River Clean Up: May 21!

We’re grateful to own a business just feet from one of Minnesota’s best assets – the Mississippi River. And we always make it a point to respect and preserve this natural treasure which is why we want you to join us for a cleanup day!

Not only will you be helping to keep this area of the river clean and beautiful but - as long as you take a garbage bag and help fill it - we’ll give you 50% off shuttles and equipment rental.

Plans are also underway for a “lunch ferry”, special guests and history lesson so bring the whole family, enjoy a day on the water and help take care of one of our most precious gifts!

Reserve your spot TODAY: call, email or fill out our online form!

A New State Water Trail ?

Hey there CWOC fans,
Are you up for creating more quality paddling in Central MN? Well....our friends on the Elk River are taking on a very noble cause. They have some great momentum going in an effort to make the above stretch of the Elk River into a designated state water trail. However, they need more help in getting it done. We have a composed letter that you could sign and send off to our local legislatures before this legislative session ends. Just send us an email and we can send you the letters. Then all you need do is fill in your name at the bottom, print out, sign and put in the mail. If you have any questions, contact Tiffany Determan at the Sherburne SWCD (763-241-1170 ext 3). She is a main reason why this effort is gaining momentum.

Thanks for all your support and pass on the word!

Dan & the CWOC crew

New year, new ambitions!

Hi CWOC friends!

With every new year, comes new ambitions, hopes and goals... We're hard at work planning new and exciting things for our most dedicated friends, neighbors and customers. We're looking forward to continuing to offer the BEST service and HIGHEST quality equipment in central Minnesota.

As we prepare for a great second season, we invite you to keep in touch! We're always active on Facebook, adding gear to our online store and sending out monthly e-newsletters.

We look forward to seeing you soon! Until then, we'll be hoping for an early ice-out on the Mississippi, staying warm at the Creamery and catching up on some fun video like this one (we have no idea what they're saying but doesn't that look like wicked fun?!).

All the Best,
Dan & the CWOC Crew

Grand Opening!

The grand opening of our retail store is now set for August 21 & 22. (Yes, it's the same weekend as the infamous Clearwater rodeo. Come for the canoes... stay for the clowns, right?!)

All the details for the weekend can be found on our website at www.cwoutfitting.com/grandopening.

With expert demonstrations, vendor booths, weekend-only deals, food and live music it's sure to be a good time. Hope you can join us!

July Update

Hey everyone!

We wanted to get a quick update out to let you know our paddle trips on the “Wild & Scenic” Mississippi River have been going great!

The trips are very nice and great for all abilities whether a first timer or seasoned veteran. All of the groups that have gone out so far this year have had wonderful reviews and are promising to come back for more. Now is the time to come check it out if you have not done so already. We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

Oh & stay tuned... we just painted the floors and walls in the newly-remodeled Creamery building (our soon-to-be retail store). The electricity and plumbing has all been redone and the sod has been beautifully laid outside. Our GRAND OPENING is getting close and we're getting excited to announce the date and details soon.

Keep up to date on our progress and plans on Facebook or here on our blog!

VIPs, Store Hours & Website...

Here are some pictures from a group we had a week and a half ago. It was not the best weather that day but they still went out!

They're all wood strip canoe enthusiasts. The group included the well known Bob O’Hara (www.canoeing.com/advanced/feature/bobohara.htm), Tim and Sandra Eaton who own www.canoeing.com, (a wonderful canoe resource - also did the feature story on Bob) and Alex Comb, owner and builder of Stewart River Canoes (www.stewartriver.com).

It was fun and an honor to have them that day. They had a lot of great things to say about what we have going on! :)

As far as the construction goes... Well, it goes. Slowly but surely. We've had a few setbacks and have delayed the grand opening until July. However, we do have regular hours now so please stop by and take a gander at everything!

Mon–Thurs: 10am to 6pm
Fri: 10am to 8pm
Sat: 8am to 8pm
Sun: 8am to 6pm

If you need directions just visit our website: www.clearwatersoutfittingco.com/contact.html. Speaking of website... we're working on a cool, new one which will launch in the next couple of weeks. It will feature a better listing of the boats we have in stock - which is the most popular page on our current website.

Stay tuned for more details on everything and thanks for your continued support of central Minnesota's only canoe and kayak retailer ON the Mississippi!!

Construction Continues!

Well, despite the wind and threatening clouds we tore off about half of the roof from the Creamery building today. Pretty exciting stuff! Now a construction company will come in and rebuild that side of the roof. Earlier this week we poured cement in what will be the bathroom and side entry, on the other side of the building. Everything's framed up on that side, ready to put up walls in order to divide up the rooms.

The outfitting/storage building is coming along nicely. There are tons of boats in there so now it's just a matter of organizing all of them as well as all of the other outfitting gear including paddles, packs, lifejackets, vehicle carrying systems, portage yokes, CWOC logo gear, maps, the list goes on and on... we're getting TONS of calls which is awesome.

What's more exciting is that we've set a date for the grand opening! Mark your calendars for June 19 & 20. It'll be a weekend full of fun stuff - activities, giveaways, demos and the like. Just kidding! There has been some unexpected delays and so we're postponing our grand opening until later in the summer. Be sure to watch the website, this blog and facebook for the dates and details!

Here's a couple pics and video from today's work on the roof:









(don't worry - the walls stayed in tact!) :)