Kayaking takes Holmes all over the country

4/1/2026

Iowa isn’t quite the land of 1,000 lakes like our neighbors to the north, but it’s still home to plenty of navigable waterways. Lakes, rivers, creeks and ponds alike are found all over the state. If those are a little too slow for you, the U.S. has it in high speeds and more danger if you’re willing to travel.

One Indianola store owner, Jeff Holmes, knows all about kayaking and paddle sports. The Guthrie Center native and Simpson College graduate started his own magazine, “Canoeing Iowa” in 1988 and eventually opened his store, CanoeSport Outfitters, in 1992.

“I started paddling with my dad was about 10 years old. We would go out and fish on a local lake. I was living down at Farmington at the time, in southwest Iowa, and that got me out on the water on lakes. And we did a little bit of river paddling down there,” Holmes said.

With a young start, the seed was planted within Holmes. The year before he started his magazine, he busted out his canoe but was disappointed in the lack of information on how to paddle Iowa’s water. 

“There wasn’t a lot of information about it. There was just a very basic brochure out by the DNR. And I decided that it might be fun to start publishing a little magazine and write about places to paddle,” Holmes said.

sections & HobbiesHolmes says he gained about 1,200 subscribers. His passion only grew from there, opening his store and beginning to teach and instruct new paddlers. 

“That took me to Lake Superior and white water paddling. And I do a lot of coastal stuff now on the Georgia coast. It’s gotten me all over the place. We guide for the University of Iowa for spring break trips. I’ve done Big Bend National Park in Rio Grande, Lake Powell up in Utah,” Holmes said.

The Everglades in Florida is his favorite spot to kayak.

“We’ve done that many times. Georgia is a favorite as I’ve gotten older. It’s especially a favorite because we stay in a house and I get to sleep in a bed instead of camping in a tent. But, you know, every place is a little unique,” Holmes said. “You go to the Everglades, you’re in a swampy, hot, humid environment. You go to Lake Powell, you’re in a dusty, desert environment with big, sheer cliffs.”

Central Iowa is no slouch for good locations, either, according to Holmes. He named the Boone River near Webster City for a leisurely float or for camping on the side. The Turkey River in upper Iowa earned a mention, too, as well as areas around Somerset and Red Rock.

“It’s pretty easy to find water to float on, so there are lots of fun places to go. You know, we spend a lot of time at Ahquabi. That’s where we’ve done most of our instruction,” Holmes said.

Holmes enjoys the calming, relaxing trips as well as the more exciting white water experiences. 

“I’ve gone out by myself, you’re camping on a sandbar alone, and you wake up in the morning and see the sunrise and things like that. Some of the early things that I did would have been white water stuff, and those certainly got me an adrenaline rush, and it got me excited doing things,” Holmes said.

Holmes is an expert at this point, whether it be kayaking by himself or helping instruct, which helps him when situations get a little concerning.

“White water certainly creates things. I’ve done some big swims where I’ve come out of my boat, and I’ve had to be in the river for a while and float until I come out the bottom. In sea kayaking, I’ve had a couple of big rescues,” Holmes said. “Most of the things that I’ve had happen that were hairy moments were more instruction-based, where they were planned. Trainers will put you in scenarios that they expect to get a little dicey and see how you handle it.” 

One time in Georgia, during what was supposed to be a designed situation by an instructor got out of hand.

 “We ended up with somebody who tipped over out in some pretty big water. They couldn’t get back into their boat. I happened to get the job of towing the other guy’s boat who was swimming, who couldn’t get back in his boat. I got totally separated from everybody, and it took me about 45 minutes to bring that boat in,” Holmes said.

But Holmes says, far more often than not, that the activity is calm, harmless and easy going. He recommends it for anyone interested in learning. 

“It’s a fun, healthy activity. It gets you out outdoors. It can be a fitness thing, but even if you’re not doing it for fitness, you’re going to get exercise. It’s a great way to get your kids involved and get them away from the TV. You can take it to whatever level you want to. You can be as relaxed as you want with it, or you can get pretty serious about it and go places and see some amazing stuff,” Holmes said. ♦