Earth Day - this is Cleveland's Cuyahoga River NOW!

/

Ahhh it’s been 54 years since the first Earth Day. You may participate in a beach clean-up, plant a tree or flowers, or any number of infinite ways to recognize and celebrate a time when concerns about environmental pollution led to a nationwide grassroots response in 1970.

Image by bill roverts (1964)

Many think-pieces will reference the relatively minor fire on the Cuyahoga River that received national attention (along with an erroneous photo) after Time Magazine ran a short but devastating piece.

We do wish more journalists (and their editors) would flip the script and instead of looking back on the bad old days, they take a look at the ONE river in the world that can elegantly and directly speak to how far the ecological movement has come for a variety of reasons.

  • the value of common sense environmental regulations like the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)

  • the positive impact of large remediation investments the public has made via EPA funding (i.e. community development following delisting of the Ashtabula AOC) that turned the Cuyahoga River from a river the city turned its back on into a place people want to use as their front porch.

  • How large investments in stormwater infrastructure have improved the river’s and Lake Erie’s health (looking at you Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District!)

  • the substantial catalytic impact a revitalized natural resource has had on the regional economy and quality of life for Cleveland's citizens and Ohio’s coastal communities.

We wish more journos and editors would show the Cuyahoga as it is used TODAY (as the images below show) and yes, our 6th Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is the PR event and photo-op reminder of the industrial strength fun paddlers can have on a revitalized natural resource that has been transformed from a pipeline for industrial waste into a conduit for tourism and recreation! That’s a great example of how environmental stewardship is good business!

Be part of our annual celebration of the comeback Cuyahoga River by registering for our June 22, 2024 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest today. Save $10 until April 27 by using the promo code EarthDayBPP. We WILL sell out so please register soon!

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest 2019 (Ken Busch)

blazing paddles paddlefest 2021 (ron skinner)

blazing paddles paddlefest (brett fisher)

blazing paddles paddlefest 2022 (drone ohio)

blazing paddles paddlefest (Tom Hart)

On a cold and blustery spring day, you sure could use a Blazing Paddles stoke vid, right?!

/
On a cold and blustery spring day, you sure could use a Blazing Paddles stoke vid, right?!

Dunno ‘bout where you live but here on the north coast of Ohio we were treated to freezing temperatures, snow flurries, and big gusty winds today. In other words, it’s spring in name only! But calmer days and warmer temps are not far away! We figured today was a good day to drop the 2022 Blazing Paddles Paddlfest stoke video to boost your paddling spirits!

Read More

Ohio River Paddlefest Celebrates 20 Years of Paddling the Ohio

/
Ohio River Paddlefest Celebrates 20 Years of Paddling the Ohio

Saturday’s 20th Annual Ohio River Paddlefest in Cincinnati, OH was a return to normalcy for almost 2,000 paddlers hungry for the opportunity to reconnect with each other and the Ohio River.

Read More

One Week After the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

/
One Week After the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

One week ago on what some are calling a history-making day on Cleveland’s hard-working, scenic, and historic Cuyahoga River, many of you were part of the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest. During a short vacation (and an exhilarating whitewater rafting trip down the Cheat Narrows) in Dryfork, WV we’ve had a chance to reflect on what transpired on that amazing Saturday morning and we wanted to share a few thoughts. And some background.

Read More

Announcement on Blazing Paddles Return to the Comeback Cuyahoga River on July 24

/
Announcement on Blazing Paddles Return to the Comeback Cuyahoga River on July 24

Share the River’s founder, Jim Ridge, announces the 3rd Annual Blazing Paddles will return to Cleveland’s comeback Cuyahoga River on Saturday, July 24, 2021! Registration opens at 6 p.m. tonight!

Read More

Slow River: Scranton Flats

/
Slow River: Scranton Flats

Slow River: Scranton Flats is the second installment of a trial series called "Slow River". Every Sunday morning we'll share a real-time scene with natural audio. It's a riff on the Norwegian "Slow TV" Series popularized in the 2000s.

