Slow River: Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Sights on the Cuyahoga River

Right out of the blocks we’re going to admit to cheating a little on this week’s Slow River. Normally we set up the cam and let the scene play out with little to no editing. Given Friday’s announcement that Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is returning to the comeback Cuyahoga River when it launches from Cleveland Rowing Foundation/Rivergate Park on Saturday, July 24, 2021, we’re going to make an exception.

As prep for the inaugural Blazing Paddles in 2018, Western Reserve Rowing Association’s Bill Rickman took us in a launch up a glassy Cuyahoga River on a brilliant morning in Cleveland. In addition to the tour of bridges that any trip up the river provides, we were also treated to:

• A goose photobomb

• The Algoma Buffalo offloading aggregate at the Shelly Company’s W. 3rd. St. dock

• Ryba Marine Construction’s tug Thomas R. Morrish pushing a scow full of dredged material downriver to the Port of Cleveland’s beneficial reuse facility on Lake Erie.

The trip is a reminder of Cleveland’s theater of the waterfront. It’s a hard working waterfront that provides a visually rich landscape for anyone plying the waters of the Cuyahoga River. We hope this virtual tour encourages you to be part of the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest in Cleveland, OH on Saturday, July 24, 2021.

• Visit our website for detail on Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

• Register for the (up to) 8.6 mile recreational float/paddle at Race Roster

• Register for the 2.9, 5.4, or 13-mile kayak, paddleboard, and canoe races at Paddle Guru

If this week’s Slow River moves too slowly for you, here’s the snappier time-lapse we cut back in 2018.