“Pint and Paddle” You Say?

Over the summer and into the fall, Cruising Canoes does a series of Pint and Paddle tours.  For a small fee, you get either a kayak or canoe, paddle and PFD and the cost of your pint covered at a local establishment.  The tour goes around local areas in the Quinte Region and this particular one I went on took us down the Moira River.

My friend Kerri had gathered a few co-workers for this particular night, and asked if I wanted to come along as well. I have done a creek trip before with Andrew from Cruising Canoes, but never been down this section of the Moira River before.  We started our little adventure with a pick up at Signal Brewery Co, and all loaded into the van to our put in.  We only drove a few minutes to the bridge that crosses the Moira River on Harmony Rd.  Once loaded into the kayaks and canoes we were off. 

It is so nice to see my backdoor from a kayak.  Living here now for 17 years, I have yet to travel the Moira, and was so glad that I did.  With our new canoe, this was opening up new areas to explore in our own backyard.  The Quinte area has so much to offer in waterways, that this is now just the beginning for me.

With a nice leisurely paddle taking just over an hour, we ended at the dam by Signal Brewery.  The water levels were really low, and a few of us decided to try going over the low spot on the dam.  I was a little nervous, but sucked it up and down over the little dip I went.  If you go on the Cruising Canoes Facebook page, you can find the videos from that night.  I did get really wet, but that’s the nature of the beast.  If I had known, I would have brought a change of clothes. Next time!

We then went into Signal Brewery to have a pint. The other perk of the night.  I have never been in this building since they have opened the brewery, but what a lovely place.  There is a stage for music events, a nice big spacious dining area, and a huge outdoor patio. We opted to sit inside, since some of us was still wet LOL. 

There are many craft beers to choose from, but I am fond of ciders.  This one was lovely and I know I’ll be back here for more.  The brewery also has a nice menu with many shareable items, and we tasted a few of these as well.  There were yam fries, a meat and cheese try, shrimp salad, and flat breads. 

If you have not yet tried a Cruising Canoes event, I would high suggest you get on that!  You can start off easy with these pint and paddle tours, or just jump in on one of their multi-day overnight trips.  Everything you need is included in these trips! You only need to bring the clothes you want to wear.