ABOVE: Char Kahler helps kayakers step into their kayaks and release at Bright Lake in Ceylon on Tuesday night. The group goes to a different lake every Tuesday, weather permitting.

FAIRMONT -The Martin County Kayaking group has continued to broaden its horizons and explore the county’s 55 lakes together.

Anywhere from five to 30 people attend every Tuesday, with a different lake chosen each week. Group organizer Char Kahler said they aren’t a strictly defined group, and people come when they can.

“I send out emails to several hundred people, and people just show up,” she said.

By 2022, the kayaking group had done 40 of the 55 lakes in Martin County. Kahler said since then, they have been able to get a few more lakes crossed off the list.

“Some smaller ones, like Fish Lake in Cedar Township, we did for the first time,” she said. “Round Lake in Fox Lake Township we have also done. There are still ones we haven’t done, and we haven’t been able to do any river trips for the last two years.”

Every once in a while, they will kayak on rivers like the Blue Earth, Watonwan or Minnesota.

As for how the lake is chosen each week, Kahler said she likes to have new adventures.

“Albeit there are some favorites we’ve done 15 times already,” she said. “A number of them we have been to one to five times.”

As for the 10 or so lakes they have not been to yet, Kahler said it all depends on accessibility.

“The goal is to do all of them,” she said. “We have to seek out a way to access them. Oftentimes, there is no public access to a lake, so we try to talk to landowners to see if we can access the lake via them. In the past, they have been very generous with that. Sometimes physical access can be challenging to a lake, getting in and out of it.”

As an outdoor activity, kayaking has to deal with its fair share of weather. While the swelling of lakes has disrupted boating and small watercraft at times with no-wake limits, lots of rain benefits kayaking.

“We like high levels because it has lots of outlets, inlets and creeks,” Kahler said. “We love following those to see where they go, and those are harder to go through in low water than high water.”

While they have been lucky in some years, in 2025 they have had two rainouts thus far. Even so, Kahler said this doesn’t stop some people from adventuring anyway.

“We cancelled it one time, but another kayaker and I went out in the rain anyway,” she said.

This Tuesday, they made a foray into Bright Lake by Ceylon, which they had to cancel two weeks ago due to rain.

Even if one doesn’t know how to kayak, Kahler said the activity and local group are both beginner-friendly.

“You just come and join us,” she said. “It’s pretty easy to learn how to do, and we have pointers to give. People in the group will help you out. Some like to paddle fast and others slow, but it’s at any pace you want to go. It’s not a race.”

There are also in-town options for procuring a kayak, including purchase at Dunhams, Bomgaars, Walmart and Tractor Supply, or renting from Gomsrud Park via the Shell gas station at 1552 Albion Ave.

Kahler said her favorite thing about kayaking is the freedom.

“To enjoy as one person and also the fellowship of people enjoying the outdoors and environment in this county of 55 lakes,” she said. “It’s beauty you would have to go miles to find out north. It’s hidden in plain sight, treasures in your backyard.”

For more information, the group is on Facebook under “Paddle Martin County, MN and Surrounding Area.” To get on the mailing list, email Kahler at chark@kahlerautomation.com.