photo courtesy of Wildwood Water Sports
Wildwood Water Sports is a locally owned, family run business based in Shubie Park on the Shubenacadie Canal. This year, against the odds and difficulties with COVID-19 the family was able to open their business to provide an amazing historical and fitness experience to the community.
Wildwood Watersports rents kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards by the hour on the canal during the summer and fall to those of all ages and skill levels. Lori McKay, one of the company owners said in an interview this week, “a lot of families will come and rent boats! We have kids as young as two and we recently had a woman of 85 who tried paddling for the first time!”
This year to ensure the safety of the staff and the community, they increased their cleaning procedures in light of COVID-19. The staff are cleaning the equipment in between all customers to do their part in preventing any spread of illness.
Paddling the canal is really the way it was meant to be explored. About 10000 years ago this same waterway was used by the Mi’kmaq to travel across the province for trade of materials and goods. In the 1800s the canal was dug out to connect the Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy utilizing the many already present lakes, such as Lake Charles and Lake Micmac. McKay said, “People really seem to love the canal! If you have never seen it before, you need to!”
Wildwood Water Sports is located down by the docks in Shubie Park at 54 Locks Rd Dartmouth. During the summer they are open 10:00am-6:00pm with the last boat going out at 5:00pm. They are also open in the fall on the weekends. To find out more information about Wildwood Water Sports please visit their website at wildwoodwatersports.ca. In Lori McKay’s own words, “paddling here is easy and it is a good beginner place!”
Visit Wildwood Water Sports online here