Gathering water lovers

Water has a way of bringing people together with its myriad of renewable life-giving properties. This is certainly true of the waters of the Coulee Region of southwestern and central Wisconsin, part of the vast Mississippi River watershed where numerous vital clear streams flow through rugged verdant valleys below unglaciated wooded bluffs.

"We love the diversity of the waters we are privileged to paddle here in the Coulee Region," said Jessie Conaway, of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Conaway founded the Coulee Canoe and Kayak Club (CCAKC) in 2007 and it has since become is one of the region's largest canoe and kayaking organizations. The club has more than 100 members who particularly enjoy paddling the La Crosse River before it joins the Black and Mississippi rivers at Riverside Park in the heart of the city of La Crosse.

Conaway describes with pride how CCAKC members have nurtured the La Crosse River Water Trail. Also established in 2007, the 3.5-mile water trail flows through urban La Crosse without paddlers even knowing it. The sights and sounds of the city are masked by lush vegetation teeming with birds and other wildlife along the shoreline. Sections of the trail meander alongside some of the city's parks.

The project was launched with a stewardship grant from the American Canoe Association and the L.L. Bean Co.

The water trail allows for shuttling by bicycle along the city's many trails. In fact, combining the two silent sports allows visits to the Riverside International Friendship Gardens at the Riverside Park's river landing.

CCAKC member Brian Hopkins helps schedule weekly paddling trips between April and October. The trips include not only floats down the La Crosse River, but also explorations of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Long Lake and Goose Island canoe trails and the lower Black River.

The club sponsored a trip to the Apostle Islands in July and last year took members to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota.

These events and more are listed on the club's website at www.ccakc.org. Information about upcoming water safety and first-aid education classes can be found there, too.

Just as streams flow naturally into one another, CCAKC joins other paddling clubs in western Wisconsin - including the Chippewa Paddlers of Eau Claire and the Driftless Paddlers of Viroqua and Vernon counties - willing to share their love for the natural beauty of the area.