Yes, assuming they are in good, serviceable condition.

• You are responsible for transporting your gear to and from the put-in location.
• Casual Kayakers and the CK Guide reserve the right to inspect and accept/reject your gear based on its condition, serviceability, and safety.
• Also, Casual Kayaker’s safety rules (wearing your PFD, sticking with the group, etc.) and guidance will be followed while on a Casual Kayakers’ trip.
• Make sure to note the gear you plan to bring on the registration form. Contact Casual Kayakers directly if have any questions or concerns.

As with most things in life, it depends. For the sake of this discussion, we’re going to limit ourselves to typical domesticated mammalian pets (Dogs and Cats). If you are considering including a different kind of pet, let’s discuss the specifics in advance. Make sure to list your pet as a rider in the Paddle Planner and animal breed in the notes portion.

• All pets will need to wear an appropriately fitted pet floatation device (aka pet life jacket, canine floatation device) as appropriate. While most animals can swim to greater or lesser degrees, we may be further away from shore than they can manage, and the pet jackets typically have a handle on the back that helps with getting them in/on the boat and out of the water.
• BEFORE considering bring a pet along for a kayak/SUP ride:
  • Make sure your pet is comfortable with being around and/or in the water. Nobody wants to see or endure a pet freakout (especially the owner or the pet). Please do not force a pet into a situation they don’t want to be in. If you are going to enjoy your paddle experience, they need to be calm and willing to sit on or in the boat without any unexpected escape attempts. We have found some pets really enjoy riding in/on a boat and a smaller portion even like being in the water. You know your pet, you make an informed decision.
  • Make sure your pet is comfortable with wearing a pet flotation device/jacket BEFORE attempting getting them on or in a kayak, SUP or any other watercraft. Again, this is to avoid unpleasant reactions and you and the gear getting torn up. The best way to acclimate your pet is to have them wear the jacket onshore for a few hours over a few days. Most pet jackets have leash attachments, so walking your pet while they wear the jacket will also help them get comfortable. We’ve found if a pet is used to a harness or other vests the transition is much easier. Don’t rush it or assume all will go well without adequate preparation.
  • If you and/or your pet do end up making a wet exit, you may be distracted for a time before you can attend to your non-human companion. The pet life jacket helps them keep their head above water until they can be assisted.
  • Long, sharp, or heavy claws/nails can not only cause injury, but can also damage the boats, seats, PFDs, and other equipment. Please consider your pet’s particulars (size, temperament, energy level) as you will be responsible for any damage they cause. Biting, scratching, or ripping a hole in an inflatable SUP or certain kayak gear could prove challenging midway through a paddle and rather expensive.
  • If we are in brackish, saltwater, or stagnate water, your pet should not drink it.
• On the trip, you need to remain in control of your pet. Bring a leash for any on-shore time and a perhaps a favorite toy that can’t sink they can enjoy while in/on the boat and in the water (if your pet is into that).
  • The SUPs and sit-on-top kayaks have some padding on the top to help with grip, but that may not align with where your pet decides to ride. We have some small (~15”x15”) square cushions that may provide some additional padding for smaller pets if needed.
  • We do not recommend having a leash on your pet while they are in or on the watercraft. We don’t want them to get trapped, towed, or entangled.
  • Bigger pets typically must be managed more closely as they can cause excitement by just moving around (and possibly throwing you off balance or tipping/flipping your boat). Still, smaller pets, can cause mischief if allowed to get away with too much.
• If your pet proves to be unruly or destructive before or during the paddle the Casual Kayakers Guide may request or direct they remain on or return to shore. This is for pet’s safety and comfort as well as for the pet owner and other paddlers.

The guide(s)/instructor(s) are paid a minimum rate supplemented by your tips.

• It is a kayak industry standard to tip your guide if you feel they did a good job providing an enjoyable and informative trip.
• There are many schools of thought on how much to tip, but a common estimate is between 10% and 20% of the trip cost, similar to waitstaff in a restaurant.

• Casual Kayakers reserves the right to use any photography/video taken at any Casual Kayakers sponsored event without the expressed written permission of those included within the photography/video.
  • Casual Kayakers may use the photography/video in publications or other media material produced, used, or contracted by Casual Kayakers.Typically, the Casual Kayakers Guide will take a photo of your group before launch and periodically as the trip progresses. Please let the guide know if you have any specific requests.
  • Your photos and videos will be made available for you to download within a day of the trip. The Trip Lead will be provided the link via text or e-mail.
• A person attending a Casual Kayakers event who does not wish to have their image recorded for distribution should make their wishes known to the Guide/photographer and the event organizers in in advance of the trip.
• To ensure the privacy of individuals and children, image and video labels will not use full names or personal identifying information without written approval from the photographed subject, parent, or legal guardian.
• Any person or organization not affiliated with Casual Kayakers may not use, copy, alter, or modify Casual Kayakers photography, graphics, videography, or other similar reproductions and recordings without the advance written permission of an authorized Casual Kayakers designee.

• Casual Kayakers Guides have first aid training and are able to provide basic first aid.
  • There will be least one first aid kit on the trip.
  • Please let us know if you have basic or advanced medical training or are a medical provider.
• If additional care is needed, the Casual Kayakers guide will provide or obtain such medical care as is considered necessary and appropriate.
  • You are responsible for all costs associated with such care and related transportation.

