KSU Adventure Center

Kent State University Department of Recreational Services Boating Safety and Paddling Education Program

The Adventure Center under the Department of Recreational Services at Kent State University provides boating safety and paddling education programs not just for Kent State students, faculty and staff, but also for the surrounding communities within Portage County and beyond. Located within the Student Recreation and Wellness Center on the Kent State University campus, the Adventure Center includes an Indoor Climbing Wall and Outdoor Rental Center, Adventure Trips and Outdoor Instruction, and a Teambuilding and Leadership Challenges (TLC) program.

As part of their Adventure Trips and Outdoor Instruction program, the KSU Adventure Center offers a boating safety and paddling education program that includes a wide variety of kayaking trips and instructional clinics, Ohio Boating Education Courses, and ACA Level 1 and 2 Coastal and River Kayaking classes. The facilities and natural resources available to the KSU Adventure Center allow them to offer instructional kayaking classes year round.

During the boating season, students and program instructors take advantage of their great local natural resources including Mogadore Reservoir and Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir at West Branch State Park for coastal kayaking instruction. They utilize the Cuyahoga River in downtown Kent for river kayaking instruction. During the off-season, they offer kayaking pool sessions to practice paddling skills in the Natatorium at their Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Over the past 3 years, the KSU Adventure Center has offered both spring and fall paddling trips to Mogadore Reservoir, a “Kayak the Cuyahoga” trip from Kent to Munroe Falls, a coastal kayak trip to Cleveland Lakefront State Park, and whitewater rafting trips to Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. With now 5 American Canoe Association certified instructors on staff, they have also offered numerous instructional kayaking programs for summer camps, staff groups, and KSU students in the Physical Education Professional program within the School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sport.

The program has received two ODNR Watercraft Boating Safety Education Grants the past two years. In 2008, KSU received a grant for $14,561 for coastal kayaking instruction to fund the purchase of 10 new touring kayaks, paddles, PFDs, and spray skirts, a kayak trailer, a boating education course instructor kit, and additional kayak instructor certification training. This year they received a grant for $3,923 for river kayaking instruction to fund the purchase of a river kayak instructor boat, rescue equipment, educational supplies, and additional kayak instructor certification training.

Partners of the KSU Adventure Center include the KSU School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sport, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Kent Parks and Recreation, ODNR Division of Watercraft, and local retailers including Appalachian Outfitters in Peninsula and Outdoor Recreational Equipment in Boardman.

For more information about the programs and services through the KSU Adventure Center, check out their website and contact Dave Herpy, Outdoor Adventure and Camp Coordinator, at (330) 672-2803 or via email.