Life on the lake: Paddleboarding marks end of summer at Wiregrass

Paddleboarding may have its roots in the ancient cultures of the South Pacific but enthusiasm for the sport can be seen right in our own backyard.

On Tuesday, Metroparks Toledo hosted a sold out sunset paddleboarding event at Wiregrass Lake Metropark in Holland that drew many attendees to learn about the peaceful water based activity that involves sitting, standing, or kneeling on a surfboard-like piece of buoyant material and paddling or propelling oneself with a long oar.

“This differs from canoeing and kayaking because you are more likely to get in the water or get wet,” said Jessica Schaefer, an outdoor skills interpreter at the Metroparks who ran the event, during which attendees could choose to paddle off on their own or stay close to a naturalist to learn more about the lake and its place in the ecosystem of the Oak Openings region.

The probability of getting wet informs a couple things about the program, Schaefer added, including the time of year it is offered (mostly in the summer months before the water gets really cold) and where it is offered — at Wiregrass and Blue Creek Metropark in Whitehouse.

“Those two areas have really excellent water quality,” she said. “There are also not a lot of hazards like submerged logs. They really are ideal locations for paddleboarding.”

Wiregrass is known for the diversity of its dragonflies, which is always a point of interest during events like this, in addition to the toads and trees in full bloom that are present in other places in the Oak Openings region.

Tuesday’s session was the last paddleboarding event of the year, but by no means does that signal the end of Metroparks activities for the year.

“As the summer turns into fall, we transition into archery,” said Shannon Hughes, the Metroparks’ overall director of programming. “We have a beginner archery league that we do, and some other things like that through September. We also start to focus back on our school programs.”

Hughes teased some Halloween related events like Nature at Night Fest, a learning opportunity about creatures of the night like owls, bats, and flying squirrels that will be held at Pearson Park in October.

“We will start to focus in on our core values as they surround nature and nature education,” Hughes said of upcoming fall programming.