Kayaks, paddleboards can now be rented at Pinhook Park in South Bend
New this year, there are now two sit-on-top kayaks and two stand-up paddleboards that you can rent at South Bend’s Pinhook Park, 2801 Riverside Dr.
You’ll find them in self-serve cages near the boat launch. Use your smartphone and a QR code on the cage to open the door and pay. It costs $5 to unlock it. The first rental is free, then there are different packages you can buy, depending on how much time you want to spend on the water. It went live May 27.
This is provided through the company Rent.Fun, whose website shows the same rentals in LaPorte and Warsaw.
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Aaron Perri, the city’s executive director of Venues, Parks and Arts, says that, depending on how much they’re used, the company could set out up to 12 watercraft at Pinhook. Rentals include the watercraft, paddle and life jacket. Note: The kayaks and paddleboards look very similar; the paddleboards are flatter.
They are available from dawn to dusk daily.
Perri says this is a way to add a paddling resource to Pinhook, which has gone through several upgrades in recent years, including a path along the perimeter, added fishing piers, a tree trail and a PBS Nature Cat trail. Unlike river paddling, he notes, this doesn't rely on fluctuations in staffing or river levels to remain available.
Follow Outdoor Adventures columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures. Contact him at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Pinhook Park in South Bend offers kayak paddleboard rental services