• The most common injury on our kayaking trips is sunburn and it’s largely preventable.
  • Prevention: use and regularly reapply SUNSCREEN!!
• Lack of proper hydration is the next most common issue.
  • Prevention: Drink Water… sip often!
• Beyond sunburn and lack of hydration, the next most typical misadventures are minor scratches, scrapes, and bruises.  Prevention includes:
  • Avoid hitting the kayak hull while paddling (Knuckle Busters – poor paddling technique).
  • Avoid bumping watercraft into each and getting pinched or scraped.
• Good water shoes help prevent falls and provide traction and protection for any trips into the brush or mud.
  • Be cautious where you step, what you step on, and what you put your weight on.Aquatic life will typically do what they can to get out of the way – unless you step directly on them.Submerged or semi-submerged trees, logs, branches, rocks, or other natural or man-made item or debris may break, shift, roll, hit, poke, stab, snare, catch, or entrap.
• Avoiding unexpected shallow water trips out of or off the boat and thus colliding with anything off the boat is always the best course of action.

• Entire Group Trip Cancellation
  • 100% refund prior to packing the boats for travel the day prior when the trip is cancelled by Casual Kayakers’ Guide after consultation with the trip lead.
  • 100% refund if the trip is cancelled by Casual Kayakers due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e. mechanical failure, traffic accident, Guide illness/injury, etc.). Casual Kayakers will notify trip lead as soon as possible.
  • 90% refund prior to unpacking the boats at the launch location when the trip is cancelled by Casual Kayakers’ Guide after consultation with the trip lead.
  • 60% refund prior to unpacking the boats at the launch location when the trip is cancelled solely by the trip lead.
  • 40% refund after unpacking the boats at the launch location when the trip is cancelled solely by the trip lead.
  • 25% refund if the trip group are no shows or cancel after meeting time with timely notification (within 30 minutes of show time) solely by the trip lead.
  • 0% refund if the trip group are no shows without timely or in the case of no notification
• Individuals within a Group drop out
  • 100% refund of that paddlers trip cost prior to packing the boats the day prior to the trip when Casual Kayakers Guide is notified by the trip lead.
  • 60% refund of that paddlers trip cost prior to unpacking the boats at the launch location when Casual Kayakers Guide is notified by the trip lead.
  • 40% refund of that paddlers trip cost after unpacking the boats at the launch location when Casual Kayakers Guide is notified by the trip lead.
  • 25% refund of that paddlers trip cost when they are no shows or cancel after meeting time.
  • 0% refund for participants under the influence of alcohol, illegal/non-prescription drugs, or prescription medications that significantly impair their cognitive or physical abilities.
  • 0% refund for unruly or disruptive guests/paddlers. The entire group will return to put-in location and the unruly or disruptive individual(s) are to put ashore with NO REFUND! The safety of our guests/paddlers is Casual Kayakers #1 priority.

• The services of Casual Kayakers, may include loaning or renting equipment and providing trips (including guided trips) by kayak or SUP (referred to, collectively, as watercraft).
• Activities, scheduled and unscheduled, voluntarily and involuntary, associated with these services may include, in addition to travel by water, swimming (referred to as anytime Participant is in the water), wading, hiking, climbing on rocks and slopes, shelters & staging areas, portaging (carrying the watercraft between water travel sites) and travel to and from the activities.
• The hazards and risks (together referred to as “risks”) of the use of the watercraft include, but are not limited to, the following: entering, exiting and operating the watercraft; water which may be fast, deep, cold, and subject to rapid change; objects which may be encountered in and out of the water, and which may not be obvious, including debris, trees, rocks, boulders, bridges, and other hazards; the watercraft may overturn, swamp and sink and occupants may become separated from the craft; feet and other parts of the body may become entrapped in or under rocks and other objects; participants may strike or be struck by objects, other watercraft and other persons, in and outside of the watercraft. Risks of other activities include those associated with camping, hiking, and moving on and over terrain, including the shoreline, the premises of Casual Kayakers and others, and elsewhere, which may be unstable, steep and slippery and where rocks, trees, and other objects may fall, and man-made and natural structures may fail: animals, including poisonous reptiles or insects, and poisonous plants may cause harm; swimming in unfamiliar surroundings may cause entrapment, injury from slips and falls and drowning. Other risks include errors in judgment of the Casual Kayakers Guide and other participants, including the improper assessment of capabilities and conditions pertaining to the activities; certain activities may be instructional, and designed to extend the skills of participants; equipment may be misused or fail because of manufacturing defects or otherwise; collisions may occur while traveling by vehicle to and from the activities; the activities are subject to the unpredictable forces of nature, including exposure to the sun, cold, heat, wind, hail, lighting, flash floods and other such phenomena: activities may take place in remote places, significantly delaying emergency medical care and evacuation.

• Each participant is responsible for insuring they have sufficient medications (prescription and over-the-counter) for the duration of the trip.
• Please contact Casual Kayakers to discuss any medical issues or concerns or medication(s) of potential concern prior to the event. We’ll balance your group members’ participation with our safety considerations.
• Smoking, Vaping, Alcohol consumption, and Drug use (aside from prescribed or common over the counter medications) before, during an on-water activity or event, or during post event recovery and cleanup is prohibited.
• Casual Kayakers does not permit persons under the influence of alcohol, iillegal/non-prescription drugs, or prescription medications that impair the cognitive or physical abilities to participate in on-water activities.
• The Casual Kayakers Guide will make a determination of each paddler/participant’s suitability prior to departure. The Casual Kayakers Guide will disqualify any participant under the influence of alcohol or drugs or is visibly impaired from participation in the scheduled event and ask them to leave the immediate area immediately. 
  • The Casual Kayakers Guide’s decision is final. 
  • There is a 0% refund for participants under the influence of alcohol, illegal/non-prescription drugs, or prescription medications that impair their cognitive or physical abilities.