Intermediate River Route: Richardi Park out and back along Intermediate River Route Overview: Beginner level 3 miles 1.5 hours estimated time By Ellie Kirkpatrick, Marketing and Outreach Specialist  Deana and I recently went out for an evening kayak on an easy but delightful paddle through the Intermediate River out to Intermediate Lake and back. This 3-mile paddle takes about 1.5 hours and is an easy trip to do with a… Read More »

Photo credit: 9&10 News & Corey Adkins They did it! Stand Up for Great Lakes successfully paddled the entire Chain of Lakes. Starting at Six Mile lake, near Ellsworth and ending at Elk Rapids Rotary park. The journey began at 5:30 AM and ended at 9:30 PM and was 50 miles in length.   Over 50 paddlers joined the SUFGL paddlers along the way and they were cheered on by hundreds… Read More »

We are pleased to announce that we have been named MyNorth’s 2020 Red Hot Best Favorite Nonprofit in the Charlevoix & Chain of Lakes Region.  More than 12,000 people voted in MyNorth’s 2020 red Hot Best competition which was different this year than in the past. Instead of sharing winners in each category for Northern Michigan as a whole, they decided to dig into 11 different regions to discover the… Read More »

We are excited to announce that Stand Up For Great Lakes will be traveling the entire Chain of Lakes Water Trail, from Six-Mile Lake to the Elk Rapids Dam, to raise money and awareness for the Chain of Lakes Water Trail and Paddle Antrim. Joe Lorenz, Kwin Morris and Jeff Guy will represent Stand Up For Great Lakes, traveling 60 miles on paddle boards through the Chain of Lakes, which… Read More »

Last year we partnered with MI Paddle Stewards to offer paddlers an in-person workshop to learn more aquatic invasive species identification, prevention and reporting. We are very excited that despite these extraordinary times, MI Paddle Stewards is offering an online program to help paddlers continue to learn about AIS in order to protect the waters they love. The MI Paddle Stewards new self-paced, online program from Michigan Sea Grant and… Read More »

Grass River Natural Area Route: Cottage Drive Park to Clam Lake DNR Access Route overview: Intermediate Level 7 Miles 3 Hours Estimated Time By Deana Jerdee, Executive Director To celebrate my birthday this year, my entire family, including my mom and my sister’s family, decided to enjoy an adventure on the Chain of Lakes. We loaded up our trailer full of nine boats and headed to Cottage Drive Park on… Read More »

We are excited to announce that we, along with the Village of Elk Rapids, are looking for public input on a preliminary design of improvements for Elk Rapids Rotary Park. We announced this project back in 2019 and are very excited to be moving forward to the community input phase.  In 2017, the Village of Elk Rapids completed a Recreation Survey and a universal kayak launch was an identified improvement… Read More »

Dear Friends, For the last five years we have welcomed paddlers to northern Michigan to experience our pristine waterways during the Paddle Antrim Festival. It is with a heavy heart that I announce the difficult decision to cancel the beloved festival for 2020. This year has not turned out as any of us have expected and to hear of another cancellation is likely not the news you were looking for… Read More »

Paddle Antrim is joining the global #GivingTuesdayNow movement to raise funds and share stories of generosity in the Chain of Lakes region and beyond.  #GvingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity, set to take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. The day is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support… Read More »