A record number of boats entered the ‘Round the Mountain Canoe & Kayak Race in Saranac Lake on Saturday, the unofficial kickoff of the Adirondack paddling race season.

The event drew 119 boats and 226 paddlers, surpassing 2025’s tally of 110 boats. The occurrence marked the first in-person gathering of the year for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT).

“That was a great start to our paddling event season,” said NFCT Executive Director Karrie Thomas. “It was fun to see such a wide variety of paddlers come out to either compete or enjoy a fast-paced tour on the water.”

‘Round the Mountain caters to both competitive and non-competitive paddlers. Categories range from voyageur to guideboat to family. The biggest race class was C-2 stock with 33 boats, followed by solo recreation with 25.

Paddling a four-person canoe, Clyde Yarnell, Matt Skeels, Jon Santor, and Dave Thomas had the fastest overall time in 1:31:26.8. David Taylor had the next quickest time in 1:32:46.6, competing in the open kayak category. A voyageur canoe led by Mike Archambault and Myriam Gervais finished third overall in 1:34:07.7.

The 10.5-mile ‘Round the Mountain route begins at Ampersand Bay Resort on Lower Saranac Lake, heads west to the mouth of the Saranac River across from Bluff Island, then continues downriver with a short carry around the Lower Locks to Oseetah Lake before finishing at Riverfront Park on Lake Flower.

“‘Round the Mountain has always been an unofficial start to the canoe racing season in the Adirondacks,” said NFCT board president Brandon Devito, who paddled in the solo recreation class. “Being that it is so early, weather can be amazing or downright uncooperative. Despite some gusty winds that proved challenging coming off Lower Saranac into Second Pond and out of the Lower Locks into Oseetah, the sun felt good, and the company was even better.”

‘Round the Mountain is sponsored by Ampersand Bay Resort. Additional support was provided by Blue Moon Cafe, Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, Guide ADK, and the Hotel Saranac. Safety boats were provided by HK Marina and Saranac Lake Marina. Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks (SARNAK) and the Adirondack Amateur Radio Association (AARA) provided additional safety support. Both are volunteer organizations.

“I want to give a shout out to the volunteers and organizations who supported our race and our community,” Thomas said. “They played a key role in everything from registration and traffic to safety and timing. Their support is essential to the success of the event.”

‘Round the Mountain is part of Celebrate Paddling ADK, a region-wide festival of all things paddling. Throughout the paddling season, guides, outfitters, local businesses, nonprofits and tourism agencies collaborate to host clinics, guided trips, film screenings, races and more, with the aim of promoting paddlesports as a life-long activity. For a full schedule of events, and to learn more, visit celebratepaddlingadk.com.

NFCT’s next major events coming up are the Adirondack Paddling Symposium on June 12-15 in Saranac Lake and the Rangeley Rendezvous on June 19-21 in Rangelely, Maine. To learn more about the NFCT, visit northernforestcanoetrail.org.

Full results can be found here: https://bit.ly/4trZX0E