkey-mind anxieties.
- Calm water: you can’t really surf on a lake; you can however use your SUP in the ocean anytime. But the beauty of paddleboarding is that you can do it on still water. You will find the quiet that is a reset button like no other.
- Family time: with the whole family on board - pun intended because it is possible to paddle with passengers, stand-up paddleboarding means everyone gets to share the fun.
We’re sure you’ll be wanting to get a handle on this sport before the summer ends. But if the winter catches you yet uninitiated, then you know, beginner status notwithstanding, your new summer goal has to be paddleboarding in Kelowna!
