With kayak and canoe season well underway, we’re glad to bring you the following information on some really great paddling events happening around the country.

These kayaking and canoeing events and races for May and June 2010 look like some of the most fun anyone who loves to paddle could have on the water.

We encourage you to take part in these or any of your local river, lake and ocean paddling events. As always, if you’d like us to post your event on our blog and include it on our kayak and canoe races and events calendars (by month or by state), please use our handy contact form to send us all of the info.

Kayak / Canoe Event and Races for May 2010:

May 22, 2010 – Saturday

• Great Suwannee River Race
Suwannee County, Florida

This event includes a raft race and canoe / kayak race.

Schedule of Great Suwannee River Race Events:

7 a.m. Rafts — Registration begins at Camp ‘O The Suwannee Subdivision boat ramp. Rafts launch from the boat ramp and assemble at the starting point, Little River Spring.

7 a.m. Canoes and Kayaks — Registration begins at Royal Spring boat ramp. Canoes and kayaks launch from the boat ramp and assemble at the starting point north of the Royal Spring Run.

10 a.m. Raft race begins

10 a.m. Canoe/Kayak race begins

1 p.m. Presentation of awards and trophies

Ivey Memorial Park – Branford

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

May 29, 2010 – Saturday

• Metedeconk River Run
Windward Beach – Brick, New Jersey

*This race is part of the Tune-Up Kayak Training Series culminating in the New York City Kayak Championships Mayor’s Cup.

The event includes a 1 mile Family Frenzy, 6 mile Kayak & Surf Ski race, and 12 mile Kayak & Surf Ski race

Here are the race day details:

8:00 am – 9:00 am – Check In

9:30 am- Safety Briefing

.5 mile Family Frenzy 10:00 am Launch

1.0 mile Family Frenzy 11:00 am Launch

6 mile course – 12:00 pm Launch

12 mile course – 12:00 pm Launch

2:00 pm Finish Party and Awards

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

Kayak / Canoe Event and Races for June 2010:

June 5, 2010 – Saturday

• Annual New River Canoe Race
Ashe County, NC

This is a great race for novice as well as experienced paddlers. Trophies, race T & door prizes. Also holding a silent auction with some really great items to bid on. All proceeds go to the 4H scholarship fund.

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

June 12, 2010 – Saturday (start)

• Texas Water Safari – World’s Toughest Canoe Race
San Marcos to Corpus Christi

260 Miles, 100 Hours, June, Texas. They don’t call this the world’s toughest canoe race for nothing!

That pretty much says it all!

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

June 12, 2010 – Saturday

• First Annual Grand River Kayak Race
Grand Haven, Michigan

This fast 3-mile race is the First Annual Grand River Kayak Race to benefit the “Friends of Ottawa County Parks”. Race is aprox 3 miles in length and start and stop location in Stearn’s Bayou, Grand Haven, MI.

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

June 25-26, 2010

• Ohio River Way Paddlefest
Cincinnati, OH

The Ohio River Way Paddlefest is the largest paddling event in the US with 1,700 paddlers in over 1100 canoes and kayaks paddling down the Ohio to celebrate the beauty and recreational benefits of this majestic river.

Schedule of events:

Festival at Coney Island on Friday, June 25

8.2 Mile Paddle Event with 1,700 participants on Saturday, June 26

For more information on this and other events, please check our BornToPaddle.com Kayak & Canoe – Races & Events Calendar pages.

Looking for paddling locations in your state?

Search our places to paddle page for places to kayak or canoe for flatwater or whitewater.  Kayaking and canoeing paddling locations are listed by U.S. State

You’re in luck!

Texas has a program called the Texas Paddling Trails. This program has developed public inland and coastal paddling trails throughout the State of Texas. According to their website, these are trails with maps, signs and other information. The paddling trails are for day trips in different settings and are for all levels of paddling experience.

Whether you live in the State of Texas or just visiting, if you want to go kayaking or canoeing you have plenty of choices.

Here is the list of inland and coastal paddling trails:

Inland Paddling Trails

• Lake Arlington Paddling Trail – This 10.9-mile paddling trail
• Upper Guadalupe- Nichol’s Landing Paddling Trail - This is 9.9-mile of the Guadalupe River in Comal County
• Victoria Paddling Trail- Riverside Park, Victoria TX -This is 4.2 miles of the Guadalupe River in the Coastal Region
• El Camino Real Paddling Trail, Bastrop, TX -6 mile trail
• Wilbarger Paddling Trail, Bastrop, TX -14.3 mile trail
• Columbus Paddling Trail, Columbus, TX – is a 6.5 miles trail on the Colorado River
• Goliad Paddling Trail, Goliad TX -This 6.6-mile river trail is located on the San Antonio River near the town of Goliad.
• Luling Zedler Mill Paddling Trail, Luling, TX – six-mile river trail is located on the San Marcos River near the city of Luling.

Coastal Paddling Trails

• South Bay Paddling Trail – The South Bay Paddling Trail follows the shores of South Bay in a loop of about eight miles. This trail is located in Cameron County. Brownsville, Port Isabel, South Padre Island.
• Christmas Bay Paddling Trail – This is a 19.1 mile circumnavigation in the western end of Galveston Bay. Convenient to metro Houston. This Paddling Trail also offers shorter loops of 3.8 and 10.3 miles.
• Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail – The Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail offers a series of four loops ranging in length from 1.25 miles to 6.8 miles.
• Armand Bayou Paddling Trail – The Armand Bayou Paddling Trail follows Armand Bayou near Clear Lake.
• Galveston Island State Park Paddling Trail – Galveston Island State Park offers three paddling trails, the 2.6-mile Dana Cove (Lake Como) trail, the 4.8-mile Oak Bayou trail and the 2.8-mile Jenkins Bayou trail.
• Mustang Island Paddling Trail – The Mustang Island Paddling Trail offers three paddling trails, the 8.5 mile North Trail, the 5.24 mile Shamrock Loop and the 6.8 mile Ashum Trail. All three trails follow the western shoreline of Mustang Island in Corpus Christi Bay.
• Port O’Connor Paddling Trail – There are three paddling trails that total more than 25 miles, the 12.3 mile Fishpond trail, 8.28 mile South Loop trail and 4.82 mile North Loop.

Another popular kayaking and canoeing river is the Brazos River.

The Brazos River Authority provides paddling maps for below the Possum Kingdom Lake and Below Lake Granbury.

Click here to go to our places to paddle in Texas page to find these websites and more.

Click here to find places to paddle around the U.S.