The schedule of public paddles is back after being taken down by the COVID-19 pandemic last summer. NEWP canceled the events largely because we couldn’t assure we could keep paddlers safe at crowded launches and packed together in cars or buses for shuttles.
Public paddles planned for 2021 include two days at the Peshtigo Flowage on June 26-27, the Night Lights of Oshkosh Paddle through downtown and ending (by boat or by car) at Ardy and Ed’s Drive-In on July 23, and the Appleton Locks paddle from Lutz Park in Appleton to Sunset Park in Kimberly through all four historic hand-operated locks in Appleton on an August date to be determined
As with the actual virus, its affects on the paddles hit hardest against the oldest. What would have been the 20th edition of the 8.5-mile paddle from Shattuck Park in Neenah to Lutz Park in Appleton is not on the schedule. That is caused not by a tiny germ but by a small fish called the round goby. The Menasha Lock has been closed since 2015 to keep the invasive round goby out of the Lake Winnebago pool. As a result, paddlers had to carry their boats around the lock, albeit with help from Menasha Soccer Club members.
Plans are subject to change depending upon what happens with COVID and our simpler problems from days past — high flow and weather.
Watch for more details – 2021 Public Paddles