John – 12

Have you ever been paddle boarding? Well, if you haven’t, you should try it. It may sound hard at first, but it is really quite easy. The first thing they do is give you a paddle that fits your height. Then they tell you to stay up on your knees. When you are ready, you stand up.  You can get going quickly, but if you fall off you get soaked in cold water. -The warmest Lake Tahoe water gets is 68 degrees,even in the summer!  It is really easy to control the paddleboard and to paddle/row it.  It is fun for the whole family; if you have kids younger they can sit on the edge of the front part of the board, or they can have there own board. My sister (7) had her own board and did really well. It was fun to paddleboard at Lake Tahoe.  You could see clear down to the bottom (about 10 feet where we were at). -Lake Tahoe is over 1,600 feet deep in some places!  The place that we went to, South Tahoe Standup Paddle, was really helpful and nice.  They helped us with getting our paddleboards, and they also helped carry all of our equipment down to the beach.  Their shop had a nice atmosphere, and they were nice and kind to all of us.  I recommend going sometime and trying it out.  Included in the rental price was a 15 minute lesson that was very helpful.  The price is $20 per person per hour.  That can be a little expensive, but it is worth it!

Hadley – 10

if you have been kayaking, then you will love to go stand up paddleboarding. We went to a place called South Tahoe Standup Paddle.  You can probably guess that it is in Lake Tahoe on the south shore.  It doesn’t matter what age or size you are for paddleboarding.  You do not want to fall into the water at Lake Tahoe – it is really cold!  You can get a 15 minute lesson that is free with board rental.  They also have 1 hour lessons for $35.00.  They were very nice.  Everyone in our group wore life jackets – kids have to wear them.  At Lake Tahoe you can see through most of the water, but if you look down while you are paddleboarding, you lose your balance and could fall.  It is easy to catch on to paddleboarding, but they suggest you start out on your knees and work your way to standing up.  I liked it because I felt like I could see more than when I am kayaking.  I think people should try this experience.  I would go to the same store if you are in Lake Tahoe, they were really helpful for beginners like us.

Barnett – 7

Have you been paddleboarding?  I have.  It looks hard, but it is actually easy.  The idea of standing up when there are waves coming in sounds hard.  It is easy because you can stay on your knees if you want.  It was fun.  I fell once into the water – it was freezing!  It is OK to fall in, just get back up on the board.  The people at South Tahoe Standup Paddle gave us tips and instructions.  Some other people in the area gave us tips too.  Everyone was very nice.  Here are some tips:  start out on your knees, try to stand up, don’t look down, keep your knees flexible, and when you wobble fall back onto your knees.  Little kids should always wear a lifejacket.  Adults should probably wear one too.  I would go back to South Tahoe Standup Paddle because they were nice and it was fun.  We even saw a person paddleboarding with their dog!

Outside of the shop

Paddleboards

Inside of their shop