Here is a listing of some kayaking and canoeing races, events and festivals that are happening in August. All these events sound like they would be a lot of fun to paddle.

Fort Edward, NY

Monday, August 3rd starts The Great Champlain- Hudson Paddle. This paddle is a fifteen day, 195 mile kayaking trip from Fort Edward to New York City. According to the website, this event is designed for paddlers of varied skill levels. There will be two groups, thru-paddlers and getaway paddlers. Thru-paddlers will paddle the entire trip and getaway paddlers can sign up for three day segments of the paddle. Kayakers will be paddling along the Champlain Canal and Hudson River. The event is scheduled to end on August 17th.

Auburn, NY

Saturday, August 9th is a triathlon called The Great Race in Auburn, New York. The Great Race is also known as the Captain Myles Keogh Paddle. This is a run, bike, and paddle relay race. You can paddle either a canoe or kayak. The race starts at Emerson Park on Owasco Lake, which is in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Paddlers can enter the traditional race or short race. The traditional race is a 6.2mile run, 19.5 mile bike, and a 4 mile paddle.  The short race is a 3.1 mile run, 10 mile bike, and 2 mile paddle (kayak or canoe). The teams for the traditional and short race are: four person canoe team or three person kayak team. There is also a short tandem race for two person canoe teams.

Milford, CT

Saturday, August 15 is the 35th Annual Milford Oyster Festival’s Canoe and Kayak Race. This race is held at the Milford Boat Launch in Milford, Connecticut. The kayak race is 5 miles. The canoe race will be in two classes, racing and novice. The racing class will paddle four miles and the novice class will paddle one mile. According to their website the Milford Oyster Festival is the largest one day festival in Connecticut. This sounds like a paddling event and festival that the whole family can enjoy.

San Antonio, TX

Saturday, August 15th is the Ford Canoe Challenge in San Antonio, Texas. This race is on the San Antonio River. Corporate teams, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts compete in this paddle, which begins at the Chamber of Commerce, and goes through and around the Convention Center Lagoon, then through the River Center Mall Lagoon and back to the Chamber of Commerce. This sounds like fun event for the whole family.
 

Back in 1966, Pete Seeger decided to do something about the heavily polluted Hudson River. His idea was to build a boat – specifically a replica of an 18th century sloop – to attract more people to the shores of the Hudson, thereby increasing awareness of the river’s environmental issues.

The Clearwater has helped to reconnect Hudson River Valley residents with the river and is the centerpiece of the annual Great Hudson River Revival, that brings more people down to the river and increases awareness about this fragile ecosystem and the need to protect it.

This year’s Clearwater Festival – Great Hudson River Revival takes place Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21 at Croton Point Park in Croton-on Hudson, NY. Contemporary blues star Susan Tedeschi, renowned Sixties era troubadour Arlo Guthrie and “newgrass” sensations Old Crow Medicine Show are among the headliners of the festival.

According to the festival web site,

The 2009 Clearwater Festival will be celebrating a number of auspicious occasions this year, including the 40th anniversary of the launch of the sloop Clearwater, the 90th birthday of the legendary folksinger, and Clearwater founder, Pete Seeger and the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river on the Half Moon.

The Festival makes possible innovative educational initiatives, which have helped more than 430,000 young people and over 250,000 adults experience the wonders of the Hudson River from aboard the sloop Clearwater. The organization itself has gained worldwide recognition for its leadership in helping to pass landmark environmental laws, both state and federal, including the Clean Water Act. Recently, Clearwater played a key role in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPAs) decision to compel one of the Hudson River’s biggest polluters to begin removing toxic PCBs from the water and restoring one of the most polluted portions of the river.

Go to the Clearwater’s web site to learn more about how you can get involved in awareness, education and conservation.

Go to the Great Hudson River Festival web site to get tickets and find out more about the annual festival.

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Click here to visit our kayak, canoe races and events page to find the links to these websites and to find many other races and events that are going on all year all over the U.S.