Downriver Without a Paddle? Turn to Riverside Kayak Connection

A decade ago, kayakers in Downriver communities were up the proverbial creek without a paddle. There weren’t any retail shops serving paddling enthusiasts taking to the many waterways between the Detroit and Huron Rivers and Lake Erie.

Tiffany and Patrick VanDeHey changed that when they opened Riverside Kayak Connection in Wayndotte, The News-Herald reports.

In their 10 years in business, the couple have seen a boom in kayaking.

“When Riverside Kayak Connection first opened few people were kayaking on the river, and now we are averaging 100 kayakers during the paddle season,” Patrick VanDeHey said

Their business offers plenty of supplies to meet kayakers’ needs, but to call it simply a retail store is to call Lake Erie a little pond. The business “very rapidly evolved into retail but with a portion of community outreach, tours, classes and philanthropic work,” Anita Twardesky, Riverside Kayak Connection’s community outreach manager, told the News-Herald.

“Southeast Michigan, particularly Downriver, is a hidden jewel with world-class kayaking and bicycling trails from Elizabeth Park and all the way through the metro parks system,” she said. “We are just in a super, super special place where you can kayak and bicycle; there’s great infrastructure and communities here, and moving that whole thing forward is a goal of ours.”

What: Riverside Kayak Connection   |   Where: 4016 Biddle Ave.   |   Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Fridays; 1-7 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays   |   Phone: (734) 285-2925   |   Web site: riversidekayak.com

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