ABOUT US

Canoe Kentucky began in 1981. Ed Councill, his wife Bess, and two children, Corey and Allison, moved to Kentucky from Richmond Virginia in the late 1970’s. Ed was hired by the Kentucky Department of Water, which was contracted with Caveland Sanitation, for a project. That project is what Ed came to Kentucky to work on; the tracking of rain drops into our cave systems, and what those rain drops carry with them, ie. pollution, runoff, etc.

Ed and Bess settled into Northern Franklin County, in the community of Peaks Mill, purchasing what is still considered of the oldest houses in the county, “The Dr. Suter Home”. This home has been featured on multiple Paul Sawyier prints.

Ed wanted his kids to learn outdoor skills, so he started a Boy Scout Troop for his kids and the other Peaks Mill children to be a part of. In the summer on 1980, Ed had planned the “big trip” of the year for the troop; a canoeing and camping trip down the Green River in Central Kentucky. He made all the arrangements and all the plans, but those plans changed a week before the trip.

 Ed was contacted by the outfitter he had arranged canoes from and was informed he, the outfitter, had double booked, and would not have the canoes for the troop to use. Ed was disappointed, but he was not about to let that disappointment get to the troop. His resourceful thinking got him to call a canoe manufacturer in Lebanon, Missouri called Osagian Canoes. Ed arranged to purchase 6 canoes, a trailer, paddles and lifejackets off Osagian, however, he did not have the money. On a handshake and a promise, the owners of Osagian sold Ed the canoes and pertinent gear!

The trip was what Ed had hoped for, the trip of a lifetime for the boys and their two honorary female members, Bess and Allison. They enjoyed a week long trip down the Green, learning skills, making memories and falling in love with the Kentucky outdoors.

As soon as the trip was over, High School started for most of the boys in the troop, and that meant girls became way cooler than canoes. Those six canoes sat in Ed’s yard all fall, all winter and in to the spring of 1981. Then on one of those warmer early spring days, a gentleman stopped at Ed and Bess’s front door and asked if he could pay them to use one of the canoes for the day on the Elkorn! And the idea seed had been planted.

Elkhorn Excursions was born. Guests could come out to beautiful Peaks Mill on the banks of the Elkhorn Creek. They would sign a waiver at Ed and Bess’s kitchen table while enjoying a cup of coffee, and jump in a pickup truck for a ride upstream. Ed had his two children and a few friends help run the show. But at this time, Ed was working primarily out of Cave City, Kentucky, running canoes on weekends and leaving answering the phones for the new business up to his wife and kids during the week. Over these formative years, Ed and Bess would use whatever extra income they had from his two jobs and her three, to buy more equipment and gear. This included a trailer full of blue Old Town canoes in 1987.

During 1994, what was the Peaks Mill Grocery and Gas, which had been closed for many years, went up for sale. Ed and Bess saw the opportunity and purchased it. This was now a commitment, so Ed left his job with the Department of Water and dive in full time.

They spent many months removing all the remnants of a grocery store, putting in a creek access, and started renting from the new shop in 1995. The new shop was now to be called, “Canoe Kentucky”.

Ed and Bess chose this name because they wanted to expose all of Kentucky to paddlesports. To achieve this goal, they needed a few things. One was staff. Corey, Ed and Bess’s son, started working at the business. Allison would help out from time to time, but she was in college studying to become a veterinarian. Canoe Kentucky also started selling canoes and kayaks at this time, and even worked out a deal to manufacturer their own canoes, called the Bluegrass Canoe.

The third thing Canoe Kentucky had to do to serve Kentuckians was to have more than one location. But one family could not do this, so Ed and Bess came up with a franchise model that they could sell to would-be canoe outfitters. Locations were opened over the years on the Green River, Barren River, Drakes Creek, Cumberland River, Otter Creek, and more. In the early 2000’s, a franchise was even opened in the Akita Prefecture of Japan. It’s name; Canoe Kentucky: Japan!

Back to the mid and late 1990’s, when all was growing well, and we had the flood of 1997 followed by the drought. The flood was and still is the worst in history in Franklin County, and much damage was done. Ed and Bess even had to live in the Canoe Kentucky shop for a while as their early 1800’s house had over 4 feet of water in it, the first water it had ever had in it! The drought followed and business was not what it should have been.

To combat some of this, Canoe Kentucky decided to open a second store closer to Frankfort that would be retail sales specific. This location, at the Forks of Elkhorn, was called “Kentucky Outdoor Center”. During the time this store came to be, Corey chose to leave the business and go back into restaurant management service, which he had done a few years earlier. And at the same time, after spending “one more summer at home” before going off the veterinarian school at Auburn, Allison fell in love with the business and decided to join full time.

In 2001, Allison met Nathan through a blind date. After a few months of dating long distance, an opening came available at Canoe Kentucky, as one of its managers had chose to move on. Nathan started working with Allison and Ed in January of 2002. At this time, Canoe Kentucky had its two locations, with over 150 retail boats in stock and around 100 rental boats, primarily canoes.