Read More

Freighters and Kayaks at Merwin's Wharf - Mind the Bow Thruster

/
Freighters and Kayaks at Merwin's Wharf - Mind the Bow Thruster

Paddlers looking to explore the final miles of the Cuyahoga River have been turning to Cleveland Metroparks' Merwin's Wharf dock that offers one of the few public "put-ins" and technically the only one located in the Federal Navigation Channel

Read More

Freighter Stirs the Cuyahoga River Drink

/
Freighter Stirs the Cuyahoga River Drink

On a recent Saturday we caught the 630 foot long freighter Calumet making its way up a Cuyahoga River busy with recreational watercraft. It provided a great example of Cleveland’s evolving “theater of the waterfront’ and provided a few lessons on the river’s increasing popularity with recreational paddlers.

Read More

PHASTAR is looking for kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders interested in becoming River Ambassadors

/
PHASTAR is looking for kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders interested in becoming River Ambassadors

PHASTAR is currently looking for kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders interested in becoming River Ambassadors. If you are experienced in these watersports, want to spend more time doing what you love, and want to help keep our local Northeast Ohio rivers safe, then this is the perfect opportunity.

Read More

A BIG Weekend for Cleveland's Waterfront (photos and video).

/
A BIG Weekend for Cleveland's Waterfront (photos and video).

It seemed there was something going on along every piece of Cleveland’s waterfront this past weekend with:

  • The Tall Ships Festival Parade of Sail kicking off affairs on Thursday afternoon.

  • An open water swim at Edgewater Park hosted by North Coast Multisports that served as a tune-up for the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships returning to Cleveland August 9-10.

  • An SUP Yoga session with SUP CLE at Wendy Park.

  • A birds-eye view of recreational kayaks interacting with the freighter Sam Laud as it transited the lower Cuyahoga River (more on that in a future post).

Read More

The 2019 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Blazes a New Cuyahoga River Narrative

/
The 2019 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Blazes a New Cuyahoga River Narrative

A new narrative for Cleveland was blazed as 250 paddlers on kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes took part in a historic celebration on the Cuyahoga River, 50 years to the day since the 1969 fire ignited the environmental movement.

Read More

When Santa and the Coast Guard Rescue the Santa Paddle's Rescue Boat

/
When Santa and the Coast Guard Rescue the Santa Paddle's Rescue Boat

Usually we prefer to stay in the background when we're covering one of Cleveland's waterfront stories but during Sunday's third annual Santa Paddle, we found ourselves right in the middle of a Cleveland version of "The Old Man and the Sea"

 

Read More

Traci Lynn Martin's Great Lakes Circumnavigation Adventure

/
Traci Lynn Martin's Great Lakes Circumnavigation Adventure

Imagine taking a year off from your job, cashing in a large chunk of your 401K, saying goodbye to your family, and setting off on a journey to achieve one goal but also to show people with chronic illness how to triumph over adversity. Traci Lynn Martin is doing just that in her quest to become the first person to circumnavigate all five Great Lakes

Read More

Critical YAK on the Cuyahoga River

/
Critical YAK on the Cuyahoga River

Last Friday we caught up with the inaugural Critical YAK, an informal aquatic gathering where kayakers put in at Cleveland Metroparks' Merwin's Wharf dock, paddled 1.7 miles down the Cuyahoga River out to Lake Erie, hung a left and beached at Wendy Park for some fun at Whiskey Island Still and Eatery before returning to Merwin's Wharf.

Read More

Today is River Day!

/
Today is River Day!

Today is Cuyahoga River Restoration's River Day, where 29 different events and activities give you an opportunity to spend some time along the Cuyahoga River and its system of wetlands, tributaries and, of course, Lake Erie, where the river flows into

Read More

30 Photographs And One Video Of Our Earth Day Stroll along the Cuyahoga River

/
30 Photographs And One Video Of Our Earth Day Stroll along the Cuyahoga River

Each Earth Day we take a stroll along the banks of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River to bear witness to the progress made along Cleveland's waterfront since the first Earth Day in 1970

Read More

24 Cuyahoga River Photographs with the Cleveland Indians' Home (Progressive Field) Lurking in the Background

/
24 Cuyahoga River Photographs with the Cleveland Indians' Home (Progressive Field) Lurking in the Background

24 Cuyahoga River photographs with the Cleveland Indians home lurking in the background.

Read More

A StandUp Paddleboarder Dances on the Cuyahoga River with the Cleveland Air Show Armada

/
A StandUp Paddleboarder Dances on the Cuyahoga River with the Cleveland Air Show Armada

As we scanned the river we noticed how it was quickly becoming an aquatic version of rush-hour - and then in the midst of the maelstrom we noticed a single stand-up paddleboarder powering his way into the procession.

Read More