Allison and Nathan Depenbrock are the second-generation owners of Canoe Kentucky.
From its headquarters on the Elkhorn Creek in the Peaks Mill area of Frankfort, Canoe Kentucky has been providing customers with rental excursions for four decades.
Canoe Kentucky commercially operates on 19 miles of the Elkhorn, and most customers choose either a five-mile or 10-mile trip, said co-owner Nathan Depenbrock.
“You’ll go five miles in about two hours,” he said. “It’s very easy and leisurely. The water, on average, is only about knee deep.”
Canoe Kentucky also offers trips on the Kentucky River. Canoers and kayakers can paddle upstream or downstream as far as they wish and stop near downtown Frankfort at one of several riverside restaurants for a bite to eat.
Ed and Bess Councill started Canoe Kentucky in 1981 and ran it until the early 2000s. Their daughter Allison and her husband, Nathan Depenbrock, now own and operate the family business.
In addition to rentals, Canoe Kentucky offers instructional programs for canoeing and kayaking, guided fishing trips, a “try before you buy” retail component, and a free shuttle to and from access points on the creek with a canoe or kayak purchase.
With a fleet of 275 watercraft — 100 canoes, 125 kayaks and 40 tandem kayaks, plus rafts and paddle boards — Canoe Kentucky can logistically accommodate up to 400 or so people for a day on the water. Prior to COVID, companies like Big Ass Fans, Toyota and Lexmark held corporate outings at Canoe Kentucky. “Anderson County Middle School used to bring their entire seventh grade out every year, so that was 450 kids,” Depenbrock said.
Which craft is the most popular for rentals? That would be kayaks, which account for 70 percent of boat rentals at Canoe Kentucky.
“Paddle sports are exploding right now,” he said. “Last year was phenomenal. Everybody wanted to get outside. We saw a huge uptick in the number of users.”
Depenbrock keeps in touch with outfitters and retailers throughout the eastern United States, all of whom had a banner year, he said. Canoe and kayak manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand.
“Even though we brought in a large inventory of boats to sell, we’re going through them very, very quickly,” Depenbrock said. “If we had somebody walk in our shop today and special order a boat that we currently don’t have on order, it would be 2022 before we can even get it for them.”
Nathan Depenbrock and daughter Isla enjoy a paddle during a family vacation.
The Depenbrocks made a decision many years ago not to sell boats online. Canoe Kentucky is an experiential business, and the owners and sta. members want to share in their customers’ experiences. “We like to make sure that people are getting exactly what they need, not just what they think they need,” he said.
There is, however, online registration for customers to schedule reservations for their trips and fill out a liability waiver, “so that you can basically show up, tell us you’re there, we put you in a lifejacket, we load you up on a bus and off you go,” Depenbrock said.
As long as a Kentucky waterway is considered commercially navigable, the water is owned by the public, Depenbrock said. “It is considered a public right of way, just like any of the roads are considered public right of ways.”
It gets tricker for those who want to pull up a canoe onto the shoreline for a picnic lunch, because that land is often someone’s private property. “Most landowners are used to seeing paddlers,” he said. “And as long as paddlers are respectful, most bodies of water in Kentucky are very accessible and the landowners are very giving of their property.”
With a year-round sta. of five — Nathan and Allison Depenbrock plus three team leaders — Canoe Kentucky employs upward of 40 seasonal workers as drivers, boat handlers, customer service reps and summer camp staffers. The summer camps are on hiatus in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.
New for 2021 is creek-side glamping on the Elkhorn Creek, with three luxury tents available for rent.
Allison and Nathan Depenbrock are both graduates of Western Kentucky University. They met when he was the head animal keeper at Kentucky Down Under, an adventure zoo in Horse Cave, Kentucky. She also has an MBA from Xavier University, and Nathan has certifications in outdoor safety. They both hold a master’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard.
They split co-owner duties, with Allison handling payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and communications with manufacturers, while Nathan supervises employee scheduling and construction and maintenance projects. “For our 40th anniversary this year, Allison and I will be more present in the frontline operations of the business,” he said.
Their three children, ages 9, 14 and 16, help out washing lifejackets, loading and unloading boats, answering phones and helping customers. “We start them out early,” Nathan said. “We hope to be a third generation-owned business someday.”