Things went on successfully with steady growth each year. Canoe Kentucky was looking for new ways to grow, but found being stretched between two locations and trying to keep eyes up on multiple franchises, it was stretched too thin to do what was always prided in, and excellent customer experience.

Canoe Kentucky opened its last franchise in 2006, and after it ran for its contracted three years, the franchise model was discontinued. In 2005, with the primary retail boat being sold being for whitewater, and that market seeming to be declining, Kentucky Outdoor Center was shut down. All of the Canoe Kentucky operation was moved back to our original shop in Peaks Mill.

This move allowed Canoe Kentucky to focus on excellent customer experiences, which was what was and is most important. The smaller shop did need more room, so a covered back porch was added around this same time. Canoe Kentucky had also been continually growing the number of rental boats. By around 2010, canoe rentals were declining, and kayaks were growing. Number of kayaks in the rental fleet grew to more than canoes around this time, and rafts and tandem kayaks were added. The total number of boats was growing to around 150.

At around this same time kayak fishing was starting to move in from the coast. Canoe Kentucky started selling these boats and things went through the roof. Even today, fishing kayaks are our number one selling type of vessel, and they make up some of the over 350 boats sold every year.

Nathan and Allison began looking towards Ed’s retirement in and around 2008. Ed was interested in offering programming for underserved youth, and his day to day involvement continued to be less and less. Ed and Bess were able to fully retire and successfully transfer the business to the next generation in 2015.

Allison and Nathan now had the entire growing business on their backs, but growth was still important. Canoe Kentucky grew by offering canoe and kayak rentals on the Kentucky River, which proved wise as it was a wonderful option and even more important during years of little rain and low water on the Elkhorn. They also partnered with Kentucky State University, who has just purchased a floating science laboratory on the Kentucky River, and operated it for the university.

During this time, Allison and Nathan took more of a hand’s off and advisory role to s new generation of employees and leaders. Some of those were family, some were outside hires, but over the years, every one of them has been wonderful! These team leaders had such good operational success, Allison and Nathan were looking for “what’s next?”.

After three years of managing the Kentucky State University boat, Nathan and Allison decided to make a business out of it, control their own destiny, and sign the front of their own checks, and they started their own boat tour company called “Kentucky River Tours”. In order to do this, both of them went to school and completed all the necessary

steps to become USCG Licensed Merchant Mariners or Captains. They also customer built their own boat, “The Trace of Kentucky”.

In 2021, after a brief hiatus from the KSU boat, Nathan and Allison took the management of the boat back over. They operated it for one more year, and when they parked it that winter, they did not know if they would ever see it again. But early that next year, KSU informed them that they wanted to sell it! Kentucky River Tours had been growing rapidly a this time, and the options were; 1. charge more money, or 2. buy a bigger boat. This was the perfect chance, and the boat was purchased November 2022 and rebranded “The Bourbon Belle”.

In 2023, Canoe Kentucky lost both of its founders. Bess passed away in February and Ed followed her in September. They would have been married 58 years on September 11, 2023. Ed passed just over a week before. The countless lives these two impacted in Kentucky and abroad can not be under estimated. They will be missed, but their story is Canoe Kentucky’s story, and it lives on. It lives on in the daily work of Canoe Kentucky, a work done as a service to others and as a way for Canoe Kentucky to live out Luke 6:31; “to treat others just as you want to be treated.”

Canoe Kentucky and its sister businesses, which serves Frankfort residents, Kentucky as a whole, and even an larger group of customers, are considered two of the premiere outdoor businesses. Canoe Kentucky impacts the lives of 10’s of thousands of people each year. IT has grown from a 6 canoe mom and pop operation, to an over 40 year old, now third generation business. Canoe Kentucky is proud to:

· Own the largest rental fleet of canoes and kayaks in the state.

· Be one of the largest canoe, kayak and SUP retail shop in the southeastern US.

· Be one of only a few in the country offering 7 day a week try-before-you-buy.

· Offering Creekside “Glamping” and multiple over night housing and stay options on the banks of the Elkhorn

· Be experts in the outdoor industry that share that knowledge through summer camps, outdoor education and more.

· Serve on multiple board and association panels like Frankfort Tourism and Chamber of Commerce, Woods and Water Land Trust, America Outdoor Association (past), American Canoe Association (past)

· Have team members with multiple certifications like American Canoe Association Instructors and Instructor Trainers, EMT’s, Wilderness First Responders, Swift Water Rescue Techs, Project Wild and Wet, and many others.

· Been awarded multiple times on individual levels and business levels from local organizations to large national non profits

· Have called many local kids and adults part of our family though either being a team member or a customer of.

We are still writing this story, and this is where YOU come in! Are you the next part of Canoe Kentucky’s story? We hope so!