Ever since I built my packraft I’ve been eager to test it out. We had an upcoming trip out to the Deschutes River in Oregon, but why wait? There’s a perfectly good river right in my home city!
Siyang also bought a new packraft (a Microraft) last winter and had yet to try it out, so we decided it would be a good idea to do some low-stakes paddling before plunging into some whitewater. One day after work we headed downtown in search of a place to launch our rafts on the Chicago River. We found a kayak rental place on the Riverwalk who allowed us to use their dock for a small fee. After inflating our boats we were on our way!
We were something of a spectacle on the river. Kayaks are common but I’ve never seen a packraft in downtown Chicago, and I don’t think any of the onlookers had either. A lot of people waved at us and some people in smaller boats asked us about our cool rafts.
Chicago is famous for its architecture (make sure you do the architecture boat tour if you ever visit!) so it’s a fun river to paddle down. Definitely something I’d do again. Oh, and the rafts were great! I’m looking forward to taking them out on a backcountry river!
